Cold weather and making some French onion soup or coq au vin? Serge Gainsbourg or Françoise Hardy.
Summertime and hitting the Campari and making some pasta or branzino? 60’s Italian lounge music or Italo Disco.
Those are just my favorites.
Krautrock, Ethiopian Jazz, Japanese Garage Rock, Reggae, country music, whatever. Sky’s the limit!
Pro tip: DS & Durga, the fragrance brand, has some excellent playlists for this purpose.