Change food taste simply by changing your music’s frequency

Music turns the taste of coffee from bitter to sweet as part of a series of “Sony Multi-Room Sonic Wonderland” sound experiments

• ‘Frequency flavour’ test plays low then high frequency sounds changing a single dish’s taste in front of your eyes
• Sound based experiments and sensory investigations were curated by culinary creatives Bompas & Parr using Sony’s Multi-room audio wireless speakers and soundbars

Bompas & Parr has worked with Sony to to create a ‘frequency flavour’ test of their own – changing the perceived taste of a dish in front of your eyes, simply by changing the frequency of music.

As part of the experiment, Bompas & Parr chefs played with low frequency sounds to change the perception of salt and umami in a ‘dish’. Participants tucked into specially designed ‘Goat’s Cheesecake’ (Goat’s curd, lemon and salted crumb) which changed in flavour, leading them from savoury to sweet as the music changed to a high frequency sound.

Guests also tried the ‘Frequency Flavour Test with coffee. The experiment, marked by changes in flavour, light and sound – initiates ‘transitional cleansing’ between courses.

The ‘Frequency Flavour’ test was showcased at the Sony Multi-room ‘Sonic Wonderland’ in partnership with culinary designers Bompas & Parr. The space explored the effect of sound on guests and how, through a series of sonic experiments, senses can be mixed to create new experiences.

These included investigations such as intensifying the effect of sugar by tricking the brain. For the dessert, high-pitched notes were played by piano music, these notes are associated with the taste of sucrose. Alongside this, the colour pink which was prominent within the desert itself as well as the room lighting further intensified the perceived sweetness of sugar.

Sam Bompas of Bompas & Parr said, “We don’t just eat with our hands or mouths but with our senses. Changing the surroundings and music around us affects these resulting in a completely novel dining experience.”

We all know that changing the music in a room changes the mood. So when Sony approached us with the idea of using their speakers to create the Multi-room Sonic Wonderland, we wanted to explore how much our perception of sound can influence our other senses.”

To see this in action: http://we.tl/3Xd84jOekD

Sony has recently launched its Multi-room audio technology, which means you can create the right environment by listening to the right music, anywhere and at any time – connect compatible devices and enjoy multi-room music in any room of the house.

Sony has a broad offering of Multi-room connecting products and options. From its sleek wireless speaker range, the SRS-X77, SRS-X88 and SRS-X99 to its AV Receivers STR-DN860 and STR-DN1080, to the Soundbars HT-NT3 and HT-ST9, Hi-Fi System CMT-SX7 and SoundBase HT-XT3, Sony range offers the perfect sound system for everyone and every situation. Music can be easily streamed onto devices via Google Cast or other supported services via Bluetooth /NFC One Touch.

-ENDS-

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Notes to editors

For more information on all Sony press materials, please see the Press Centre: http://presscentre.sony.co.uk/

About Sony Corporation

Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, computer entertainment and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading electronics and entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $75 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net/

About Bompas&Parr

Bompas & Parr leads in flavour-based experience design, culinary research, architectural installations and contemporary food design. Founded by Sam Bompas and Harry Parr in 2007, the early work of the studio used jelly as a vehicle to research the crossmodal correspondences of the senses and the relationship between food and architecture.The studio first came to prominence through its expertise in jelly making, but has since gone on to create immersive flavour based experiences ranging from an inhabitable cloud of gin and tonic, a chocolate climbing wall and a Taste Experience for the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, officially the best place to taste Guinness in the world.

About the Sony Multi-Room products used in this experience

For more detail about all the Sony Multi-Room products listed and in the experiment, please see the Sony press centre: http://presscentre.sony.co.uk/pressreleases/bring-your-music-together-at-home-with-sony-multi-room-1141546