Oxia: The Patience of a Pioneer
The electronic music industry is obsessed with immediacy, but Oxia has always played the long game. While others chase playlists and quick-hit singles, he has built a career on tracks that outlive hype cycles, songs that become part of the architecture of dance culture. Domino is still one of the most played records in techno history, his Cercle set pulled in millions within days, and yet his name has never been tied to trends. Oxia belongs to that rare group of artists who evolve at their own pace, and the scene bends around them.
Now, more than a decade after Tides of Mind, he steps forward with Aelle, his third studio album. It is not a return, because he never left. It is not a rebrand, because his sound has never needed one. Instead, it is a slow-burn statement from an artist who knows that true impact is measured in years, not weeks. Across twelve tracks, Oxia balances the groove of the club with the vulnerability of solitude, the euphoria of the floor with the melancholy of memory.
Aelle was carved through patience, collaboration, and an unshakable belief in timeless music. And in 2025, it feels like a reminder that techno’s most powerful voices are often the quietest ones, those who wait until they have something real to say.
“It’s true that a lot of time has passed since Tides of Mind. Time goes by so fast. For me, an album is never something I want to force. It has to come naturally, when I feel I have a story to tell that goes beyond singles or EPs. Over the past decade, I’ve been focused on touring, releasing tracks and remixes, but I always had the idea of a new album in the back of my mind.”
The tracks that would eventually shape Aelle were not written in a single burst of inspiration. They collected slowly, with fragments set aside until the right time revealed itself.
“I had already set aside a few tracks, some of the softer ones, quite a while ago. But it wasn’t enough to shape a full album. I needed to wait until I had both the time and the inspiration to create more music that fit into that universe. Of course, life sometimes brings unexpected things you can’t control, which can delay the projects you had in mind. On top of that, I have to admit I work quite slowly, and I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to production. That’s also why this album took time to come together.”
What makes Aelle powerful is not just the patience behind it but the emotional spectrum it holds: from grooves built for the floor to passages that invite reflection. Oxia wanted the record to carry weight in both spaces, to move dancers but also live as a soundtrack outside the booth.
“That’s actually one of the reasons why the album took time. I kept experimenting before I was really satisfied with the result. I wanted the more dancefloor-oriented tracks to also be enjoyable outside of a club setting. The challenge was to bring together all these elements I love in electronic music, groove, melodies, intensity, emotion, and make it feel coherent, whether you’re on a dancefloor or listening in a more personal context.”
That duality is perhaps the most striking quality of the album. Bright, hopeful cuts like Presence and Colors of Life sit alongside the haunting melancholy of Aerial. The balance between light and dark doesn’t feel calculated, it feels human.
“To be honest, I didn’t really plan that contrast, it just came instinctively. Whatever happens in life during the creative process inevitably influences the music, even if not consciously. Some tracks were made quite a while ago, so it’s hard to say exactly where I was personally at the time. I’d say I’m generally a pretty happy person, but like everyone, there are moments when you’re not at your best. Even if they’re rare, they’re part of life. I think that mix of light and melancholia is just part of who I am, and it naturally influences my work.”
If Aelle carries Oxia’s fingerprints, it also bears the touch of those closest to him. The album feels deeply personal, but it’s not a solitary work. Longtime allies and fresh voices helped shape its final form, giving the record the kind of depth that can only come from collaboration.
“Nicolas and I often work together (and we also run Diversions Music) so it felt natural to have him on this project. We had started a track a few years ago but never finished it. I thought it would fit perfectly on the album, so we took the time to complete it. That became ‘Faces.’ He also helped with the mixing of the album.”
There’s also a sense of intimacy in the way Oxia chooses collaborators: friends from his own city, artists who share his orbit not just musically but personally.
“Yannick is a long-time friend, and we live in the same city, so we see each other often. We listen to each other’s music and sometimes come up with ideas that turn into collaborations, like the two tracks he contributed to. On one of them, ‘Silk & Fur’, we actually sang ourselves, but weren’t totally comfortable with our vocals. So we asked Hacène (another artist from our city) to re-record them. He also added a second part to complete the lyrics and brought something unexpected that really elevated the track.”
Even when working with vocalists, the choices came from trust and shared history rather than industry calculation.
“With Hen Wen, who’s a friend from my hometown, we had talked for a long time about collaborating. When I finished the instrumental, I felt her voice would be perfect. She wrote the lyrics, and that became ‘Calling The Sun’.”
What ties these partnerships together is the way they expand Oxia’s universe without diluting it. Each voice, each idea, stretches the emotional palette of Aelle while keeping its center intact.
“All these collaborations brought something extra. Each of them added a part of their own universe to mine, and that’s the beauty of working with other artists.”
Listening to Aelle straight through, it becomes clear this isn’t just a collection of tracks thrown together. It breathes like a story, carrying the listener through peaks and valleys, tension and release. That wasn’t an accident, even if the final flow took time to uncover.
“I take that as a compliment, so thank you for noticing. I wouldn’t say the tracklist came together completely naturally, I actually tried several versions before finding the right flow. I wanted to alternate the more energetic tracks with the softer, more intimate and introspective ones, so that the album feels like a journey through different moods and emotions. It wasn’t about designing it like a DJ set, it was more about creating a balance that makes sense when you listen from start to finish.”
That balance is what makes Aelle resonate. It carries the architecture of a night out but also the intimacy of a solitary listen. It feels cinematic without losing its club pulse, a rare hybrid that reflects Oxia’s decades of experience. The album isn’t just music for a moment, it’s an invitation to stay inside its world.
Every album carries its own pressure, but for Oxia the challenge with Aelle was clear: avoid repetition and push himself into corners he hadn’t yet explored. Singles and EPs can be laser-focused on the floor, but an album requires a wider lens, a willingness to show sides of yourself that might never make it into a peak-time set.
“Every album is a challenge, because I don’t want to repeat myself. It’s very different from making a single or an EP for the dancefloor. On an album, you can explore ideas you wouldn’t normally go for, more intimate or introspective tracks. I always try to push my sound forward while staying true to what defines me as an artist. Working on Aelle reminded me why I still love making music after all these years. The excitement of creating something new, experimenting with different moods, and seeing how a track can evolve in ways I didn’t expect.”
That’s the essence of longevity: not chasing trends but staying curious, allowing the process itself to renew the spark. Aelle became more than a return, it was a reminder of why Oxia is still here, shaping the conversation two decades on.
Oxia has never been a stranger to big moments. His Cercle set reached over a million views in days, and “Domino” has quietly built into a modern classic with more than 150 million streams. But while those milestones put him in front of a global audience, he sees albums as something different entirely, a format that resists the quick dopamine of viral culture.
“Streaming a live set like my Cercle performance is similar to a single, it’s immediate, and you see the reaction right away. Domino reaching around 150 million streams is a big milestone for me, but even that took years. That track is a bit special and it’s become a classic over time. An album is different. It works over the long term. You want people to take their time with it, even if that means listening over several years. You want the album to stand the test of time, which is why many of the tracks have a more timeless quality. And it also gives me space to explore different moods and sides of my music that singles or viral moments often can’t. It’s just a different kind of expression.”
That patience is rare in a world where DJs can rise or fall on a single track’s algorithmic luck. For Oxia, the album is a statement against disposability, a body of work designed to last long after the playlists move on.
Oxia has never been a stranger to big moments. His Cercle set reached over a million views in days, and “Domino” has quietly built into a modern classic with more than 150 million streams. But while those milestones put him in front of a global audience, he sees albums as something different entirely, a format that resists the quick dopamine of viral culture.
“Streaming a live set like my Cercle performance is similar to a single, it’s immediate, and you see the reaction right away. Domino reaching around 150 million streams is a big milestone for me, but even that took years. That track is a bit special and it’s become a classic over time. An album is different. It works over the long term. You want people to take their time with it, even if that means listening over several years. You want the album to stand the test of time, which is why many of the tracks have a more timeless quality. And it also gives me space to explore different moods and sides of my music that singles or viral moments often can’t. It’s just a different kind of expression.”
That patience is rare in a world where DJs can rise or fall on a single track’s algorithmic luck. For Oxia, the album is a statement against disposability, a body of work designed to last long after the playlists move on.
Aelle is more than just Oxia’s third album. It’s the sound of an artist refusing to rush, refusing to bend to the constant turnover of trends. In a world where singles dominate and virality decides relevance, he has chosen the slower, harder path: building a body of work meant to last years, not weeks. That patience is rare, and it shows in the record’s depth.
What makes Oxia’s story compelling is that he hasn’t abandoned the club. His tracks still move floors from Paris to Buenos Aires, yet with Aelle he shows that vulnerability and groove can coexist. It’s a reminder that electronic music doesn’t have to split between functional tools and personal statements. The best work does both, and Oxia proves it here.
Looking back on his decades in the game, the legacy is already undeniable: one of France’s most respected exports, a producer whose tracks have become timeless, and a mentor for a generation still learning what longevity really means. With Aelle, he closes one chapter and opens another, standing as proof that the long game is still the most powerful one.
