KAAZE BOTTLES A LIFE OF TRAVEL AND MUSIC INTO PISTACHE

Words by Samo Šajn

For KAAZE, music has never been created with the ears alone. Long before stepping into the studio, the Swedish DJ and producer follows a ritual built around fragrance. A single spray can set the atmosphere, trigger a memory or shape the direction of a track. After twenty years of collecting perfumes and nearly two years of development, that fascination has become his first fragrance: Pistache, created with luxury house Fragrance Du Bois.

Pistache, now available exclusively through Fragrance Du Bois, is a genderless scent shaped by KAAZE’s life on the road. He has collected more than 200 perfumes over two decades and was already a Fragrance Du Bois customer before the idea of creating his own scent emerged.

“I’ve been working on this perfume with Fragrance Du Bois for almost two years,” KAAZE says. “I knew what direction I wanted to take this perfume. I had references, but most importantly it was the story I wanted to tell and how the scent would make people feel once it absorbed into the skin.”

Touring has taken him from Ibiza to Rome, Tokyo and Las Vegas, and each destination finds its way into Pistache. Pistachio and caramel evoke Rome. Hibiscus and jasmine introduce the floral character of Tokyo. Vanilla and soft musk bring the heat of Las Vegas. Coconut and Brazilian coffee run through the composition as a constant thread.

“For me the best thing about perfume is that it can take you to different places in your life,” he explains. “Pistache takes me mainly to Rome with the indulgent creamy, nutty notes. I envision sitting in a street-side café in the heart of Rome with a pistachio cornetto and an espresso, watching the world go by.”

Scent also shapes the way KAAZE makes music. He selects different fragrances depending on the sound he wants to create. A fresh citrus scent might take him to an Ibiza summer, influencing tempo, key and mood.

“I follow a ritual where I spray a perfume on me before I go to the studio,” he says. “I pick the scent based on what direction I want to take sonically.”

KAAZE worked closely with Fragrance Du Bois and perfumer Dalia Izem at Givaudan to translate his references into a finished composition. “As someone who has collected gourmand perfumes for decades, I can honestly say I’ve not yet found a scent I can directly compare Pistache to.”

Authenticity was essential. With a career spanning music, touring, business and fatherhood, he focuses on working precisely rather than simply working more. “I work sharper now, not more,” he says. “Compress everything, protect the rest, spend it on my daughter.”

Rather than creating a fragrance to capitalize on his name, KAAZE wanted something rooted in genuine obsession. “The most important for me is that this is not ‘celebrity perfume,’” he says. “Pistache was not made based on business motives, it was all about passion and love for fragrances.”

For an artist who has spent years turning sounds, places and experiences into music, Pistache offers another way of preserving a moment. A life spent moving between cities becomes a composition of pistachio, caramel, jasmine, vanilla, coconut and coffee.

“Inspiration is everywhere if you’re willing to notice it,” KAAZE says. “Pistache is twenty years of noticing, poured into a bottle.”

Pistache by KAAZE, created with Fragrance Du Bois, is available now exclusively at Fragrance Du Bois.