Vinyl.

Franck Boclet designed Vinyl in 2019 as part of the Rock & Riot Black collection, and the name says everything. This is a fragrance about the record, the spin, the bass you feel in your chest. The sticky floor, the warm air, the bass you felt before you heard it. It captures the visceral atmosphere of those rooms where music dominated everything else. That's the origin. That's the brief. That's Vinyl.

Whiskey and tobacco aren't exactly rare in perfumery, but pairing them with a carbonated cola accord is another matter entirely. The challenge isn't the boozy note, it's making the sweet, fizzy lift feel natural rather than synthetic. Vinyl solves that with heliotrope in the heart, adding a powdery softness that tempers the spirit and keeps the whole composition from becoming just another bourbon-heavy formula. Vanilla and amber then pick up the sweetness in the drydown, but the patchouli keeps things grounded. It's a balancing act that requires each material to hold its own rather than disappear into the mix.

The citrus opens and vanishes quickly, lemon and mandarin giving way to whiskey's boozy intensity within minutes. The tobacco gains weight. But here's what surprises: underneath the bold opening, a cola accord emerges. It's not listed first, but it surfaces around the thirty-minute mark, bridging the gap between the bright top and the warm base. Vanilla and amber take over fully in the drydown, with patchouli adding earth and cedar providing structure. The whole thing carries that nightclub energy, starting loud and staying loud, finally quiet only when the room clears.

Vinyl arrived in 2019 when niche perfumery was shifting from concept-driven releases toward sensory nostalgia. Its 70s nightclub inspiration placed it in a specific cultural moment, drawing on a time when music venues had their own distinct atmosphere. This kind of concrete sensory reference resonated with wearers who wanted fragrance to function as a time machine, not just a smell. The smoky, boozy character taps into collective memory of late nights and loud rooms.