Jorum Studio Part 2

eight fragrances

ideogram.ai

I speak as someone who has never owned a perfumery firm or shop, so please excuse my naivety. But I do wish niche firms would stop producing such large ranges. There may be a strong commercial imperative, because customers waltz in with a standard-issue idea of what a perfume should smell like and are delighted to find the same, only different. The effect is to hide the truly great stuff in a crowd of also-rans. I hate it when composers do that. See Bohuslav Martinů, who produced over 400 opus numbers, only ≈20 or so of which are really good. I know he had to pay the bills, but the probability of picking a Martinů recording at random and hitting a dud is high, and his reputation suffers. By contrast, consider Jean Kerléo, who signed only 19 perfumes in a lifetime, among which are 1000, Patou Pour Homme and Sublime.

For paid subscribers: reviews of Askr, Pentimento, Monolith, Elegy, Zhaar, Opaline, Rose Highland and Athenaeum.