Show Announcement: Zola Jesus – Contemporary Arts Center (Cincinnati)
One week from today Zola Jesus will be performing at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. Zola Jesus is the stage name of Nika Danilova, a 22-year-old Wisconsinite with Russian heritage who released her third studio album Conatus in late 2011. A solo act that sometimes plays her live shows with a backing band, her music is a hauntingly beautiful blend of rich synths and emotional, dark vocals that combine to bring a unique listening experience that feels like a mixture of Goth, opera, and minimalistic pop music. In a conversation with Interview Magazine, Nika describes her brand of sound philosophically saying, “Everything I do is a reflection of the duality within me. Musically, I really love things that are very synthetic and unnatural. And I also like the organic and human… the intrinsic, I guess. I always try to reconcile the dichotomy between the two and make it into something that is unique.”
The show is next Monday evening (2-20-12) at the Contemporary Arts Center in downtown Cincinnati. Buy Tickets for $13. Being at the CAC, the performance should have an added artistic visual element versus your normal concert venue experience that is sure to make this a memorable evening. Below you can check out a live performance of Zola Jesus performing “Poor Animal” courtesy of Seattle’s KEXP radio. Hope to see you there Cincinnati.
Connect with Zola Jesus via Facebook | Twitter
Written by Greg Dahman
Sharon Van Etten Makes Good on Cincinnati Show (Video)
The Southgate House was THE venue to go see in Cincinnati (well really in Newport, KY…but to settle all arguments now, directly across the river is still Cincy). When I was in high school, which now seems about forever ago, I used to drink disgusting booze like Mad Dog 20/20 and pursue other various forms of fun under the bridge before heading to shows there. I saw the Black Keys before anyone knew they were good, after about 20 Rolling Rocks thanks to the man I call “Foot Clapper” who I will never meet again. What I’m trying to say is that venue bleeds music and the camaraderie that spawns from seeing a show there. And it still did, up until New Years Eve of this past year when it was shut down in a bitter family dispute (once more, in case they didn’t hear it the first time…1, 2, 3, fuck you…). In any case, one of the travesties of the venue shutting down was that the original Sharon Van Etten show scheduled for this February was changed to Grand Rapids, MI (Ohioans…commence booing for our neighbors to the north). But cry not my fellow Cincinnati residents, Sharon has just announced a new show at Mayday on 4-27-12.
Van Etten’s new album Tramp drops on 2-7-2012, and is one you do not want to miss. An album that cuts deep at the human core of relationships with others, it is a direct onslaught of truth for anyone not living in the haze of marital bliss. A record meant for those who have been through pain and heartache, it somehow manages to make everything better while reminding you that you’re better off without that certain someone.
Watch a video for a song from her new LP entitled “Give Out” courtesy of Soundcheck Live in the Greene Space below.
Connect with Sharon Van Etten via Facebook | Twitter
Written by Greg Dahman
Fresh Track: Isaac Joel “If I Hear Music”
Isaac Joel, otherwise known as Isaac Karns of Cincinnati’s Pomegranates, dropped a 6 song EP on Monday entitled Back to the Bassics. An aptly named record because Isaac recorded all six tracks using only a bass guitar, it’s an experimental mix of ambient tracks with a touch of folk and gospel. “If I Hear Music”, the second track on the EP which stood out to me the most, features a repeating bass line throughout before Isaac brings his voice in softly.
If I am Singing
I’m Singing For You
If I am Loving
Help My Love Be True
What sets this track apart is that after the first verse is repeated twice, a gorgeous, almost spiritual, harmonization of vocals pierces through, inspiring an uplifting moment of zen that carries through the end of the song. “If I hear music” Indeed, if I hear music.
Written by Greg Dahman
Thought on Tracks 