The Sound of Scent
Sound & scent have always been closely intertwined. From the shared language of notes & chords to the effects of their vibrations on our mood. In Japan ‘Kodo’ (the way of scent) is the practice of listening to scent, a meditative transformative act that’s one of the three classical arts, along with Sado (the way of tea) and Kado (the way of flowers).
One of my favorite pieces of music for formulating is Brian Eno’s Neroli from Thinking Music Part IV. Similar to the therapeutic effects of neroli oil (the blossoms of the bitter orange tree), the track Neroli creates a soothing organic atmosphere of long reverberations that’s been used in maternity wards for a sense of calm. Eno is so obsessed with scent he’s collected over a thousand scent materials and even worked with legendary nose Maurice Roucel to create a perfume (never released) to accompany his Neroli track. Eno sees the benefits of ‘embracing the pleasures of our most primitive and unlanguaged sense’ as a way to deepen our enjoyment of every aspect of life.
“Perfumery has a lot to do with evoking sensations that don’t have names.”
