SCENTS OF PURPOSE
`Aroma jockey' hit hard by pandemic moves online
The pandemic has significantly diminished the income of so many people, from musicians to restaurant owners to bartenders. Turns out it has also made business tough for aroma jockeys.
That's Jeroen Kleijn's job. In fact, the unusual phrase is right there in his stage name, Aroma Jockey Jarome. This transplanted Dutchman — who came to Montreal 12 years ago, because of love, of course — is an olfactory DJ. Instead of spinning tunes, he serves up scents. He was doing that back home in Holland, too. When he met and fell in love with a French-canadian woman in London, England, he moved his business here to her hometown.
It all started when he began trying to help deaf people appreciate music in the Netherlands.
“You have a DJ for the ears, you have a VJ for visuals, but you have nothing to entertain the nose,” said Kleijn. “So I created this, the AJ, aroma jockey. I'm like a DJ. I translate the music into smell and the visuals into smell. I look at how the vibes of the people are. If people are shy about going on the dance floor, I put out some more relaxing aromas that invite them on to the dance floor. I can fade in and fade out the smells. If there's uplifting music, you'll have uplifting smells. I create a whole multi-sensory concept.”
Kleijn uses big fans, which he calls his speakers, to push the scents into the crowd and he has a few hot plates, those are like his turntables, and he has mixing bowls where he blends together the elements to make the smells. He uses water, essential oils, herbs, raisins and even such food as cooked bacon or fruits. He has performed at the Société des arts technologiques, at electronic festivals and has also done a lot of corporate work.
Then came COVID-19 and it all came crashing down.
He has been developing an online twist to his aroma jockeying in an attempt to continue his work in a world where live gatherings of people are mostly not allowed. This Saturday, he has a free online event aimed at kids 6 to 12 with Les Biblios du Platea. He'll try to educate them about the sense of smell by doing trivia quizzes and sending them on a scavenger hunt around their houses to find things that have unique scents.
He also has an aroma therapy meditation with the Regroupement des aveugles et amblyopes du Montréal métropolitain on Feb. 11.
Kleijn is also in talks with some CHSLDS in Montreal to do either aroma therapy meditation or his online travel session. The online travel concept is one of the key ones he's promoting in his new virtual services. It's called Travel With Smell.
“I basically take people on a journey, since we can't travel right now,” Kleijn said.
“I've travelled quite a bit so I have knowledge of the smells that you would encounter in certain countries. I have two options. I either send you the smells, which will be provided in little bottles or through scratch-and-sniff cards. Or I take them on a visual experience where you hear the music of like say a tropical island and you see the visuals. And at the same time I will go deeply into how you perceive the smells. You'll see the ocean and then I'll go deeply into what the ocean smells like. Or you'll see pineapples and I'll talk about what it's like to smell these fine juicy pineapples or creamy coconuts. Also people are in isolation, so they want to talk and share memories.”
“I try to share my knowledge of smell training with the community and to try to take people out of isolation and depression,” Kleijn said. “You can do a lot with smell to make you feel good.”
I've travelled quite a bit so I have knowledge of the smells that you would encounter in certain countries.