Scents in a Symphony: Crafting Scents with a Musician’s Touch

What happens when the symphony of scents meets the rhythm of a musician’s soul? Can a melody be captured in a bottle? Is it possible that the same hands that strum chords and compose songs can also craft fragrances that resonate with our most cherished memories? In the heart of Brooklyn, there’s a place where such questions find their answers. Here lies the essence of D.S. & Durga, where a musician’s passion for harmony and an architect’s vision for form converge into a unique craft of perfumery. Find out more at Scents in a Symphony: Crafting Scents with a Musician’s Touch.

Imagine a musician, not with a guitar or piano, but with bottles, beakers, and a kaleidoscope of scents. This is the world of David Seth Moltz, the maestro of D.S. & Durga, where the crafting of perfume is as personal and poignant as writing a song. His muse? Kavi Ahuja is an architect with a knack for shaping visions into reality. Together, they didn’t just fall in love; they fell into a shared dream of creating perfumes that narrate stories, building a brand that is a fusion of their names and spirits.

Their Brooklyn-based brand, launched in 2007, is not the typical fragrance house. It is a place where the perfume is composed like music, each note is carefully chosen, and each blend tells a tale. David, with his self-taught wisdom, believes that scents can sing, and he’s turning this belief into bottles that hold liquid ballads.

While David is the nose, blending scents with an artist’s touch, Kavi is the eyes, ensuring their creations look as good as they smell. Their journey hasn’t been only about creating a fragrance but also about telling stories that people can wear. They pour everything into their perfumes, the late nights, the trials, the moments of eureka, and while some may simply enjoy the scent, others will feel the story behind each drop.

D.S. & Durga is more than just a brand. It’s David and Kavi, a musician and an architect, bringing their worlds together in a harmony of fragrances. From their little corner in Brooklyn, their fragrances have travelled the world, finding homes across North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond.

For their latest olfactory creations, D.S. & Durga present two perfumes that encapsulate their vision of telling stories through scents.

Black Magenta is a journey through New York at night, distilled into an eau de parfum. With top notes of pink pineapple, galbanum, and black pepper, it captures the city’s electric glow. The heart notes: orris concrete, magenta dianthus, and orange flower, evoke the artistic streak of twilight’s purple tones and magenta makeup, while the base of black amber, Balkan tobacco, and sandalwood symbolize the city’s enveloping darkness.

It’s a fragrance that’s loud, brash, but, of course, holds an air of sophistication, inviting you to pair it with loud music and embrace its vibrant energy. It was launched on March 1st, 2024.

Continuing with our exploration of D.S. & Durga’s newest fragrances, we turn to a limited edition perfume that’s as audacious as it is sonically inspired: Wear at Maximum Volume. This scent is a rebellious ode to a moonlit fest in London Town, where cosmic rock gods like David Bowie in the 1970s draped in Liberty print silks amidst the heady fumes of innovation and tradition.

The top notes of mandarin, maroon pepper, and liberty silk set a vibrant, almost palpable scene. The heart notes of Egyptian jasmine, saffron rose, and violet bring a complex, richly woven bouquet to the mix, reminiscent of England’s storied floral heritage. The base notes: birch tar, ombre moss, and moonlit patchouli, offer a grounding finish, a nod to the timeless depth and mystery of the city.

D.S. & Durga’s perfumer draws inspiration from an iconic image: David Bowie on the cover of “Ziggy Stardust,” donning a Liberty print shirt, encapsulating the blend of music and fashion. This perfume is imagined as what Bowie and his entourage might have scented while roaming the streets of London late at night, grounded in rock legend and infused with a sense of place and history.

“Wear at Maximum Volume” is a tribute to English culture, Liberty’s neo-Tudor architecture, and the indomitable spirit of London itself. Described as a “brilliant” wash-up, an endlessly outre montage of favourites, the fragrance aims to embody the “wild, full, fancy, and English” essence.

Launched in March 2024 and exclusively available at Liberty London this perfume invites wearers to amplify their presence, to wear it not just as a scent but as a proclamation of individuality and heritage.

Together with ‘Black Magenta’, ‘Wear at Maximum Volume’ exemplifies D.S. & Durga’s commitment to crafting perfumes that are more than just fragrances, they’re stories to be worn, conversations started, and memories made manifest.

At the heart of D.S. & Durga, music and fragrance blend into a unique kind of magic, turning each bottle into a story rich with notes and memories. Here, perfume is more than just a scent, each fragrance invites us to listen a little closer, to find the echoes of stories waiting to be discovered on our own skin.

To read more and explore D.S. & Durga’s perfumes, visit dsanddurga.com

If you enjoyed reading Scents in a Symphony: Crafting Scents with a Musician’s Touch. Why not try Bridal: A Celebrated Perfume of Love

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