I never thought a casual internet scroll would lead me back to a favourite track, but here we are. It all started with a simple share, a post from Gainlinesfitness to a South African rugby mate friend I chat to online, and a confession that I have a new crush:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DPziOnyDI6i/
I mean what’s not to like about Charles Ollivon’s elegant power (forgive me Mes Mousquetaires!)…
Then, out of nowhere, this song started to play, so I shared it with Caleb saying it was “boudoir” music and then it hit me why; the saxophone in that track, that smooth, teasing saxophone goes straight below the belt, in a way that is at once absurd and undeniably effective.
Why does a wind instrument have the power to bypass reason and go straight to that primal raw side of us? Science, naturally, has an answer. Music activates the nucleus accumbens, the brain’s pleasure hub, the same area that responds to chocolate, a good bottle of wine, and more. So when Candy Dulfer lets loose, hitting notes that are both playful and insistent, your brain hears it as a signal of joy and desire. Your body, especially your lower half, does not question it.
Then there is the matter of voice versus instrument. Saxophones, particularly in the hands of a good musician, mimic the human voice with uncanny precision. Breathiness, moans, crescendos, all captured in woodwind form. Our brains are wired to respond to these vocal cues, even when they come from brass or wood. In other words, “Lily Was Here” is flirting, winking, and seducing you, all without saying a word.
I have witnessed this in real life. In Paris, during the RWC 2023, a street saxophonist leaned into a solo so sultry and persistent that you could not help but stop and smile. A man next to me whispered to me in French: “I feel like I’ve been seduced.” Oui !
There is a communal, almost mischievous power in music like this. It is the adult equivalent of finding a love note tucked in your notebook, only this one bypasses your ego and hits your nervous system directly.
Boudoir music is rarely about explicitness. It is about suggestion, nuance, and the ability to create a private, intimate, and sensual space inside your own head. Candy Dulfer and Dave Stewart have mastered this on this track; it is playful, teasing, assertive, and deliciously intimate, all without uttering a single word. It leaves room for imagination, for the mind to wander, and for the body to respond in ways that are delightfully ridiculous if you stop and think about it. Not unlike how a certain accent can slip into my thoughts and make even a simple “hi” sound dangerously alluring, adding that little extra electricity to the conversation even before it’s properly started.
What fascinates me most is how our bodies betray us with music like this. I don’t know about you, but I’m sitting here hips moving, shoulders following the rhythm and suddenly the mundane business of typing has become electric. It is the same thrill you feel when flirting, the same spark you chase when a new crush enters your orbit. Music like this makes you feel naughty and just a little reckless, all at once. And the absurdity of it is entirely part of the charm.
So there you have it: a saxophone solo that plays tricks with my normal self-control. And when a track makes you shiver with anticipation, relax with delight, or just grin at your own reaction, you know Candy Dulfer has done her job better than any pick-up line ever could, especially when I imagine it alongside that soft teasing Edinburgh lilt that makes my knees weak.
So what is on your boudoir playlist ?
Photo by Filip Starý
