Inside The Four Walls of Nick Ward's 'House With The Blue Door' Listening Party

Tucked away among car shops, independent art galleries, and late-night food joints, Marrickville’s Mothership Studios is engulfed in electric blue. Inside, it holds refuge to a select group of people who come from all walks of life. Tonight, we gather under the iridescence of deep sea shades to enter the auditory world of singer-songwriter Nick Ward, and his upcoming album House With The Blue Door.

Beer cans and vietnamese bao’s fill the hands of most guests, nourishing ourselves in preparation for the journey ahead. The journey we’ve been acquainted with so far is scattered throughout four singles Ward has released in the lead up to the album drop on October 4th. Shooting Star is a sweet, fuzzy, nostalgic pop song, Gimme sees Ward unveil some of his innermost thoughts surrounding identity, on Control he grapples with emotional independence through this frenzied, post-punk sound and All Your Life is riddled with a sense of anthemic sentimentality, acting as the sonic break that brings the listener back down to Earth.

Each single has tapped into the versatility Ward organically upholds as an artist and student of the artform. He reaches into every sound basket he can, all while sifting through formative moments in his upbringing, putting the pieces together to form a cohesive and extraordinary story. From influences as prominent as Brian Eno to Lou Reed and Australian pub-rock, it’s understood that House With The Blue Door is a time machine.

Before the album begins, Ward takes to the mic surrounded by fellow Full Circle members Breakfast Road, Dylan Atlantis, FRIDAY*, Zion Garcia and SOLLYY. Love and gratitude is felt as he shouts out those who have helped, inspired or influenced the project and the process behind it. He clicks the play button on the decks and for the next 40 or so minutes, we take off from Mothership and enter the House With The Blue Door.

The album’s bittersweet close is met with roaring applause, arms jolting upright and reaffirming cheers. As guests got their bearings and recluded to the corners of the room or to the dancefloor a final time, The Music asked patrons one simple question:

In one word, how would you describe that experience?

Manasvi:

“Electric”

Jem:

“Surreal”

Tuakore & Danny:

“Dreamy”

Sarah & Briant:

“Exhilarating”

And from the visionary himself:

“It’s not one word, but I’m gonna put a hyphen between everything: I’m-glad-I-was-with-my-friends.”

House With The Blue Door releases on October 4th.