Music Room

For lovers of sound, the most exciting offering of four-storey mega-venue HER (from the guys behind Arbory and Arbory Afloat) is Music Room; Melbourne's first official 'listening bar'.

What's a listening bar? Well, it's like a regular cocktail bar, mixed with a speakeasy, mixed with a recording studio and a vinyl record store, mixed with the cool kids' table from high school. With celebrated local DJ Jnett as Music Director, it's serving tunes from a broad array of selectors every night of the week.

Parker Blain

Up here, you'll find yourself sipping mandarin Cosmopolitans, Golden Gay Times milk punches or perhaps something from the bumper lineup of champagne, as you kick back listening to exclusive DJ residencies and HER's 3000-strong collection of hard-to-find vinyl.

The space itself is lined with American walnut panels, dotted with small holes to give the feel that you're inside a giant speaker box. You even enter the venue through a sound-locked room that's pretty easy to miss; these guys take acoustic fidelity very seriously. DJs will be operating a bespoke KV2 sound system, showcasing three SL1200 Technics Turntables and a custom-built Condesa Allegra XL Rotary Mixer. The short version: the vinyl in here sounds really, really good.

Drink up, chill out and enjoy.

Griffin Simm

Top Images: Parker Blain