Can a taste be remembered through sound? 

This composition explores sound as a carrier of taste, scent, and cultural memory. Inspired by the sensory experience of Tom Yum — one of Thailand's most internationally recognised dishes, known for its distinctive balance of sour, spicy, and aromatic notes — the work reconstructs flavour through layered sound, where each instrument and texture functions as a sonic ingredient. 

Bright tones echo citrus; low resonances mirror the weight of roots and herbs; intermittent sharp sounds emerge like bursts of chilli. Their arrangement follows the balance and proportion found within the dish itself, translating a familiar recipe into an immersive auditory environment.

The composition is further shaped by ambient recordings gathered in Edinburgh — threading the sensory memory of Thai ingredients through the city's specific atmosphere in which this exhibition is held. The result is a piece that exists between two places at once: familiar in flavour, grounded in a particular here and now.

At its core, the work holds the idea that memory is often recalled through the senses before it is formed into words. Listeners are invited to encounter fragments of place, culture, and belonging through sound alone — to remember a taste before it can be named.

The Taste That Couldn't Wait is an original composition by Pann Singharaj, created in close collaboration with the artist for this exhibition. Pann's practice spans architecture, interior design, furniture, and spatial experience, shaped by a design philosophy that weaves Eastern-inspired thinking with sensory and artistic experimentation. This new work expands upon Bitter Sweet (2025), a multisensory sound Ambience developed around Thai herbs and traditional botanical knowledge, which was part of a collaborative installation first presented at the Awakening Bangkok Festival 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand.