Q&A: Zola
Jesus
Nika Roza Danilova is the mastermind behind the experimental
pop persona Zola Jesus. The Wisconsin-bred Danilova began studying opera at age
8 but gave it up ten years later to pursue more free-form expression. Initially
an underground artist while pursuing studies in Philosophy and French at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison Vashon
Island in Puget Sound . Danilova now lives
in Seattle with her entomologist
husband.
Q: Where did the name Zola Jesus come from?
A: Oh, man. I was 14 years old and I came up with it
completely randomly. I was reading [French author Émile] Zola at the time and
liked the idea of Zola Jesus. I made people call me that at school and it just
stuck.
Q: Initially, you were studying opera. What made you
switch genres?
A: I became a little disillusioned with opera because
of the heavy tradition and all of the rules, the fact that you can be good or
bad or right or wrong. As a child, that became too much for me, so I used Zola
Jesus as a means to explore music that didn’t necessarily have to be a boring
tradition; it could be whatever I wanted to do.
Q: How have you seen your music evolve over the
years?
A: Everything’s completely experimental. Every time I
make a new song, I’m trying something new or exploring territory that I’ve
never tried before. In that sense, it’s very impulsive, but it definitely
evolves throughout the years, naturally.
Q: Do you tend to start with lyrics or
instrumentation?
A: It totally depends on the song.
Q: Tell me about your relationship with nature and
how it influenced your latest album.
A: I grew up around it. I grew up in Northern
Wisconsin and nature was just part of my life. I didn’t think
about it, but my family lived in the woods and relied on that a lot for living.
I moved away from them and I started to miss it a lot, so I moved back to the
woods in a sense and it felt like home again. I was able to create music in a
much different way than I’d done before.
Q: You told “Interview” that “Everything I do is a
reflection of the duality within me.” What dualities do you grapple with on a
daily basis?
A: Everything. Black and white, right and wrong,
things like that. There are shades on a spectrum, but for some reason, I can
only oscillate between the extremes, especially in music, you know? Pop versus
experimental, accessible versus inaccessible.
Q: What are your favorite fashion pieces at the
moment?
A: Black turtleneck and black pants. I’ve been
wearing that for four or five months straight now. I get into obsessions about
clothing. Right now, I have a very uniform look where you wear one thing and
you wear it every day and don’t have to think about it.
Q: What about hair and makeup?
A: Pretty minimal. I don’t wear very much makeup and
my hair is long right now. It’s pretty wild, but I usually style it.
Q: How did you end up in Seattle ?
A: Randomly. I visited on tour and fell in love with
the city and the coast. I wanted to move out of Los
Angeles and I picked here.
Q: What do you miss most about the Midwest ?
A: I miss my family. The culture of Northern
Wisconsin is pretty unique. The Pacific Northwest
reminds me of the Midwest in a way.
Q: What are you looking forward to in 2015?
A: Touring and trying new things.
Originally published on Vita.mn in Jan. 2015.
Originally published on Vita.mn in Jan. 2015.
