From rain on dry earth to oud in crystal bottles, Brian Hills is bottling Botswana’s memory and calling it luxurious and timeless
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
Before there was a bottle, there was a memory: rain hitting hot soil, smoke curling through a homestead, sun warming Kalahari sand. For Brian Olebetse — better known as Brian Hills — scent isn’t cosmetic, it’s archival.
“Setsong House was born from memory… scent was never just fragrance; it was atmosphere,” he told Time Out. The result is Setsong House, a Pan-African fragrance house turning cultural moments into olfactory heirlooms.
“Our philosophy is rooted in translating these sensory moments into something luxurious and timeless…We are capturing heritage, identity, and emotion, and preserving it through scent,” Hills said.
FROM IDENTITY TO ELEVATION
The early Setsong signatures, which still stand introduced African luxury through grounded, heritage-heavy compositions. The new drop, Sacred Water, pivots skyward, inspired by rain not as weather, but as ritual.
This isn’t nostalgia; it’s trajectory. “It is no longer just about where we come from, but about where we are going,” Hills explained, positioning the fragrance as a passport for a modern African identity that travels well in global luxury spaces.
SCIENCE MEETS SOUL
Perfumery, in Hills’ studio, is equal parts lab and library. Longevity, projection and balance handle the chemistry; story handles the meaning.
“We begin with the story… then translate that into notes.” Oud — his recurring muse — becomes the bridge between ancestral depth and contemporary polish, proving that technical formulation can still carry emotional weight.
REWRITING THE LUXURY SCRIPT
Building a high-end fragrance brand from Botswana isn’t just entrepreneurship; it’s narrative disruption. For decades, luxury scent has been defined by European houses. Setsong flips the map.
Clients aren’t just buying perfume; they’re buying authorship. “It becomes ownership of narrative,” Hills said, a subtle but radical shift where African consumers see themselves not as markets, but as originators.
THE BOTTLE AS A TIME CAPSULE
From concept to packaging, every Setsong release follows a cinematic process: story first, formula second, design last. The goal is coherence, a fragrance you don’t just wear, but inhabit. Setsong House is bottling memory, exporting identity and proving that luxury can smell like home.
Because sometimes the most powerful status symbol isn’t a logo, it’s rain on dry earth, distilled.