We first came upon Osmojam in January of 2013 when we discovered her EP 80 on Bandcamp. That effort was a masterful project which reworked a number of classic from the 80’s by artists as varied as Janet Jackson, Wham!, Phil Collins, Phillip Bailey, Madonna and more. The EP showcased Osmojam’s myriad abilities which include singing like an angel, playing like a virtuoso and re-arranging like a hybrid of Quincy Jones and Puff Daddy (ok, we really dig her so let us live). And this is not to mention her traffic stopping beauty. Over the past 4 years, we have been fortunate enough to follow her passionate pursuit of her dream. She effortlessly sings in both French and English and emotes the lyrics so convincingly that you just believe her and want to hear more.
It is with this background that we re-introduce our soulhead community to this amazing sister. We were able to connect with her to talk a bit about her latest effort, “Bonheur” (‘Happiness” in English), a single she co-produced with producer Remi Pee. The track begins with an infectious electro-soul, almost broken-beat groove that is punctuated by minimal organ flourishes. Blasting through with her characteristic harmonies, Osmojam rides the asynchronous rhythm with ease in her native French. This track is at the same time made for the lounge, dancefloor and even the wind down on the way back from the club…a rare feat indeed. This is top notch and would sound incredible in any language.
We were fortunate to be able to touch base with Osmojam to talk a bit about the song and her forthcoming EP below. Check it out, listen to the new track and let us know what you think.
Osmojam: the track is about happiness; Its kind of a riddle, a guessing game. I describe happiness and only mention the word at the very end of the song.
soulhead: Talk about your collaboration with Remi Pee. Where did you meet? How did the concept of the song come about?
Osmojam: I’ve know Remi Pee for nearly 10 years, e met via a french online forum dedicated to nu soul music called “Juslisen”. He has produced the album Echappée with me. In terms of the concept for the song, 2 years after the release of Echappée, i was looking for a change in my music, a new sound. I tried to simplify the music a lot as I had (previously) used more chords in songs. Remi was into an electro vibe at that time. I gave him the structure and asked him to arrange the song and that’s it!
soulhead: Is your new EP going to be similar electro soul feel?
Osmojam: My upcoming EP will be quite different from this song, even if it includes electro. I’ve arranged all the tracks with a beatmaker from Guadeloupe named Akuji. You may recall he also worked on my song “Let Myself Down.” The EP will me mainly in English and will be a mix of neo soul with Caribbean rhythms (e.g. zouk, biguine)