Zazadàla is a musical group whose roots lie in a novel, Sal Ortega's Le suicide de Dalila Rosenberg. Mina, Faly and Klarck took the plunge, composing three albums that put the adventures of their heroine, Juliette, into words and melodies. The first album, Juliette Romanova's Ghost Story, was released in 2024. Meet our three protagonists in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

In the kingdom of Imerina, there are many whispers about Juliette Romanova. She's a saint, they say of this young girl who, fleeing the war that broke out in the Russian empire, found refuge on the island of Madagascar. And that's just about all anyone can agree on. Mina, Faly and Klarck are not averse to the mysterious aura surrounding the character. These three friends, two guitarists and a ukulele-playing singer - who met while studying at university in 2010 and joined forces a few years later in their shared passion for music - decided to turn fiction into reality and give flesh and body to the trio from Sal Ortega's novel The Suicide of Dalila Rosenberg. Although the novel will not be published until 2024, the Zazadàla group will be formed in 2017 to compose a new repertoire based on Juliette's story, between music and fiction.

First stage: musical and stage writing. Role-playing and theatrical aspects, through costumes and mise en abîme, are essential to the development of this project, which will see the light of day in 2021 thanks to the support of the Institut Français de Madagascar.

The next step came in the form of albums. We came up with the idea of producing three albums in English and Malagasy - to illustrate Juliette's journey. We're almost always in the novel. 

The first album, in English, was released in 2024, under the title Juliette Romanova's Ghost Story. This concept album tells the story of a teenage girl, a ghost with an extraordinary destiny, who goes through human trials and translates them into song with humor and disdain. Suspended notes and vocal harmonies are favored to convey Juliette's somewhat strange lyrics, sometimes verging on the absurd. As when she sings in "Selfish Junkie" "that there is no cure - because there is no disease." It could almost be seen as a metaphor for the state of the island of Madagascar, grappling with its political demons.

Musically speaking, the intention of this album is to move away from rhythmic instruments and give more space to melodies, here based mainly on two acoustic instruments: guitar and ukulele. Given the band's self-produced status, it could be classified as folk or acoustic indie. However, without trying to stand out from popular music or artists of the same genre, this instrumental impoverishment is only there to serve and enhance the spiritual dimension of the music.

For Mina, Faly and Klarck, who all have parallel activities to earn a living in Antananarivo, working for Zazadàla means "walking between the drips of the responsibilities of survival in modern society, juggling needs, obligations and aspirations, and yet celebrating the creativity born of limitations ". 

We met them in December 2024 and, seduced by their drive and imagination, we decided, in conjunction with the Institut Français, to support the production of their second album, this time in Malagasy, due for release in 2026.
Since then, in February 2025, they have founded the Limbo cultural association, with the encouragement of Paysages Humains, with the ambition of building a space for artistic creation and expression, to carry out their projects but also to provide access to music for all those who do not have the means.

Sandrine Maricot Despretz

Photos © Mianoka A.
Photos © madaga.scape
Photos © Randrianarivony Voara