Turn off the lights, put on your headphones and raise the volume as we discuss the newest way to experience your favourite music.
Have you ever closed your eyes and lost yourself in your favourite song, or found that special album to move you even more in a dark setting? Well, there may be a reason for that.
In recent years, sensory deprivation and exploration have caught the attention of a variety of different industries. From flavour enhancing blind tasting restaurants, to sensory stimulating ASMR videos, immersive Float Tanks and more, with some of these attracting mass audiences looking for alternative experiences of everyday pleasures. Pitchblack Playback is at the forefront of these, brainchild of DJ and producer Ben Gomori.
The inspiration for this project stemmed from planning his idea for a communal HI-FI music listening event, stating “I was explaining the idea to some friends, and one of them had just been to see the Samuel Beckett play ‘All That Fall’, the first act of which is held in the dark. He said—”I don’t get it, are you going to do it in pitch black darkness or something?” The penny dropped, and I realised that was the hook that was missing to really bring it alive.” Thus, Pitchblack Playback was born – a series of listening events playing specific albums or playlists for attendees based in the complete darkness of a surround sound cinema room equipped with branded blindfolds.
The event first launched in 2016 went on to become a massive success, being hosted in multiple locations across Europe, America, and Australia, presenting both classic albums from artists such as Miles Davis, Radiohead and Nick Drake, and additionally premiering new albums from rising artists such as Flume, Big Thief and Sigur Rós.
While sensory deprivation was originally linked with the military as a form of torture, many are using it instead now as a therapeutic or meditative device. Ben Gomori has been praised for the benefits from those who attended his listening events, noting “People come out of our events all the time saying they heard things they had never noticed before on albums they have heard 100’s of times, and it’s the same for me. People cry, they make friends with strangers through bonding over a shared love of music, they see visuals in their heads, they have creative ideas, some people say they have “out of body experiences.” It sounds like a simple idea but it’s much more than the sum of its parts.”
Audiences lose themselves in the dusk and submerge into an intense listening experience like no other. Sat in a premium cinema recliner and surrounded by some of the highest quality industry grade speakers on the market, music has never sounded so good.
Listening to music in the pitch-black darkness can also offer reflective perspectives through events such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People’s event ‘See Through Sound’, which offers a heightened sonic experience to those who are visually impaired through audio stimulation spectacles.
With technology ever-evolving, Nox asked Ben Gomori how he envisions the future of Pitchblack Playback. He plans to later take the experience to new heights, stating that “In terms of tech, we’re doing more and more in the spatial audio field which is exciting. My dream is to be able to suspend people in a 360-degree sphere of sound to truly envelop them.”
What album would you love to experience at Pitchblack Playback? Let us know at @nox.magazine