KAAZE x Fragrance Du Bois
From Scent to Pistache
written + interview MARK ASHKINS
For Swedish DJ and producer Mick Kastenholt, better known as KAAZE, scent had been part of making music for years before the idea of creating a fragrance came up. At sixteen, the small studio his father helped him set up was regularly scented with candles. He only noticed how closely smell had become tied to the state in which he worked when the candles ran out one day.
What started almost incidentally developed into a more deliberate habit of using fragrance to shift atmosphere and mood, and to bring himself into the music he was creating. As KAAZE’s musical identity has developed, fragrance has remained part of the way he works. His current Hot Teknō sound combines driving techno with melodic elements and remains rooted in European club culture. In 2026, KAAZE made his Tomorrowland debut with performances across both weekends. His collection has grown to more than 200 scents over the past two decades.
For many younger fragrance buyers, the idea of one permanent signature scent has loosened in favour of collections, layering and switching according to mood or occasion, while niche fragrance and gourmand compositions have become increasingly visible. Pistache, developed with Fragrance Du Bois, is unmistakably gourmand, and its notes also map Kastenholt’s own geography, with pistachio and caramel tied to Rome, hibiscus and jasmine to Tokyo, and vanilla and soft musk to Las Vegas.
Fragrance Du Bois had already been part of Kastenholt’s collection for years when the idea of Pistache emerged. Within the collaboration, Kastenholt worked with perfumer Dalia Izem, whose first sample was already close to the direction he had imagined. Yet Pistache still took more than two years to complete, with Kastenholt describing an unhurried blending process in which every note was considered in relation to the whole.
Kastenholt recalls Rome most vividly through the brief spaces between tour commitments, when an hour might mean an espresso and pistachio cornetto at a streetside café, taking in the ease of Italian style, the city’s architecture and the rhythm of everyday life around him. Pistache draws on those observations alongside places and sensations accumulated over years of travel, while Kastenholt’s relationship with scent reaches much further back, to when fragrance was already part of his creative life.
Mark Ashkins
You’ve described the small studio your father helped you set up at sixteen, and the scented candles you kept there. What do you remember about first noticing that scent was affecting the sounds you were making?
Mick Kastenholt
It started as a simple habit. I like to create a nice space and atmosphere. Then I remember being in the studio one day when the candles had run out, and my inspiration didn’t come to me as it normally did. It was like something was missing. To be honest, I was kind of shocked myself when I realised how addicted I was to finding inspiration through the smells and aromas around me when writing music.
How did your existing relationship with Fragrance Du Bois become the starting point for Pistache?
I’m going to say the first real step was the relationship I already had with Fragrance Du Bois. We were all aligned that we didn’t want to approach it purely from a business point of view; it came from a genuine love and passion for fragrance. I’d been buying from the house and trusting its curation for years, so working with their team felt like a natural progression.
Pistache took more than two years to develop. How did that pace compare with the way you work in music?
In all honesty, there are a lot of moments in making music, and in building a career in the industry, that take the same amount of time, if not more. Sometimes you can make a song and release it straight away, but there are also moments when it takes two years to release a song you made a long time ago. You revisit it, rework it and share it when the time is right. The music industry teaches you deep patience, so even though I was very eager to release the perfume, I also wanted everything to be perfect, from the scent itself to the visual branding, bottle design and launch promotions.
What part of your musical life did you want to bring into the fragrance?
The whole idea behind the scent was to capture my tour life and my favourite cities around the world. I wanted to bring my musical side into the fragrance, but at the same time focus on making a premium perfume based purely on my love for the fragrance world.
You developed Pistache together with Fragrance Du Bois, working closely with perfumer Dalia Izem. How quickly did you find a shared understanding of where the fragrance should go?
Dalia Izem is extremely talented, together with Fragrance Du Bois they understood my vision for the fragrance from the beginning. The very first sample I received was pretty much the exact direction I wanted to go in. I'm truly grateful to have worked alongside them on Pistache.
When you think of Pistache now, where does it take you?
A big part of Pistache is inspired by my love for Italy and Rome. Italian fashion and lifestyle are things I truly admire and appreciate. Pistache takes me back to quiet moments between hectic touring schedules, when I’d have an hour or so to myself to order an espresso and an Italian pistachio cornetto, sit at a streetside café and take in the atmosphere of daily Roman life. I’d observe the effortless style of the city’s men and women, the classic architecture and all those little details that make Rome so unique. Pistache brings together all the creative worlds I inhabit, from music and fashion to art and design.
When you wear the fragrance now, what are you most proud of?
I’d say, first of all, that the fragrance feels and smells very original. As a collector, I have many different types of gourmand fragrances at home, but nothing really smells like Pistache. That was a big goal of mine when working with Fragrance Du Bois on the composition. I didn’t want to rush the blending process. I wanted every note in the formula to be carefully considered and to complement the final scent. I always strive to create things that are different, that run in their own lane, and it’s the same approach I take when making music. That’s what I’m most proud of with Pistache.
You’ve described ‘Invincible’ as more Mick and your Hot Teknō sound as more KAAZE. Where does Pistache land?
I’d say that, in terms of the raw passion for perfumes, it lands on Mick as a person. But throughout the entire creation process of over two years, I approached Pistache with the same level of meticulous attention to detail and originality that I bring to my musical output as KAAZE.
Are there other directions in fragrance that interest you?
Definitely. I’d love to go in a woodier, darker direction. I love to wear heavy oud mixed with indulgent vanilla and light notes of rose. So a rich, sophisticated winter fragrance is definitely something I’d like to explore.
Images courtesy of KAAZE, provided by GENER8 Agency
DISCOVER PISTACHE: www.fragrancedubois.com
Created by KAAZE with Fragrance Du Bois, Pistache translates his long-standing relationship with scent into a gourmand composition shaped by Rome, Tokyo and Las Vegas.