Silverchair’s Ben Gillies has released his first solo single of 2022. ‘On the Stereo’ follows Gillies 2021 EP, The Relative Relatives. Konstantin Kersting (Tones And I, Eliza & the Delusionals) produced ‘On the Stereo,’ which is out via Sony Music Entertainment Australia.
Gillies shared a statement detailing the song’s genesis. “We all have experiences that we only need to think about to feel joy or a spark of excitement that can make us smile. For me, it’s listening to music on the stereo,” he said. “As a child I’d sit in front of the stereo, taking in whatever song was playing, and I kept doing it throughout my teens and into adulthood.”
Gillies co-founded Silverchair with his childhood friends, Daniel Johns and Chris Joannou, when they were 15 years old. He appeared on each of the band’s five albums, from their 1995 debut, Frogstomp, up to their most recent (and possibly final) album, 2007’s Young Modern.
Gillies received a co-writing credit on the majority of Frogstomp tracks. He also co-wrote a handful of tracks on Silverchair’s second album, Freak Show, including ‘Slave,’ ‘No Association,’ ‘Learn to Hate,’ and ‘The Closing.’
Gillies further explained the thematic focus of ‘On the Stereo‘: “‘On the Stereo’ is a song about listening to music that also, I hope, captures what a magical experience it is.”
Gillies said the song appeared with minimal effort. “During a writing session in Newcastle, I quietened my mind then recorded for 10 or 15 minutes while I messed around with some chord progressions and melodies.” Co-writer Scott Aplin helped with the instrumentation before Konstantin Kersting brought the production to life.
“It was such a fun process making this song and I think we captured just how much fun it is to listen to music … on the stereo!” Gillies said. Listen to ‘On the Stereo’ below.
