Zola Jesus | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Zola Jesus is the project of Nika Roza Danilova, who crafts dark yet uplifting music dominated by her operatic vocals and keyboards. As her work moved from the lo-fi bedroom productions of early works like 2009s The Spoils to the more polished territory of 2014s Taiga and 2017s Okovi, the power of her voice and her blend of electronic, industrial, and classical influences endured. Born in Phoenix, Arizona and raised in Merrill, Wisconsin, Nika showed an interest in singing early on, buying voice-lesson tapes and opera sheet music at age seven. Soon after, she began working with a vocal coach for the next decade. Anxiety and the competitive nature of opera caused her to stop singing for a couple of years, but missing that form of expression spurred her to begin Zola Jesus. Inspired by high-school favorites like Diamanda Galás, Lydia Lunch, Throbbing Gristle, and Swans, Nika made cathartic home recordings using keyboards, drum machines, and anything else she had on hand. Her first officially released music included a couple of 2008 7"s: the Poor Sons EP on Die Stasi and Soeur Sewer on Sacred Bones. In 2009, along with her debut album, The Spoils, Zola Jesus released the Tsar Bomba EP on Troubleman, New Amsterdam on Sacred Bones, and an untitled, limited-edition vinyl album and a split release with Burial Hex on Aurora Borealis. Nika also played in the group Former Ghosts, which featured Xiu Xius Jamie Stewart and Freddy Ruppert. She remained just as busy in 2010, releasing the cleaner-sounding Stridulum and Valusia EPs, which were combined as Stridulum II. That year, Nika also collaborated with Pocahaunteds Amanda Brown on LA Vampires Meets Zola Jesus, an experimental lo-fi EP. Along with working with M83 and Prefuse 73, in 2011 Zola Jesus released her third full-length, Conatus, which found her continuing to move away from her lo-fi roots and toward experimental electronic pop. Toward the end of the Conatus tour, Nika was asked to perform at New Yorks Guggenheim Museum, an event for which she collaborated with Foetus J.G. Thirlwell, who provided arrangements for the Mivos Quartet. These string-based renditions were captured in 2013s Versions. For her fourth album, 2014s Taiga, Nika moved to Mute Records. Named after the Russian word for "forest," she wrote and recorded the album on Washington States verdant Vashon Island and mixed it in Los Angeles with longtime collaborator Dean Hurley. Three years later, she returned to Sacred Bones for Okovi, an album named after the Slavic word for "shackles." Its meditations on loss and healing featured contributions from Alex DeGroot, WIFE, Pedestrian Deposits Shannon Kennedy, and percussionist Ted Byrnes. The following year saw the release of Okovi: Additions, an EP of songs recorded during the Okovi sessions as well as remixes of some of the albums tracks by Johnny Jewel, Katie Gately, Joanne Pollock, and Wolves in the Throne Room. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 13 Title: New Amsterdam Released: 2009-02 Tracks: 10 Duration: 33:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Odessa (04:06) 2 Dog (04:23) 3 Orthodox (04:34) 4 Last Day (04:28) 5 New Amsterdam (03:12) 6 Lady Maslenitsa (04:02) 7 Nativity (02:59) 8 Little Girl (01:22) 9 Be Your Virgin (01:40) 10 Lady in the Radiator (02:18) |
 | Album: 2 of 13 Title: Burial Hex / Zola Jesus Released: 2009-05 Tracks: 3 Duration: 38:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Go Crystal Tears (04:46) 2 Temple of the Flood (14:30) 3 Julius & Ethel (19:27) |
 | Album: 3 of 13 Title: The Spoils Released: 2009-07-13 Tracks: 15 Duration: 50:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Six Feet (From My Baby) (04:15) 2 Crowns (02:54) 3 Sinfonia and the Shrew (02:07) 4 Sink the Dynasty (03:20) 5 Devil Take You (03:52) 6 Lullaby in Tongues (01:15) 7 Smirenye (03:48) 8 Clay Bodies (04:55) 9 In Hiding From the Crow (02:00) 10 Tell It to the Willow (04:35) 11 Soeur Sewer (03:55) 12 Odessa (03:53) 13 Poor Sons (01:45) 14 The Way (03:41) 15 Dog (04:12) |
 | Album: 4 of 13 Title: Stridulum EP Released: 2010-03-09 Tracks: 10 Duration: 38:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Night (03:37) 2 Trust Me (02:01) 3 I Cant Stand (04:10) 4 Stridulum (04:22) 5 Run Me Out (03:19) 6 Manifest Destiny (03:16) 7 Poor Animal (04:27) 8 Tower (03:58) 9 Sea Talk (05:03) 10 Lightsick (04:11) |
 | Album: 5 of 13 Title: LA Vampires Meets Zola Jesus Released: 2010-06-05 Tracks: 7 Duration: 23:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Bone Is Bloodstone (03:20) 2 In the Desert (02:13) 3 Searching (02:51) 4 Vous (03:49) 5 Looking In (03:51) 6 Eulogy (03:24) 7 No No No (04:20) |
 | Album: 6 of 13 Title: Stridulum II Released: 2010-08-23 Tracks: 10 Duration: 38:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Night (03:37) 2 Trust Me (02:01) 3 I Cant Stand (04:10) 4 Stridulum (04:22) 5 Run Me Out (03:19) 6 Manifest Destiny (03:16) 7 Tower (03:58) 8 Sea Talk (05:03) 9 Lightsick (04:11) 10 Sea Talk (original) (04:36) |
 | Album: 7 of 13 Title: The Misanthrope Meditation Mix Released: 2011-04-12 Tracks: 27 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Life on Earth Begins in the Suns Energy. (?) 2 Speech Songs: He Destroyed Her Image (?) 3 Jeunesse Problematique (?) 4 Koloyosa (?) 5 Quiet Sky (?) 6 Incantation (?) 7 The Song Before (?) 8 Cortez (?) 9 Danza Galattica (?) 10 Psycho Analysis Lesson (?) 11 Nold (?) 12 Corale (?) 13 Hatred of Music Ii (?) 14 Static Radiates (?) 15 Pathetic (?) 16 Moon Shot #27 (?) 17 Il Ritratto di Evelyn (?) 18 Vibrations in Outer Space (?) 19 Robotika (?) 20 Appalachian Grove I (?) 21 Dialogue + Random (?) 22 Haackula #9 (?) 23 Marzipan (?) 24 Wireless Fantasy (?) 25 Telepathe (?) 26 Minor Pete (?) 27 The Last (outro) (?) |
 | Album: 8 of 13 Title: Conatus Released: 2011-09-26 Tracks: 12 Duration: 43:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Swords (01:04) 2 Avalanche (03:21) 3 Vessel (04:42) 4 Hikikomori (03:42) 5 Ixode (04:14) 6 Seekir (03:45) 7 In Your Nature (03:28) 8 Lick the Palm of the Burning Handshake (04:27) 9 Shivers (02:54) 10 Skin (04:22) 11 Collapse (04:08) 12 Days Grow Older (03:33) |
| Conatus : Allmusic album Review : In the vein of titles like Valusia and Stridulum, Zola Jesus Conatus has a name that will send listeners scrambling for the dictionary. The term, which refers to the will to survive and evolve, couldn’t be more fitting for this set of songs. Nika Roza Danilova appears swathed in white on the album’s cover, the polar opposite of the blue-black murk that covered her on Stridulum. As on that album, the grime of her earlier work is gone, but where Stridulum reached out with somber reassurance, Conatus is internal, examining destruction, surrender, survival, and rebirth up close. “Hikikomori” takes its name from the Japanese term for people who withdraw from society, and revels in solitude even though its beat could set a dancefloor in motion. “Ixode,” meanwhile, uses a hard-bodied tick as inspiration for its subtly insistent warmth. Conatus sound also feels like the other side of Stridulums clarity, presenting fractured beats and electronics (it’s no coincidence that Danilova made her Warp Records debut in a collaboration with Prefuse 73 earlier in 2011) alongside strings and other organic elements in a pristine studio setting: the single “Vessel” presents a seamless mesh of tightly coiled, robotic rhythms and Danilovas ricocheting vocals. Over the course of the album, Danilova nods to goth, synth pop, industrial, and abstract electronica without pledging allegiance to any one style; she’s forging her own path, with the help of producer Brian Foote, her touring drummer Nick Johnson, and string players Sean McCann and Ryan York. Despite Conatus experiments, the vital elements of Zola Jesus sound -- massive drums and Danilovas throatily majestic voice -- are as unmistakable as ever. Her instrument is undeniably powerful, and more controlled here than it was before, but there’s still a remarkable rawness and vulnerability on songs such as the fatalistic “In Your Nature.” “Skin”’s self-loathing sounds like hitting bottom (albeit beautifully), and confessions like “it hurts to let you in” on “Collapse” manage to be as comforting as they are blunt. This complexity extends even to Conatus relatively accessible moments, which inch closer to pop without actually delivering it. Only Danilova could make a more or less straightforward power ballad called “Lick the Palm of the Burning Handshake"; “Seekir”’s rousing beat beckons, but Danilovas intensity is still formidable; and “Avalanche” sets her pleas for love to handclaps that sound like they’re straight from a Casio. While Conatus isn’t as direct as Stridulum, it’s still some of her most satisfying work. This is music made in and for the darkest hours, and a striking portrait of the times when crisis and opportunity meet. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 13 Title: Versions Released: 2013-08-19 Tracks: 10 Duration: 41:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Avalanche (Slow) (04:55) 2 Fall Back (04:27) 3 Hikikomori (03:42) 4 Run Me Out (03:42) 5 Seekir (03:31) 6 Sea Talk (05:01) 7 Night (03:24) 8 In Your Nature (03:24) 9 Collapse (04:07) 10 Vessel (04:51) |
| Versions : Allmusic album Review : When Zola Jesus Nika Roza Danilova was approached to perform at the Guggenheim at the close of her Conatus tour, she chose Foetus J.G. Thirlwell to help her arrange her songs for the Mivos Quartet. Its a fitting collaboration; theyre both artists with industrial music roots and a willingness to expand far beyond them. Thirlwells versatility is well known, both with Foetus and in projects that span sound sculptures to scoring Adult Swims Venture Brothers series. While Danilovas career isnt that wide-ranging (yet), she welcomes change on every album and particularly on Conatus, where she further refined her mix of dark and hopeful sounds. On Versions, the pair lets the melodic beauty of Danilovas songs emerge from their often noisy cocoons, and the results sound stronger and braver than might be expected. Thirlwell is a sympathetic and detail-oriented arranger, adding gently tumbling strings as Danilova sighs "and it all falls down" on "Avalanche (Slow)" and occasional discordant notes on the striking, previously unreleased "Fall Back" that brilliantly express the unease that can hide in sweeping romantic gestures like this. As on Conatus, Versions explores strength in vulnerability. The nakedness of Danilovas voice and words brings her songs poignancy into sharp focus, especially on tracks such as "Night" and "Collapse," both of which have an aching beauty that evokes This Mortal Coils "Song to the Siren." The album also offers more examples of the ongoing dialogue between Danilova and her work; this is the third version of "Sea Talk" to appear on a Zola Jesus album, and the most hopeful-sounding rendition yet. Likewise, she imbues the Conatus highlight "In Your Nature" with an anthemic thrust that gives the songs fatalistic sentiments a strange but welcome uplifting quality. While Versions may be too tasteful-seeming for die-hard fans of early Zola Jesus, the albums undeniable beauty reveals another accomplished facet to Danilovas music. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 13 Title: Taiga Released: 2014-10-06 Tracks: 11 Duration: 42:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Taiga (02:55) 2 Dangerous Days (04:29) 3 Dust (03:32) 4 Hunger (04:32) 5 Go (Blank Sea) (04:05) 6 Ego (02:49) 7 Lawless (05:15) 8 Nail (03:05) 9 Long Way Down (03:58) 10 Hollow (03:50) 11 Its Not Over (04:05) |
| Taiga : Allmusic album Review : On the surface, Taiga is easily Zola Jesus most accessible album. With each release, Nika has peeled away the layers of noise blanketing her music; Versions, her orchestral collaboration with J.G. Thirlwell, also reflected her sounds increasing refinement. Taiga boasts her most honed palette of sounds yet, fusing brass and strings with beats and synths into a majestic yet poignant sound that recalls Björks Homogenic, especially on the stately title track and "Hunger"s frantic rhythms. Emphasizing her biggest strengths -- her huge voice, ringing melodies, and thoughtful lyrics -- should take Taiga to new heights, and at times it does. She embraces her newfound pop side wholeheartedly, and many moments suggest that this transformation holds promise. Its more than a little remarkable how well she harnesses her power into songs with clearly delineated hooks and choruses: "Dangerous Days" is equally glowering and joyous, echoing Kate Bushs "Running Up That Hill" with its galloping beat as well as the moody electropop Sia took to the top of the charts earlier in 2014. Meanwhile, "Dust"s slinky rhythms and brass combine R&B; and classical leanings into something bewitching. However, too often Taigas polarized sound -- which alternates between sparse and full-blast with little in between -- becomes monotonous, and sometimes Nikas voice is almost too intense, like the musical equivalent of staring directly into the sun. Each track here is powerful individually, but as a group they tend to diminish each other; this is particularly true on the albums second half, where songs such as "Hollow" feel oppressive instead of dramatic. Its notable that Nika was often more vulnerable when separated from her listeners by swaths of distortion on previous albums than she is on Taiga, though she does provide respites with more delicate moments like "Lawless" and the uniquely confessional "Ego." Even if its not her most intimate work -- especially compared with how effortlessly she balanced big and little moments on Conatus -- Taiga allows Nika to be inventive and craft some some stunningly beautiful moments along the way. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 13 Title: Okovi Released: 2017-09-08 Tracks: 11 Duration: 39:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Doma (02:14) 2 Exhumed (03:45) 3 Soak (03:57) 4 Ash to Bone (02:07) 5 Witness (04:01) 6 Siphon (03:49) 7 Veka (05:13) 8 Wiseblood (04:38) 9 NMO (00:56) 10 Remains (04:26) 11 Half Life (04:49) |
| Okovi : Allmusic album Review : Zola Jesus Nika Roza may have named her sixth album after the Slavic word for shackles, but more often than not, Okovi is a reminder that not all ties are bad. To release the album, she returned to her longtime label Sacred Bones after her bid for mainstream success, Taiga, appeared on Mute; likewise, she moved back to Wisconsin and built a home near her childhood treehouse after a stint in Seattle. Its not surprising, then, that Roza also revisits the sounds of her earliest work on Okovi. The penetrating vocals and rattling beats of songs like "Exhumed" and "Wiseblood" are classic Zola Jesus, calling to mind Stridulum and The Spoils. Crucially, though, shes not just rehashing the past with any of these moves. Instead, she sounds revitalized and inspired to express -- and fight against -- real-life struggles that include her own depression as well as those close to her surviving suicide attempts and cancer diagnoses. The results are some of her most beautiful and empathetic songs yet. More than ever, the darkness and light within Zola Jesus music support each other beautifully: Roza begins the album with "Doma," a luminously warm track that feels like a candlelit prayer or spell of protection. By contrast, she embodies utter hopelessness on "Soak," the tale of a woman who chooses to drown herself rather than be murdered. As dark as Okovi gets, however, its filled with compassion. The ethereal strings that grace the album add to the special, sacred feeling of tracks such as "Half Life," while Rozas voice sounds powerful enough to lift anyone up from suffering on the gorgeous "Witness" and "Siphon," where her layered vocals sound like an army of angels as she sings "Wont let you bleed out/Cant let you bleed out." The realness of songs like these makes Okovi more accessible than Taigas polish, especially when Roza transforms her concerns about mortality into seize-the-moment anthems like "Veka" and "Remains," both of which reaffirm that dancing is one of the best ways to exorcize pain. A deeply comforting album, Okovi is some of Zola Jesus purest-sounding, most profound music in years. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 13 Title: Okovi: Additions Released: 2018-04-06 Tracks: 8 Duration: 27:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Vacant (03:35) 2 Bound (03:05) 3 Pilot Light (02:27) 4 Bitten Wool (03:14) 5 Ash to Bone (Johnny Jewel remix) (03:16) 6 Siphon (Katie Gately remix) (03:23) 7 Exhumed (Randall Dunn & Aaron Weaver [Wolves in the Throne Room] remix) (03:59) 8 Soak (Joanne Pollock remix) (04:09) |
 | Album: 13 of 13 Title: Wiseblood (Johnny Jewel Remixes) Released: 2018-10-12 Tracks: 7 Duration: 26:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Ash to Bone (Johnny Jewel remix) (03:16) 2 Wiseblood (Johnny Jewel Alternate Version) (04:34) 3 Ash To Bone (Johnny Jewel Remix Instrumental) (02:55) 4 Wiseblood (Johnny Jewel Remix) (04:35) 5 Ash To Bone (Johnny Jewel Drumless Version) (03:16) 6 Wiseblood (Johnny Jewel Remix Instrumental) (04:35) 7 Wiseblood (Johnny Jewel Film Edit) (03:02) |