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Aug 29, 2017 By Christopher Roberts Zola Jesus

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Zola Jesus (aka Nika Roza Danilova) is releasing a new album, Okovi, on September 8 via Sacred Bones. Previously she shared its first two singles, the dramatic “Exhumed” and the slightly more pop-y “Soak.” There was also a creepy black & white video for “Exhumed” that featured Danilova crawling out of a forest grave (before Taylor Swift’s new video opened with a similar, much less creepy, scene). Now she has shared another song from the album, “Siphon,” in which she desperately and repeatedly sings, “Can’t let you bleed out/Won’t let you bleed out.” Listen to it below, followed by Zola Jesus’ upcoming tour dates.

Danilova had this to say about the song in a press release: “Initially, I was apprehensive about releasing ‘Siphon’ into the world. This song was not intended for public consumption. It was written for someone very close to me who had attempted suicide for the second time. In the weeks surrounding this tragedy, I desperately tried everything I could to convince them to stay alive. There is no greater horror than watching someone you love physically destroy themselves… not knowing if you would see them tomorrow. In the end, I decided this song needed to be heard, not only by this person, but by others as well.”

Okovi marks her return to Sacred Bones after a stint on Mute. The album also features Danilova’s longtime live bandmate Alex DeGroot, along with producer/musician WIFE, cellist/noise-maker Shannon Kennedy (from Pedestrian Deposit), and percussionist Ted Byrnes.

Here’s what Danilova had to say about the album in a previous press release: “Last year, I moved back to the woods in Wisconsin where I was raised. I built a little house just steps away from where my dilapidated childhood tree fort is slowly recombining into earth. Okovi was fed by this return to roots and several very personal traumas.

“While writing Okovi, I endured people very close to me trying to die, and others trying desperately not to. Meanwhile, I was fighting through a haze so thick I wasn’t sure I’d find my way to the other side. Death, in all of its masks, has been encircling everyone I love, and with it the questions of legacy, worth, and will.

“Okovi is a Slavic word for shackles. We’re all shackled to something—to life, to death, to bodies, to minds, to illness, to people, to birthright, to duty. Each of us born with a unique debt, and we have until we die to pay it back. Without this cost, what gives us the right to live? And moreover, what gives us the right to die? Are we really even free to choose?

“This album is a deeply personal snapshot of loss, reconciliation, and a sympathy for the chains that keep us all grounded to the unforgiving laws of nature. To bring it to life, I decided to enlist the help of Alex DeGroot, who has been the only constant in my live band and helped mix the Stridulum EP back in 2010. It will be released on Sacred Bones, the closest group of people I’ll ever have to blood-bound family.”

Also be sure to read our 2014 interview with Zola Jesus.

Zola Jesus Tour Dates:

09/16 - Hudson, NY - Basilica Soundscape
9/20 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theater
09/21 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
09/22 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar
09/23 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf
09/25 - Dallas, TX - Kessler Theater
09/26 - Austin, TX - North Door
09/27 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia
09/28 - Atlanta, GA - Aisle 5
09/29 - Asheville, NC - The Mothlight
09/30 - Washington, DC - U Street
10/01 - Boston, MA - ICA Boston
10/03 - Philadelphia, PA - PhilaMOCA
10/04 - Brooklyn, NY - Rough Trade
10/06 - Toronto, ON - Longboat Hall
10/07 - Detroit, MI - Assemble Sound Church
10/08 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
10/09 - Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre
10/10 - St. Paul, MN - Amsterdam Bar & Hall
10/11 - Omaha, NE - Waiting Room
10/13 - Denver, CO - Globe Hall
10/14 - Salt Lake City, UT - Amsterdam Bar & Hall
10/16 - Oakland, CA - Starline Social Club
10/17 - San Francisco, CA - Independent
10/19 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile
10/20 - Portland, OR - The Old Church
10/21 - Vancouver, BC - Venue
10/28 - Cologne, DE - Luxor
10/29 - Brighton, UK - The Haunt
10/31 - Glasgow, UK - St. Luke’s
11/01 - Manchester, UK - Band on the Wall
11/02 - Leeds, UK - Belgrave Music Hall
11/03 - Norwich, UK - Arts Centre
11/04 - Liverpool, UK - Stanley Theatre
11/06 - Dublin, IE - Whelan’s
11/07 - London, UK - Village Underground
11/08 - Paris, FR - Le Point Ephémère
11/12 - Geneva, CH - La Gravière
11/14 - Roma, IT - Monk
11/15 - Bologna, IT - Locomotiv
11/16 - Bern, CH - Dampfzentrale
11/17 - Milan, IT - Magnolia
11/18 - Zagreb, HR - Mocvara
11/20 - Nuremburg, DE - Z-Bau
11/21 - Vienna, AT - Fluc
11/22 - Berlin, DE - SO36
11/23 - Leipzig, DE - UT Connewitz
11/25 - Frankfurt, DE - Mousonturm
11/27 - Brussels, BE - Beursschouwburg
11/28 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
11/29 - Hamburg, DE - Uebel & Gefahrlich

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