We sit down with the Professor of Music at the University of Roehampton, London, Adam Ockelford, who paired up with drinks brand Cointreau at this year’s All Points East music festival to explore the unique concept of sonic seasoning and how music can influence our perception of flavour.
SONIC SEASONING
Drawing on the perceptual phenomenon of synaesthesia – where stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to the automatic, involuntary activation of a second – the concept of sonic seasoning examines how sound can enhance or alter taste and flavour.
Countless scientific and theoretical studies have been conducted which all point to the profound, if often unacknowledged, role our environment can play on flavour perception.
Adam Ockelford, Professor of Music at the University of Roehampton, London, is a leading international figure in music psychology who is actively researching how the mind makes sense of music and the emotional impact that different types can have on us.
“Sonic seasoning describes how sound can modulate our understanding of flavour through cross-modal correspondences, altering how we experience sweetness, bitterness, and texture,” introduces Okelford.
In a 2019 study conducted at the University of Oxford, for example, researchers sought to measure taste perceptions of the same beer when listening to music associated with both positive and negative emotions.
It found participants preferred the beverage and rated it as tasting sweeter when listening to ostensibly positive music, whilst the same beer was rated as more bitter when paired with music associated with negative emotions.
“High pitches enhance sweetness, low pitches amplify bitterness or saltiness, and rhythmic qualities affect texture; music-induced emotions also shift flavour experience,” Okleford observes.
Moreover, participants were willing to pay seven to eight percent more for the beer they tasted whilst listening to positively associated music.
As such, for Ockelford, the way in which music can add significant value to how a consumer responds to a drink, brand, or flavour experience is notable.
AN IDEAL SETTING
Multisensory environments such as music festivals are considered great opportunities to further investigate the phenomenon of sonic seasoning.
The sensory stimulation often experienced at festivals, with various tempos, pitches, and music genres perhaps enhancing the perception of sweetness or sourness in foods and beverages, is precisely what Ockelford is interested in.
“The immersive, high-arousal social environment of music festivals intensifies multisensory interactions, making the effects of sonic seasoning even more powerful,” he assesses.
As such, Ockelford partnered with Cointreau at All Points East in London this summer, where he explored the link between music and taste and how shared soundscapes at festivals can heighten emotion and social connection, making drinks feel more immersive.
“I enjoyed advising Cointreau at All Points East this summer. It was an ideal setting to explore the connection between sound and flavour,” he confirms.
With a complex flavour palette comprising more than 40 aromatic notes, Cointreau orange liqueur is uniquely positioned to explore the phenomenon of sonic seasoning.
Like music, which layers mood and emotion, the beverage’s depth means every sip reveals something different within the ever-changing atmosphere of a festival setting.
At All Points East, the drinks brand was on hand to offer its signature Margaritas at a Cointreau pop-up bar, presenting the ideal cocktail for this sensory experiment.
“Complex drinks with many aromatic notes are well-suited for sonic seasoning since their multiple flavour facets can be highlighted with sound.”
Cointreau gave away 50 complimentary Margaritas across the 10-day event, available on a first-come, first-served basis.
On the menu were festival favourites including original, spicy, and frozen passion fruit Margaritas, alongside ready-to-drink serves like the Lime Daiquiri and Berry Cosmo – each offering an opportunity to discover how flavours shift with the music around them.
“For a liqueur like Cointreau, with a wide aroma palette, pairing different music genres or moods could map onto the various flavour notes, creating a richer, layered drinking experience,” Ockelford summarises.
AMPLIFYING THE TASTE EXPERIENCE
With music acting as a social glue – synchronising movement, emotion, and even heart rates – Ockelford assesses that it’s able to make us feel more connected.
“It is thought that music fosters emotional synchrony and bonding; this collective mood amplifies taste experiences, making them more pleasurable,” he tells us.
As sipping on a drink associated with a musical memory could have the ability to take you back in time, it is hoped festivalgoers can be transported back to All Points East when next sipping on a Cointreau Margarita.
“Flavour and music also act as strong triggers of autobiographical memory, transporting people back to experiences like a festival when re-encountered later on,” Ockelford adds.
Indeed, serving as a natural bridge to language – which has undoubtedly become a mechanism for group cohesion – music’s role in social bonding is significant.
Cointreau is also keen to emphasise how the link between music and taste can be explored just as easily in a home setting.
For those interested in exploring the concept of sonic seasoning without attending a festival, the drinks brand invites consumers to pair its classic Margarita cocktail with different music playlists at home to highlight contrasting elements of its flavour.
“For example, high-pitched legato music can be paired with drinks for sweetness or creaminess, and low-pitched or staccato for bitterness or crunchiness,” Ockelford advises.
Depending on individual music tastes, upbeat disco or melodic pop may lift the cocktail’s citrus brightness, whilst bass-heavy hip hop or reggae could add warmth and depth.
Alternatively, smooth jazz or acoustic ballads might evoke a subtle sweetness from the orange liqueur.
Pairing drinks with your favourite playlists is therefore a simple way to explore the sonic seasoning theory from the comfort of your own home.
