Blackchords formed in Melbourne 2005 soon after a chance meeting between Nick Milwright (vocals/guitar) and Damian Cazaly (guitar). The two met at the house of a mutual friend and fellow Melbourne musician and over a few drinks, enthusiastic rambling and the odd chord strummed the two decided that they should probably continue playing music in the light of day. Milwright & Cazaly began writing and playing acoustic gigs around town within a few weeks of their meeting and not long after they invited new members to boost their ranks and thus Blackchords was born.
The band quickly made a name for themselves after their chilling but beautiful video for their 1st single ‘Broken Bones’ won ‘Best Music Video’ in the prestigious St Kilda Film Festival. ‘Broken Bones’ also became a dual finalist in the International Songwriting Competition for Best Rock Song & Best Film Clip. The line up of Blackchords ebbed and flowed with new members in their first 4 years, and only solidified when they met Nick Cheek (drums) and Tristan Courtney (bass) and embarked on their Australian and European tour for the debut self-titled Album. The debut album was released in 2009, to widespread critical acclaim and rave reviews, “Melbourne quartet shoots for the stars on widescreen debut” – Rolling Stone, and was shortlisted for the 2010 AMP award.
With numerous national tours around Australia under their belt the band toured twice to the UK and France, with highlight showcase performances at The Great Escape and Liverpool Sound City in 2010, including shows at the famous Aussie BBQ. CMU’s Guide to The Great Escape reviewed the band as, “innovative, fresh, young and vibrant, you must catch them!”
Due to the successful appearances over the UK summer the band enjoyed radio play, along with the music video for their 2nd single ‘At World End’ receiving airtime on MTV and NME TV in the UK. As the European summer drew to a close, Blackchords returned to Australia, and accepted an invitation to open for Powderfinger and Jet at Melbourne’s iconic Sidney Myer Music Bowl for Powderfinger’s last Melbourne show.
Still on high from the show the band commenced writing again and recorded the dark and majestic ‘As Night Falls’ for Australian indie film ‘Blame’, which was later released as a single to coincide with the release of the film. Since the release of the debut album, their songs have been on Australian television shows including ‘Underbelly: Razor’, ‘Rescue Special Ops’, and ‘Cops L.A.C.’ in the US, Blackchords music appeared on ‘Teen Mom’ (MTV) and ‘Being Human’ (NBC).
Early in 2012 the band embarked on the recording of their second album in the picturesque surrounds of Victoria’s Yarra Valley, in an old barn that they converted into a temporary recording studio. With international producing maestro David Odlum at the helm (former guitarist with The Frames, producer- The Frames, Gemma Hayes, Luka Bloom, Josh Ritter, Tinariwen), Blackchords bunkered down with a more ambitious, diverse and energetic approach to the new songs. With the recording process Blackchords sound has evolved far beyond the their own expectations.
Dance Dance Dance is the first taste of the new album, showcasing a more upbeat and lighter side to the Blackchords sound. Dance is one of those songs that seemed to come out of nowhere. “We were so preoccupied in writing songs specific for the next Blackchords album and forgetting the reasoning for writing and playing music in the first place” recounts Nick Milwright. “I sat down one day with my guitar and decided that I would write a song purely for the enjoyment of playing music. To shut out all preconceptions of what should come out of it.... And somehow out of all our songs this was the one that has become the first release from the album”
In many respects the sophomore album will be a new direction for Blackchords. The writing and recording of it has been a very band orientated process and a very conscious decision to experiment with new sounds and new instruments. The recording process used a variety of vintage pedals, synths and also programing and electronic drums.
Despite the new sounds and ideas that have been brought forward in the making of this record the band has kept the dark, reflective and layered soul of their debut. The yet to titled second album is due out in August 2012.
