Interview: Zola Jesus, singer

Published on Thursday 2 September 2010 11:44

IN the blogosphere they're calling it the second coming of goth - the revival of a scene that's been lurking in the shadows for 25 years.

At its heart is hipster queen Zola Jesus (aka 21-year-old Nika Rosa Danilova, pictured right), a lass from Wisconsin in the Siouxsie Sioux mould, whose first appearance in the Capital is causing a stir among those who like their lipstick black and their music even darker.

Danilova's musical career began at the age of 10, when she studied opera and applied to New York's Juilliard School.

She was denied a place, but reinvented herself as Zola Jesus in high school, writing and recording in her bedroom.

"Zola Jesus came about naturally," she explains ahead of her gig at the Roxy Art House on Sunday.

"It started as a small project and grew into something a lot bigger than myself. In high school I'd write songs, mostly a cappella, because I didn't own any instruments other than my family's old piano and a guitar."

The singer is here to promote new EP Stridulum, which follows last year's The Spoils, a release that featured high on the critics' end of year polls.

Her newbie is her most melodic work do date, even if she doesn't entirely agree. "I feel like I've always made pop songs," she says. "Before I was more concerned with sound texture than songwriting. With Stridulum I've tried to find a better balance; meeting in the middle with melody and texture."

Roxy Art House, Roxburgh Place, Sunday, 7.30pm, 7, 0131-629 0039