Share this music playlist with your friends after you've hosted a lunch or dinner

Photographer: Liza van Deventer

Have you ever slipped in a Hotel Costes or Café Del Mar cd and thought it might be enough to keep your guests relaxed as their digested whatever delights you’d laid out for them?

Or been annoyed when thoughtless playlists made you want to ask for the bill even before your mains arrived at your table?

The music you play at a gathering is as important as the fresh ingredients you cook with, the candles you burn to soften the lighting in and scent a space together with the company you invite.

This piece in Quartz about sonic seasoning sums it up perfectly. “When slurping on ‘hot dry’ noodles from a dingy, styrofoam box, a lot of senses come together to create the full experience of the meal. First, you see the bright red vegetables and thick sauce coating the noodles. Then there’s the fragrant aroma, followed by chewiness and slipperiness accompanying each bite. And then comes the taste—an addictive, mildly-spicy-and-sweet sensation that prompts second and third bites.

“Those are the four senses most people think of when eating a meal. But over the years, researchers have found that a fifth sense matters: sound—from dinner party chatter to bees buzzing around a picnic—can act as a sort of “sonic seasoning.” 

Here’s a playlist you can share with your friends as a parting gift for them to use as their own sonic seasoning.