While refurbishing renowned Dublin restaurant One Pico, we were commissioned by Client Eamon O’Reilly to design a playlist that would complement the new décor. Our Client and his customers had tired of music selections which had been on repeat for years and had grown frustrated with staff-picks which jarred with the desired ambience. He felt that the music-rental systems offered by audio companies were too generic and sought a more bespoke solution.

The interior design of the restaurant, while contemporary, has definite influences of the Art Deco period. The décor combines the glamour of this original movie star era of the 1920s and 1930s with modern luxurious touches. The restaurant is reminiscent of New York and Parisian elegance, yet maintains a relaxed atmosphere.

Analysing this with our music consultant, together we pulled together a playlist of 20 tracks from 1920s – 1950s that we chose to match the desired ambience. This was then approved by the Client. We expanded this to a playlist of 3500 tracks and each track was singly judged on whether it was in keeping with the feel or not. We settled on a playlist of 2000 tracks of which 25% would be updated every 3 months. The final list consisted of American and French jazz, gypsy jazz and swing. It featured background rather than foreground music, a mix of vocals and instrumental tracks and a combination of low and up-tempo which flow seamlessly between each other. Key to the compilation was featuring artists or tracks that were not easily recognisable. The result is a harmonious combination of music and décor.

Through vision boards and playlists, we illustrate these moods to our Scent Marketeers who then design fragrances bespoke to the interior. These scents conjure emotion and suggest atmosphere conducive to the purpose of the space, respecting the ambience it endeavours to create.