All about: Byredo Mumbai Noise Eau de Parfum

Described as a “woody sensory experience”, the latest release from much-loved olfactory powerhouse, Byredo just may be the scent of summer.
Called Mumbai Noise, it’s a creation with a very carefully considered background. Byredo founder, Ben Gorham calls the beautiful fragrance one of his most personal creations yet, and inspired childhood trips to visit his mother’s family in India. The creative director wanted to pay remembrance to the Mumbai suburb of Chembur in particular, and the fragrance serves to show the sensory diversity of his childhood and his nostalgia for that place.
"From a young age, almost as soon as I was born, I would often travel to India to spend time with my grandmother in Chembur, Mumbai,” he has said. “I have very vivid childhood memories of my experiences there – and, after she passed, it wasn’t until my 20s that I returned. When I did, it looked extremely different, but still felt extremely familiar. With Mumbai Noise, I wanted to express that idea: to present an exploration of the city today, anchored in my memories of its past.”

A tribute to the multifaceted modernity of the Indian city, it offers a complex contrast of aromas, of warm woods and amber, smooth leather, bitter coffee and sweet tonka beans, swirling together in a heady whirl that evokes images of Chembur's streets, the haze of burning incense and coffee carts parked down alleyways. The scent of the smoke of incense, burning wood, and the smell of coffee were chosen specifically to depict the energy of Mumbai, and when worn, Mumbai Noise transports you to somewhere warmer, infinitely more colourful and definitely thriving.

I also love the advertising campaign for the fragrance, which was done in collaboration with artist and photographer, Ashish Shah. "The western perspective of India is probably the same now as it was a century ago," notes Gorham. "But Mumbai is a melting pot of modernity. Through Mumbai Noise, and Ashish’s images, two perspectives meet."
Joyously crafted without parabens and sulphates and a riot for the senses, Byredo Mumbai Noise is available now from MECCA, and begs liberal application.