Interviews
SCENT COLLABORATION WITH SAMPHA
When Scent Meets Sound: In Conversation with Sampha
Created in collaboration with Earl of East, the Sensory Nectar candle was developed through shared time in the studio, exploring how scent can shape focus, atmosphere and creative ritual. Inspired by the album Lahai, the scent translates themes of belonging, grounding and reflection into a physical experience designed for everyday moments. We asked Sampha how scent plays a role in his creative process and the thinking behind the collaboration.
You developed the candle through time spent together in the studio. How did that shared space shape the direction of the scent?
For a while I’ve been using scent as a bit of an enzyme emotionally to begin my sonic explorations. It’s become a bit of a ritual to either burn some palo santo or a candle to help me get in the zone. I think also being indoors, it helps me to get a sense of nature and earthliness that i feel i need in the dungeon sometimes.
How do you personally think about the connection between scent and sound when creating atmosphere?
Scent, just like music, for me, is deeply transportive in its ability to evoke memories or a sense of time or a person. During the recording of Lahai, I was really fascinated with these ideas of temporality and belonging. So just like music can help to imbue a motion picture with accented or magnified spirit, scent sometimes really helped to create a part of the world I was looking to explore in the record
Cedarwood, cade, cypress and juniper create a grounded, smoky profile, lifted with orange - how did those notes come together to express the feeling behind Lahai?
I think on Lahai I was exploring my family lineage and these ideas of identity and belonging and loss. I think these woody, earthy smells quite strongly evoke a sense of warmth and belonging on a personal level but also when I zoom out on a cosmic level because of the rarity of both fire and wood in the universe, as far as we know. The smell feels like the sound of earth but almost from a birds eye view.
Why more than ever, do you think musicians are using scent to extend their creative universe beyond sound into physical space and everyday rituals?
I guess for a lot of musicians, it’s not the convention to think about scent in a performative, live music space and as one of the oldest senses, preceding sight and hearing, it can feel like new territory and an exciting place to explore what smell means to us and how we can use it as a vehicle to connect personally and communally.
When someone lights Sensory Nectar in their own home, what atmosphere or moment do you hope it creates for them?
I hope it will create some sort of grounding and earthly connection which I feel at times emotionally severed from. I hope it can bring some relaxation and a sense of warmth.
LISTEN TO THE ALBUM THAT INSPIRED THE SCENT
LISTEN HERE
Shop the Collaboration
Visit our any of our four retail locations to shop the collaboration in person or shop online. Available exclusively in-store and online.