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Zola jesus aug17

Zola Jesus is releasing another album next month

03 August 2017, 16:04 | Written by Laurence Day

Zola Jesus has shared harrowing visuals for her single "Exhumed" and announced a new release formed from her acclaimed Stridulum and Valusia EPs.

The long-player - titled Stridulum - comprises the Nika Roza Danilova's two 2010 EPs for a new Sacred Bones release.

Danilova has also shared a statement about next month's release:

"Seven years ago, it was winter break at university in Madison, Wisconsin. There was a snowstorm that covered the city with a still white haze. Not a single person in the streets. I was sitting on my bed with a cheap keyboard and a computer, screaming into the void.

"I barely remember writing the songs. It was a chaotic point in my life. I had no time to think about process or intent. It was a purge. I do remember taking a break from recording, bundling up, and walking through the barren streets while listening to the demos I’d made. The world, at once, felt clear.

"After writing and producing what would become the Stridulum EP, I contacted a new friend, Alex DeGroot, to come over and record my vocals. He was studying audio engineering and had more knowledge and gear than I could dream of. He helped mix Stridulum, too, because all I had was a pair of headphones. (Since then, Alex has stuck by me, as a live bandmate, technical director, co-producer, mixer, and engineer.)

"These songs were a huge leap of faith back then. It was my first time singing without layers of distortion, echo, and reverb. It was the first time I peeled back the layers to find out what was at the core. I’m still on that path today, seeing how far I can push myself into unknown places, whether through clarification or destruction. It’s like Stridulum’s still here with me, underneath it all.

"Still, it’s surreal to think that this record, made by a 19-year-old girl sitting on a bed in a freezing old house in Madison, would make its way into strangers’ ears seven years later."

Long-time collaborator Jacqueline Castel directs the creepy clip for Danilova's new single, a recent taste of Okovi - the follow up to 2014's Taiga.

"'Exhumed' was personally conceived of and created whilst processing death - of family members and of relationships - and much like Okovi's core themes, it is a reflection on loss, heritage, and the often painful personal growth we must harness in the face of life's constant evolution," explains Castel. "Shot intimately in one day, in the exhausting heat within the woods surrounding Nika's Wisconsin home, we sought to capture personal apocalypse, utilizing experimental shooting techniques to further our emotional goals. Practically and metaphorically, we fought to find the light in the darkest of forests."

Tracklist:

  1. Doma
  2. Exhumed
  3. Soak
  4. Ash To Bone
  5. Witness
  6. Siphon
  7. Veka
  8. Wiseblood
  9. NMO
  10. Remains
  11. Half Life
Okovi and Stridulum are released via Sacred Bones on 8 September.
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