Zola Jesus returns with the first single from Okovi, her new album on Sacred Bones Records, due out Sept 8th. It finds Nicole Hummel in fine form, juxtaposing dramatic flurries of strings, industrial electronic rhythms and low frequency bass thrums as she backgrounds her lead vocal with the deathly howl of her self-voiced choir. There’s a turbulent, anxious and haunting feel to the song that … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Zola Jesus – Exhumed
After three excellent albums in Conatus, Stridulum II and The Spoils, Zola Jesus has announced her new album Taiga will be out on October 7th via Mute. Below you can stream the first single ‘Dangerous Days’. In regards to the album title, Nika explains, “Taiga is the Russian name for the boreal forest. For me it feels very alive… very expansive. It represents a feral, untapped world that could happily … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Zola Jesus announces new album Taiga
by Chris Familton Welcome to the inaugural Eight Days A Week column where every Friday morning I’ll round up what caught my ears and eyes over the week, what is coming up in the near future in terms of gigs, new releases, news etc. plus any other goings on in my music dominated life. This week much of the internet chatter surrounded the flatulence of … Continue reading EIGHT DAYS A WEEK: August 30th, 2013
Zola Jesus played a stellar show at the Sydney Opera House recently and continues to release videos from acclaimed Conatus album. Here is the bathed in white clip for the four to floor synth workout Seekir featuring some of the same smoke visuals that she uses heavily in her live performances. Continue reading VIDEO: Zola Jesus | Seekir
by C. Familton Forces were up first in this evening that showcased the darker side of contemporary electronic music. The Melbourne duo made great use of the Opera House’s exceptional sound quality and seemed to win over a large portion of the audience with their industrial post punk electro set. They combine a bunch of sounds from the past, particularly the early 80s, yet it … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Zola Jesus, Light Asylum, Forces @ Sydney Opera House Studio (31/05/12)
by Chris Familton In both popular and fringe culture the dark has been rising steadily over the last decade and it is showing no signs of retreating into the shadows. Fascination with death, ghosts, the dark arts and melancholy have always been important signifiers of all art forms yet this current trend in Hollywood movies and in many musical genres is tantamount to a gothic … Continue reading FEATURE: Why So Glum?
This year the Sydney Opera House based festival Vivid LIVE has done away with a guest curator, in the past using Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson, Brian Eno and others. From 2012 onward the festival will be overseen by the Sydney Opera House’s programming team, led by Head of Contemporary Music, Fergus Linehan as Festival Director. The full line-up for this year has been announced today … Continue reading NEWS: 2012 Vivid LIVE Festival Program Announced…
In the last five years an increasing number of female artists have been making themselves heard above the generic indie clatter. Many of them have stepped away from the softer folk leanings of artists like Feist and Cat Power and established a stronger, more assertive aural template. In the electronic realm the likes of Austra, Fever Ray and Zola Jesus are creating dark electronic pop … Continue reading FEATURE: Girls Aloud
written by Chris Familton Zola Jesus is one of a number of female singers with strong rich voices that have emerged in recent years. She shares similar vocal tonalities with the likes of Florence Welch, The Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson and Austra’s Katie Stelmanis yet she stands out above those and others as the strongest individual of the bunch. Following on from last year’s Stridulum … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Zola Jesus | Conatus
Zola Jesus has followed up last year’s Stridulum II pretty quickly with the upcoming Conatus, out October 4th via Sacred Bones. Stridulum II was a dark and lush trip through pop electronica and goth with Nika Roza Danilova’s voice a commanding presence throughout. Conatus sounds like it will continue that vibe but perhaps with a little less bombastic mood more finely tuned song construction. Head … Continue reading LISTEN: To Seekir from the new Zola Jesus album…
That’s it then, 2010 done and dusted and although it wasn’t the best year ever for new music there were some damn fine records released. This year we’re seeing an even more eclectic mix of flavours coming through from witch house, minimal electronica, americana, experimental and the all encompassing indie tag. Have a look at what we loved through the year, click on the covers … Continue reading ds…twenty five – our favourite releases of 2010
Grab a free MP3 of Sea Talk, one of three bonus tracks from the expanded European version of Zola Jesus‘ Stridulum EP, cleverly titled Stridulum II. It’s out this August via Sacred Bones. Here is what we said about the EP in our Mid Year Best Of list… Appearing like a ghostly Siouxsie she has a haunting, gothic voice that conjures up dark romance and … Continue reading MP3: Zola Jesus | Sea Talk
Doubtful Sounds 