Join us for the co-release of our newest fragrance Mon 門 (gateway), made with Omani frankincense, and a companion tape by Joshua Limanjaya of TOKO TAPE, created to be experienced together as scent and sound. This event includes both a free release party (4-6p) and a ticketed listening session (6-7p). See below for details ~!
***
Frankincense was our gateway drug into making and learning about incense.
When our teacher first sent us a box of ingredients, we had never actually smelled frankincense. We knew it through religious and historical texts, but encountering the resin in person awakened something in us. We were especially taken with Omani frankincense ~ golden-green resin with bright citrus notes and an undercurrent of desert earth, cultivated from Boswellia sacra trees in the arid landscapes of southern Oman. There was something about encountering this ancient fragrance that made the past feel surprisingly close.
Fragrance has the ability to awaken long held memories and emotions. It made us wonder if scent can also connect us to something older and shared across time. The use of frankincense dates back to the earliest known traditions, appearing in religious ritual, burial practices, medicine, cosmetics, and daily life in ancient Egypt and beyond. Can the citrus plumes of this long revered resin be a gateway to our shared human histories?
We hope to encapsulate this inquiry in our newest fragrance, Mon 門 (gateway). Mon is in celebration of gateways ~ portals that encourage our curiosity, challenge our creativity, and introduce us to the white rabbits that expand our realities and remind us how little we know and how much there is still to learn.
For this release, we invited our dear friend Joshua Limanjaya of TOKO TAPE to create a companion tape inspired by his own sound gateways, designed to be experienced alongside Mon. Drawing from his Indonesian roots, Joshua brings together percussive grooves from traditional gamelan recordings across the Indonesian diaspora with ambient edits and mixes created specifically for this release.
Mon 門 Release Party
Friday, October 23 · 4–6p
Free and open to all
We'll be burning Mon, sharing a few treats, with sound by Limanjaya.
Later in the evening, Limanjaya will host a ticketed listening session of his mixed tape, where he will be sharing the stories and choices behind his music selection.
There is limited space for this portion of the evening. Click the link below to reserve your spot!