Dance music smells like spring rain

If music had a smell, what would it be?

Scent expert and business-development director of scent provider AllSense, Mr Terry Jacobson, was tasked to design scents to accompany music for The Scenthesizer, a Heineken Green Room party held at Gillman Barracks on Friday.

My Paper spoke to the 37-year-old about how scent and music can work together to create a multi-sensory party experience.

Was this the first music and scent-related event you've worked on?

This was a first. I am thrilled to be part of this ground-breaking marriage between music and scent. It really says a lot about how innovative Heineken is, as it's never been done before. The name "The Scenthesizer" really says it all.

Ambient scent in a mall may cause shoppers to buy more, but how does scent and music work together?

Both scent and music are processed by the right side of the brain, our emotive and creative centre.

By combining music with scent, we are able to create an exponentially emotive sensory experience and this is exactly what we were trying to achieve in the Heineken Green Room.

How many scents did you create for this event and how long did it take?

We created seven scents specifically for the Heineken Green Room in approximately two months.

The different scents are attuned to the highs, mids and lows of the music, as the DJs have to work the decks and the Scenthesizer simultaneously. What kind of scent would suit hip-hop music?

(A scent called) Black Mink, a sultry, creamy floral accented with vanilla, cedar wood, jasmine and musk.

What about trance or dance music and pop?

Trance or dance music will be Spring Rain, in which aromatic citrus and green notes create a clean, refreshing expression as if after a spring rain.

Pop will be Sour Apple: Sweet, juicy and fruity apple with a hint of tartness.

What are some places you've designed scents for?

We have worked with the military on training simulations that involve some pretty nasty scents like rotting flesh and sewage.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis once held a dinosaur exhibition and got us to design the smell of dinosaur poo.

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