Zola Jesus Shares New Single 'Into The Wild' From New Album 'Arkhon'

Nearing the release of her new album Arkhon, due out June 24th via Sacred Bones Records, today Zola Jesus shares the empowered and evocative "Into The Wild."

Following previous singles "Lost", "Desire" and "The Fall", Nika Roza Danilova comments on the track: "Into The Wild was written about the end of a relationship, and what seemed like the end of a former life. It was such an overwhelming, tumultuous time of my life; every step into the future felt like walking into the great unknown.

My anxiety was at an all-time high, and getting through each day felt like a nearly impossible task. Songwriting was the only way to feel grounded in what I was experiencing. This song in particular became a beacon for me. I'm so grateful to have music as an outlet to help me navigate difficult periods, and hopefully those listening to this will also feel a deeper sense of stability through their own big changes."

Following the announcement that this July she will embark on a tour with The Cult and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club as well as an appearance at Summerfest in Milwaukee, today Danilova has announced her sole US headlining date in 2022, a show at the Lodge Room in Los Angeles on August 6th. Tickets will be on sale tomorrow, Friday, June 10 at 10am PT.

Watch the visualizer for the new single here:

ZOLA JESUS TOUR DATES

7/8/2022 - St. Paul, MN - The Palace Theater*

7/9/2022 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest

7/10/2022 - Chesterfield, MO - The Factory*

7/12/2022 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre*

7/14/2022 - Cincinnati, OH - PNC Pavilion*

7/15/2022 - Huber Heights, OH - Rose Music Center at The Heights*

7/16/2022 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE*

7/19/2022 - Washington DC - The Anthem*

7/20/2022 - New York, NY - Pier 17*

7/22/2022 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met Philadelphia*

7/23/2022 - Boston, MA - Leader Bank Pavilion*

7/24/2022 - New Haven, CT - College Street Music Hall*

7/26/2022 - Syracuse, NY - Cooper Crouse-Hinds*

7/27/2022 - Rochester Mills, MI - Meadow Brook Amphitheatre*

8/6/2022 - Los Angeles, CA - The Lodge Room

*With The Cult & Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

She has also announced news of "The Zola Jesus Diaries", a three part residency airing on the Blast Radio app that will see Nika take listeners through her favorite songs past and present, discuss her influences and give an in-depth track-by-track of Arkhon. Nika says of the series: "I'm really excited to debut the Zola Jesus Diaries on Blast Radio and to be using their unique format; it calls back to pirate radio and the ephemeral experience of listening into a live broadcast. Each show will cover different aspects of my music and my new album Arkhon, I can't wait to take listeners on this journey."

On previous albums, Danilova had largely played the role of auteur, meticulously crafting every aspect of Zola Jesus's sound and look. This time, she realized that her habitual need for control was sealing her out of her art. When the frustration of being unable to create became intolerable, she took a leap of faith and reached out for help, something she had never done this early in an album's lifetime. "At some point, I had to work with other people. I needed new blood. I needed somebody else."

Danilova sent her demos to producer Randall Dunn, known for his work with Sunn O))) and on Jóhann Jóhannsson's score for the film Mandy. She also began collaborating with drummer and percussionist Matt Chamberlain, whose prior work appears on albums by Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie.

"When I look back at my work, I see there's a theme where I fixate on my fear of the unknown," says Danilova. "That really came into fruition for this record, because I had to let go of so much control. I had to surrender to whatever the outcome would be. That used to be really hard for me, and now I had no other choice."

In her creative process, Danilova instead began forging a relationship with the unknown. Rather than try to hold Arkhon in its entirety at every moment of its creation, she began focusing on the direct experience of making work with others, allowing for spontaneous moments of unselfconscious play. After over a decade of classical voice training, she found that this shift enabled her to ease into her singing voice in new ways, leading her to greater flexibility and agility. "I had gone through a deeply transformational process of inner growth. That annihilated a lot of tension in my voice, because my whole attachment to things changed," she says.

Arkhon unearths buried tools for bearing grief, loss, and disappointment. The album's title means "power" or "ruler" in ancient Greek, but it also has a specific valence within Gnosticism. "Arkons are a Gnostic idea of power wielded through a flawed god," says Danilova. "They taint and tarnish humanity, keeping them corrupted instead of letting them find their harmonious selves. I do feel like we are living in an arkhonic time; these negative influences are weighing extremely heavy on all of us. We're in a time of arkhons. There's power in naming that."

Arkhon is set for release June 24th and available for pre-order here on multiple limited edition LP variants through Sacred Bones, Bandcamp and various independent retailers, as well as on CD and cassette.