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Zola Jesus, Versions Standout Track: “Fall Back”
“CHALLENGES ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW.”
present in her trademark belt. It is the sound of an artist finding courage to match the strength of her voice, letting down her guard and overcoming her fears. The sound of a woman taking control of who she is becoming as an artist. The next album is in the works and will be her most ambitious yet, combining all she’s learned so far with the drive to push her art forward. Versions showed her how much there is to explore within the material she’s already written, how many different angles can be developed from the same source. Now she’s taking the time to be her own collaborator. “I’m writing ten different versions of every song for this album” she says, “I want to do some exploration beforehand.”
Nika Roza Danilova was afraid of a lot of things when she was young, and so she started writing and performing music. It began as a way to combat her anxiety and overcome her fears. Over the past five years she’s channeled these struggles into a unique artistic voice with a remarkably original approach to music. She is woman who refuses to conform, even to herself. Though her voice will always remain the recognizable centerpiece of her music, the rest will change drastically over time. No one can ever predict what will come next from Zola Jesus. www.zolajesus.com
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2014 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 23