OZMA
OZMA
After five years of discographic silence, OZMA returns with The Day We Decided to Live at Night, an intimate album composed by drummer and bandleader Stéphane Scharlé—a new opus marking a major turning point in the band’s history.
Paradoxically, while being Scharlé’s most personal work as a composer, this album is also OZMA’s most collaborative effort to date.
Alongside his longtime musical partner, bassist Édouard Séro-Guillaume, Scharlé welcomes a new lineup—a breath of young talent: Musina Ebobissé on saxophone, Martin Ferreyros on guitar, and a significant instrumental shift with Dan Jouravsky on keyboards, replacing the trombone.
He also invites guest artists from vastly different musical backgrounds, creating a bold fusion of jazz, metal, and rock—the group’s artistic foundations—alongside more recent influences such as Fulani music, Middle Eastern vocals, and electronic sounds. These diverse layers coexist in a sonic landscape filled with contagious energy.
A powerful wave of bass and keyboards, a rich and intricate drum pattern, and a lyrical theme carried by guitar and saxophone—this is how The Day We Decided to Live at Night, the eponymous opening track, sets the tone for the album.
The compositions on The Day We Decided to Live at Night are short and highly produced. Unlike previous records, which were recorded with a live feel, this album was conceived as a studio work.
„With this new album, I embrace a more personal artistic direction. I envisioned it as an inner journey, blending adolescent loves with adult rebellions.“ — Stéphane Scharlé
These two themes—love and rebellion—are woven together through a strong film-noir atmosphere and the raw intensity of the music. This intensity does not emerge through flashy virtuosity or technical prowess but rather through a calm yet electrifying presence, where tension, melodic richness, and striking lyrical beauty arise. It feels as if the musicians are playing from the eye of the storm, while the music itself embodies the tempest.
Tracks such as the captivating rock epic To the Braves, the irresistible wave of Love Snakes, and Atomic Winter, whose headbanging central section dissolves into ethereal soundscapes, are perfect examples of this balance.
The latter, along with the improvised miniatures Crystal Flare, This is Umbra, and the hidden track Tropical Snow, offers a glimpse into the rich tonal possibilities of OZMA’s new instrumentation and the creative freedom the quintet will explore in live performances.
The compositions, charged with an almost seismic energy, alternate with soothing and dreamlike moments, such as the warm, radiant ballad Multiple Faces and the floating, weightless Magnetic Mist, which showcases Stéphane Scharlé’s growing interest in electronic textures.
Collaboration has always been central to Scharlé’s musical journey.
This album is filled with beloved serpents, fire fairies, and metallic witches, childhood whimsy, and gentle strings that bring comfort. Violence and tenderness—two opposing forces, yet two sides of the same silver coin.
The album’s visual identity is the result of a fertile collaboration with artist Andrea Ciulu (@andreaciulu), who describes himself as an AI Art Explorer.
Each of the thirteen tracks is accompanied by a 20-image black-and-white booklet, featuring AI-generated dystopian cityscapes, floating whales above skyscrapers, distorted architecture, and a recurring serpent figure—a symbol of resistance. This visual narrative mirrors the current global crises and their impending escalations.
The Day We Decided to Live at Night could very well be the soundtrack to a dystopian science-fiction noir film.
Yet, despite its themes, the music never falls into melancholy or despair. On the contrary, it radiates intensity and energy, delivering a powerful message:
A call to remain open, to never close off, to continuously be transformed, enriched, and inspired by others.
This album is a testament to the constant transitions within us—a convergence of identities, memories, desires, dreams, and promises made throughout a lifetime to the person we have become and will continue to be, without ever ceasing to be who we once were.
