Ben Gomori on Creating Pitchblack – The World’s Biggest Listening Session

Photo by Taro Zaine

In an era defined by constant notifications, algorithmic playlists, and music consumed in fragments, Pitchblack Playback offers something radically simple: sit down, switch off, and listen. No phones. No talking. No distractions. Just an album played loud, in full, in the dark.

Founded in 2016 by London-based DJ and producer Ben Gomori, the project has grown into a global phenomenon, hosting events across the UK, Europe, North America and beyond. Whether in cinemas, planetariums, or carefully assembled hi-fi environments, each session is designed to strip away everything but the music itself. The concept has drawn praise from the likes of The Guardian, GQ, and BBC 6 Music, while composer Max Richter has described it as 'the optimal way to listen to an album.'

But Pitchblack isn’t about technical perfection or audiophile culture. Instead, it centres on attention – on creating a space where listeners can fully immerse themselves in sound, whether that’s a classic record, a pre-release premiere, or one of Gomori’s live, in-the-moment DJ sets. That ethos has since expanded into Pitchblack Pictures, a series of music-focused film screenings, and Pitchblack Mixtapes, where DJs build and mix selections live in darkness.

At its core, the idea is deceptively straightforward: in a world that rarely slows down, what happens when you give music your full attention?

We spoke to Gomori about the origins of Pitchblack Playback, the art of deep listening, and why silence and darkness still matter.

How did the idea for Pitchblack Playback first come about, and what made you want to create a space dedicated purely to listening?

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 sound system 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 ‘Not I’, 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!

Pitchblack Playback isn’t aimed at audiophiles – how do you strike a balance between high-quality sound and keeping the experience accessible?

We just look for the best sound and venue we can get our hands on in each city. It's less about brand names or obsessing over small details and just giving a subjective assessment of what's on offer.

We don't want to put people off with overly-technical terminology and stats. There's a thing they talk about in screenwriting: 'don't tell me; show me'. It's kind of like that. 

You’ve hosted sessions in cinemas, planetariums, and other unique spaces. How do you think the setting shapes the way people hear the music?

In terms of the variety of sound in these differing sorts of spaces, I'd say we are essentially sound 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 setups which offer a very warm, vibrant and detailed sound. 

There's also the size and shape of the room to take into consideration, the acoustics therein, and the general atmosphere. Setting the intention is very important for our events, and cinemas, planetariums and listening rooms all have the element of focus and lack of distraction baked into their environment. 

Photo by James Blake

How do you decide which albums or artists to feature, especially when it comes to premieres or classic records?

First of all, it has to be a record that is acclaimed within its own genre – and ideally has ascended out of its genre/scene due to its wider influence. It has to be something that is going to reveal more of itself in this environment – be that through layered production, nuanced life performance or a narrative structure, or something that has a very specific mood, atmosphere or timbre. 

Our programming is largely based around celebrating anniversaries for classic albums, with a smattering of pre-release premieres and recent big releases worked into the mix too. 

Pitchblack has expanded into things like Pitchblack Pictures and Pitchblack mixtapes. What inspired those offshoots, and how do they differ from the original concept?

Pitchblack Pictures is our sporadic music x film series, where we've played films like Talking Heads' 'Stop Making Sense', Prince's 'Purple Rain', Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' and Jeff Buckley 'Live In Chicago'. 

Pitchblack Mixtapes is just like our album listening sessions in the dark, but you'll hear either a pre-recorded or live DJ mix based on a different theme. We've done everything from Hip Hop Loves Jazz to Bass Meditation to Psychedelic Trip, and our next one is called Mid-'90s Melancholy. I guess they were inspired my other career as a DJ, but the root also probably stretches back to my love of making mixtapes for myself and friends when I was young. I love Mixtapes because it gives us an avenue to take people on a journey where they don't know what's coming next, and allows us to tell stories through music. I think it can at times be even more powerful than an album session because of the element of surprise and the mixture of sounds and artists.

After taking these events around the world, what have you learned about how different audiences connect with music in this kind of environment?

There are of course differences regionally in what albums are more popular or how far our concept spreads, but I think more than anything you really just see that we're all the same, ultimately, regardless of where we come from. We share the same emotions and concerns and we're all touched by music on a psychological level in the same ways, even if we don't know the language the lyrics are spoken in (I mean, sometimes we don't understand them even if they're in our native language). It's really heartening to me to see how our concept is embraced across different cultures and that it's something that can be helpful to human wellbeing, wherever that person is from.

What’s your favourite album or artist that you think works especially well in the Pitchblack Playback setting?

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’...

Looking ahead, where do you see Pitchblack Playback and its offshoots evolving in the next few years? 

More great venues around the world, in Amsterdam this summer and hopefully soon in Glasgow. More premieres, more Q&As with artists, more of our Mixtapes events, more collaborations…

Check out Pitchblack’s website, and Instagram.