Zola Jesus announces a new album for the first time in five years. The singer-songwriter plans to release her new LP titled ARKHON on May 20, 2022. The new single “Lost” can already be heard as a preview of the album.
Zola Jesus, whose real name is Nika Roza Danilova, collaborated with other artists for the first time on the new album. “At some point I had to work with others,” she explains. “I needed fresh blood. I needed someone else.”
For the new record, she collaborated with producer Randall Dunn and drummer Matt Chamberlain. By allowing other people to contribute to her art, she has been able to play with spontaneity rather than meticulously crafting every detail of the record. She found ways to use her voice in a completely different way, said the classically trained singer.
“Looking back at my work, I see that there is one theme where I focus on my fear of the unknown,” said Danilova. “That really paid off on this album because I had to let go of so much control. I had to surrender to whatever the outcome would be. It used to be very hard for me and now I had no other choice.”
ARKHON means power in ancient Greek. “Arkons are a Gnostic idea of power wielded by a flawed god,” the singer explained. “They pollute and tarnish humanity, keeping it corrupt instead of letting it find its harmonious selves. I have a feeling we live in an archonic time; these negative influences weigh extremely heavily on all of us. We are in a time of Arkhons. There is power in naming that.”
This gloomy atmosphere can also be found in the first single “Lost”. “It’s true,” Danilova said of the song’s chorus. “Everyone I know is lost. Lost hope, lost future, lost present, lost planet. There is a collective disillusionment with our burning potential. The further we move away from nature, the more we move away from ourselves. ‘Lost’ is a seal to rediscover our coordinates and embark on a new path.”
The single also comes with a music video featuring Zola Jesus walking through the caves of Cappadocia, Turkey. Here you can hear and see the single in the stream:
ARKHON is scheduled for release on May 20th and is Zola Jesus’ sixth studio album. The previous album OKOVI was released in 2017.
ARKHON tracklist:
- Lost
- the case
- Undertow
- Into the Wild
- Dead and Gone
- sewn
- desire
- Fault
- Efemra
- Do That Anymore