Nocturama is the twelfth studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on February 3, 2003, on Mute and ANTI-. Produced by Nick Launay, the album is the last with founding member Blixa Bargeld.
Recording
Nocturama was recorded in one week during an Australian tour in March 2002, and reunited Nick Cave and guitarist Mick Harvey with producer Nick Launay, who had worked with their previous band The Birthday Party 21 years earlier.
Reflecting on the recording experience, Launay noted: "I'll never forget the first day recording Nocturama. Blixa swept into SingSing Studio in that hat. Mick Harvey introduces me and Blixa goes, 'Oh, ja, the engineer.' Mick says, 'No, Blixa – the producer.' Blixa says, 'Well, we'll see about that, won't we?' From a distance they look like the most chaotic band. From an engineering point of view, it's just fucking mental – like recording a live gig but you're capturing this thing for ever. As soon as Nick walks in and sits at the piano, you're recording. The intensity is unlike any other band."
Reviews
The album received positive reviews, varying between highly positive (5/5 from Alternative Press) to moderately positive (3/5 from Q,
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Irish Albums (IFPI)
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Sales
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ Sales for Nocturama
|-
! scope="col"| Region
! scope="col"| Sales
|-
! scope="row"| France
| 20,000
|-
! scope="row"| Germany
| 55,000