For any lover of music, the way you listen to your favorite album or the new song you’ve been waiting to hear for weeks is crucial to the experience. It may seem like an overboard pursuit for some, but for real-deal fans, this is their ritualistic reverence for the passion that connects us all.
Ben Gomori is the founder of Pitchblack Playback, the answer to the new trend of slowing down, staying offline, and letting yourself be immersed in the best of new music and the classics. Established in London in 2016, Pitchblack Playback celebrates its 10th anniversary as the world’s biggest deep listening event, hosting sessions in the dark, surrounded by high-caliber sound systems, in cities all around the world.
“We’re essentially system-agnostic, but my preference is for some sort of ‘immersive’ configuration,” says Ben Gomori, who opened up about how the concept of Pitchblack Playback emerged from pure passion for the art of music, deriving from a journalistic background, starting as a young music enthusiast reviewing Jamiroquai’s Virtual Insanity.
Having been to a couple of Pitchblack Playback listening sessions, I can vouch firsthand for the truly unique setup that allows you to step away from your busy day-to-day commitments and encourages you to float in the frequencies of high-quality stereo and the best of multi-generational music releases. Pitchblack Playback should be an advised regular audio climax for all music fanatics and the general public craving a break from the screens.
Gomori speaks to Noctis after premiering James Blake’s highly anticipated latest album, Trying Times, at London’s Fabric, with an album playback on the yoga-matted Bodysonic dancefloor. As a cherry on top for the fans who attended, Ben Gomori hosted a Q&A with Blake, making his own dream come true by picking his genius brain about creative processes and the new stellar project.
What was your relationship with music before you started Pitchblack Playback?
We were already married! I’d been obsessed with music since I was about 10, started DJing when I was 14 and started in music journalism when I was 17 (well, 12 if you count the review of Jamiroquai’s ‘Virtual Insanity’ that I wrote for The Times youth supplement haha..) I did copywriting and social media for various music-related brands in my 20s before quitting my job to focus on my own projects, one of which was Pitchblack Playback.
Who are your go-to all time favourite artists?
Daft Punk, Wu-Tang Clan, De La Soul, Tame Impala, Joni Mitchell, Blur, Fontaines D.C., Kate Bush, Sade, Nina Simone, Bjork, Madonna to name a few…
A new album you can’t stop listening to?
James Blake’s ‘Trying Times’
What inspired you to start Pitchblack Playback? How did you come up with the concept?
When I was a music journalist, Ninja Tune invited me to a press preview of Amon Tobin’s ‘ISAM’ in a cinema. It had a visual accompaniment, but the thing that really struck me was having a dedicated, focused time to listen to an album in full on a big soundsystem with surround sound and lots of bass. Initially I specifically wanted to bring this pre-release listening experience to the public (which is something we still do). I was explaining the concept to a friend, and he mentioned he’d recently been to see the Samuel Beckett play ‘Endgame’, the first act of which is staged in the dark, and that maybe that could be a nice way to present it. Big love to esteemed photographer, Ben Davis, for the much-needed hook!
What type of a sound system is needed for the full experience?
We’re essentially system-agnostic, but my preference is for some sort of ‘immersive’ configuration – which is to say multiple speakers throughout the room like in the cinemas and planetariums we use. I find this is the best way to really lose ‘sight’ of where the speakers are placed in the room, and that this gives the sounds a bigger, more engrossing physical presence in the space too, as well as picking up more on the size and shape of the room which can also help you feel more immersed in the sound. It can really make you feel like you’re inside of the music. That said we have some excellent listening rooms we use around the world which have high-fidelity, analog stereo set ups which offer a very warm, vibrant and detailed sound. We just look for the best sound and venue we can get our hands on in each city.
Who were some pivotal voices that helped out in the early days of Pitchblack Playback?
I’d say the main two were Simon Raymonde, founder of Bella Union and ex-Cocteu Twins, who gave us our first exclusive pre-release premiere to launch our events with at the Soho Hotel Screening Rooms, 10 years ago this month: Explosions In The Sky’s ‘The Wilderness’. We had no audience or track record so we really appreciate him putting his faith in our concept and seeing the the potentially.
Then Jo Hagan, co-owner of what used to be The Institute Of Light: our first regular venue in London Fields, Hackney, where the concept really took off. You’ll now find excellent record shop and events space The BBE Store there, and the delicious Bread & Truffle focaccia cafe.
You recently hosted a fan evening with James Blake. What does James Blake as an artist mean to you?
He’s been one of my favourite artists of the last two decades. He emerged with a completely original, arresting sound, and it’s been amazing to see his evolution and how he has been embraced by some of the biggest artists in the world. He’s incredible live and I’ve seen him more than anyone else in the past 15 years. He’s a unique talent and a good guy to boot.
How was meeting him and getting to geek out about music together?
It was a real joy being able to dig into his creative process. The Q&As are always better when it’s someone whose music you really love and know deeply.
Besides this one, what was your favourite listening session you hosted?
There’s too many! Some of the best have been Tame Impala ‘Currents’, Kate Bush ‘Hounds Of Love’, Floating Points & Pharoah Sanders ‘Promises’, Massive Attack ‘Protection’, Air ‘Moon Safari’…
Who else is on your roster of dream guests?
ROSALÍA. We recently hosted sessions for ‘LUX’ all around the world and I’d love to be able to speak to her about her process.
Could you tell us more about how you expanded Pitchblack Playback into cities around the UK and then to cities all around the world?
It all happened pretty organically. We launched in New York at Dolby with some sponsorship from the good folk at Qobuz, but thereafter we were mostly being approached by venues around the world rather than us cold-calling them (which never works as well). The slow film slate after the pandemic meant we had increasing interest from cinemas who were looking for alternative revenue streams, and then the deep listening trend really took off with more listening bars and immersive events that all helped people to become more familiar with the space we operate in.
What else are you planning as a part of an expansion?
More great venues around the world, in Amsterdam this summer and hopefully soon in Glasgow and Leicester. More premieres, more Q&A, a 10th birthday merch range, more of our Mixtapes events where we create unique 60-minute themed audio journeys, more collaborations…
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Words: Karolina Kramplova