Nika, the 25-year-old behind Zola Jesus‰۪ creative incarnations, is a singer, sole songwriter and producer.
Written on Vashon Island, WA and mixed in Los Angeles, CA by Dean Hurley, ‰Û÷Taiga‰۪ follows the widely celebrated albums ‰Û÷Versions‰۪ (2013) and ‰Û÷Conatus‰۪ (2011). This is Nika‰۪s fourth full- length album release.
In regards to the album title, Nika explains, ‰ÛÏTaiga is the Russian name for the boreal forest. For me it feels very alive... very expansive. It represents a feral, untapped world that could happily exist without us. There are taiga forests in Northern Wisconsin where I was raised, and also in Russia where my ancestors are from, so it also feels very native.‰
Liberated in the present and connected to the past, this album is a transition for Zola Jesus. Masterful layers of composition are bathed in familiar atmospheric vocals but a new sensibility is deeply present.
‰Û÷Taiga‰۪ is at once challenging and accessible and is undeniably branded with what Nika terms a ‰ÛÏpiercing ambition.‰
Such encompassing purpose, she explains, would be impossible without a newfound sense of artistic self. The album is a declaration of that purpose; one faced with jarring clarity in both its content and production. Nika summates, ‰ÛÏFor me, it feels like my true debut, because it is the first time I have felt so open and liberated.‰
Coloured vinyl edition available exclusively to independent retailers.