Music Room Is the Dedicated 'Listening Bar' Located Within the Arbory Team's New HER Building

If you've been living under a rock for the last few years, you might have missed the news about HER, a four-storey mega-venue in Melbourne's CBD from the guys behind Arbory and Arbory Afloat. It (finally) opened for business this week.

One of those four storeys 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. That's the best we can do.

Parker Blain

HER's Music Director, celebrated local DJ Jnett, puts it this way: "Music Room will present an array of selectors every evening of the week. From legends and collectors to fresh, young newcomers. DJs from near and far, old and new, some famous and some unfamiliar. It's the first room of its kind in Melbourne, and there's no doubt your first experience here won't be your last."

The idea of Music Room is that you end up here after dinner at BKK (a sizzling Thai barbecue joint upstairs) or HER Bar, the all-day French bistro on the ground floor. You order a blood-orange Cosmopolitan or whisky neat and kick back listening to exclusive DJ residencies and HER's 3000-strong collection of hard-to-find vinyl. It's an acoustic music bar, specifically designed for your ears and your mouth.

Speaking of design, Music Room is lined with American walnut panels, dotted with small holes like you're inside a giant speaker box. You have to enter through a sound-locked room just to get into the venue; these guys take acoustic fidelity very seriously. The DJs will be operating a bespoke KV2 sound system, showcasing three SL1200 Technics Turntables and a custom-built Condesa Allegra XL Rotary Mixer. You don't need to understand this stuff, we're just trying to dazzle you with tech specs. The short version: the vinyl in here should sound really, really good.

The HER guys have even teamed up with local whisky distillery Starward to launch their own dram: HER Starward Honeycomb. You can only get this whisky at Music Room. It matches Starward's Two-Fold double grain whisky with the finest Pure Peninsula Honey Local Floral Blend. Something sweet, sultry and classic, just like this venue.

Drink up, chill out and enjoy.

HER is now open at 270 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne CBD. You'll find Music Room on Level 1, up the bluestone 'vertical walkway'.

Images: Parker Blain