STACK Magazine November Issue 121

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FEATURE... MUSIC visit
Whether via CD, vinyl or streaming, the way we enjoy music is constantly evolving.
But bigger is still better: music booming through a room takes some beating. STACK drops
in on Bertie Blackman to find different sounds in every room of the house. By Jonathan Alley.
and John Castle, to create an unashamedly joyous
pop record. “I went away from ’creating worlds’ to
find the thing you’re supposed to do, where you’re
not self-consciously listening to all the voices around
you.There was a great immediacy: I gave myself
the challenge to write in two-day stints, with
different writers. It really stirred up the energy.”
08
The Dash by Bertie Blackman is available
now via Warner Music.
Fancy being able to stream from a selection
of over 20 million tracks for multi-room audio
playback? With this amazing prize from
Sonos and JB Hi-Fi NOW, you can! We’ve got
a SONOS PLAY:1 (valued at $299.00) and a
JB Hi-Fi NOW subscription (valued at $99.00)
to give away. The SONOS PLAY:1 is mini but
mighty. It fits anywhere and rocks any world
with symphony sound – no other wireless
speaker packs so much grunt into such a
compact design. Streaming from JB HiFi NOW
to any room in your house, you’ll get crystal
clear highs and thundering lows at any volume.
Enter at stack.net.au!
Photo credit
:
Rebecca Rowlands for www.theurbansparrow.com
opposite ends of a small house – I had my door
open – and it didn’t bleed out at all.”
While Blackman takes both making music
and listening to music seriously, she knows how
to have fun with it. So she used the combination
of Sonos and JB Hi-Fi Now to amusing effect when
entertaining friends recently. “We played a ‘music
association’ game on Sonos going through JB Hi-Fi
Now.You put on a song and then the next person
has to play something connected.We did ’90s
Offspring, Alanis Morissette.
I put M.C Hammer on at one point! I wouldn’t
have done it without a wireless connection.”
As forThe Dash, Blackman has put the emotional
turmoil that shaped 2012’s Pope Innocent X behind
her, working with a variety of producers and
co-writers includingThe Presets’ Julian Hamilton,
ith audio systems now capable of directing
specific music content all around our houses,
we thought we’d drop in on a noted musician,
sign them up with a JB Hi-Fi NOWmusic streaming
subscription, hook up a Sonos multi -room hifi
system, and see how they liked it.
As STACK arrived at Bertie Blackman’s light, airy,
well-ordered, inner-Melbourne abode, the newAlt-J
album This Is AllYours is floating though the house.
Her cat is sitting comfortably among various
delectable cookbooks, a Korg synthesiser and a
FenderTelecaster copy sit quietly in the corner.
Vinyl is stacked up near her turntable (Bowie’s
Changes One taking pride of place).
After a solid week of press promoting new
album The Dash, Blackman is happy kicking
back to talk music; not just what she’s
listening to, but how she’s listening to it.
“I’ve been enjoying the multi-room play –
my studio is in my bedroom,“ she says. “I was in
there, building a desk. I had music on, and Felix
(Blackman’s brother, who makes his living as an
architect) had music on in his room. I was listening
to Nils Frahm, a pianist I’ve discovered; he’s really
beautiful. And Felix was listening to Jill Scott.
I didn’t know if it would be distracting having
two different kinds of music playing at
I’ve been enjoying the
multi-room play… I was
listening to Nils Frahm,
a pianist I’ve discovered.
And (my brother) Felix was
listening to Jill Scott.