Nika Roza Danilova - ANIMAL MY SOUL

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ZOLA JESUS – EYES ON THE TAIGA

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March 27, 2015

ZOLA JESUS Live at the Bronson Club, Ravenna, Italy – 27th March 2015

She came, she sang, she conquered. An hour-long set packed with intensity. Nika Roza Danilova is a vision in black with silver jewelry. Beauty and youth. Still only 25. The world at her feet if the world will listen. Bursts of wild dervish dances. Goth soulfulness. Striking poses but wholly natural. Arty but heartfelt. Pounding drums a constant. Moments of calm interspersed with Wagneresque splendor. Most of Taiga is played plus five older songs. Abstract paranoia rendered as upbeat pop. “Set me free” from Nail sang a capella. The audience in the palm of her hand. Power is a voice.

Zola Jesus website

Tags: Bronson Club, Nika Roza Danilova, Taiga, Zola Jesus

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ZOLA JESUS

Filed under: Gender, Music — Leave a comment

January 6, 2010

zola If you’re mourning the demise of Pocahuanted, as I was in yesterday’s post, a pretty good alternative lies in Zola Jesus from Madison, Wisconsin.

This is the alter ego of Nika Roza Danilova who on record creates layers of sound by herself in the studio but performs live with a band. She looks like a Goth and says she’s inspired by No-Wavers but I hear a lot of similarities with Weird-folksters like Pocahaunted and Grouper.

Her original record label asserted that this is music which occupies “a sphere of sparse industrial rhythms, no-fi drones, and ethereal femme vocals” .

When she contributed a track to a Mid-West compilation album Xxperiments she coined the label ‘Crimson Wave’ as a joke but the name seems to have stuck (it’s used in her Last.Fm bio for example). The derivation of the name , as Urban Dictionary tells us, is linked to menstruation so has the women only aspect. Not one of the world’s greatest genre labels that’s for sure but the music is great.

A useful introduction to her and the band is via the (Make The) Product show on WYNU (New York University Radio) recorded on 17th December 2008. You can try her music via the usual blogspots or legally at E-Music.

Here’s a neat video to whet your appetite: