Zola Jesus, KOKO

Pop experimentalist Zola Jesus brings her otherworldly sound to Camden's KOKO.

There are few musicians who’d list the work of both Mariah Carey and industrial experimentalist Genesis P-orridge as among their influences. Zola Jesus, real name Nika Roza Danilova, is one of those musicians. Add to this that from the age of seven to seventeen, she trained as an opera singer and you have what sounds like a very unlikely combination. 

Danilova’s achievement is that, at her best, she is able to distil these influences into a sound that is authentically her own. Especially on her earliest releases ( New Amsterdam, The Spoils ), her songs retain the pulse and hiss of her industrial precursors. Yet, from amongst the fuzz of synthesisers, emerges a voice with unexpected power and clarity that reveals not only her operatic training, but also her pop sensibilities.

Danilova’s new album, Taiga , is set for release on October 7, and she has already shared a single from the LP, ‘Dangerous Days’, which is her most direct work to date. The drums are pounding, the synthesisers full, and the chorus downright catchy.

Live, Danilova is a captivating performer; her shows build towards a fever pitch, as she stretches her voice just short of breaking point. On November 18, she is due to perform at Camden’s KOKO, giving London audiences a chance to hear her experimental, orchestral breed of pop.