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Aug 03, 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.” Now she has shared a video for “Exhumed.” Fittingly, the creepy and static-y black & white clip features Danilova crawling out of a forest grave. Jacqueline Castel directed the video. Watch it below, followed by Zola Jesus’ upcoming tour dates.

Castel had this to say about the video in a press release: “‘Exhumed’ was personally conceived of and created whilst processing death - of family members and of relationships - and much like Okovi‘s core themes, it is a reflection on loss, heritage, and the often painful personal growth we must harness in the face of life’s constant evolution. Shot intimately in one day, in the exhausting heat within the woods surrounding Nika’s Wisconsin home, we sought to capture personal apocalypse, utilizing experimental shooting techniques to further our emotional goals. Practically and metaphorically, we fought to find the light in the darkest of forests.”

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
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
10/14 - 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
11/07 - London, UK - Village Underground

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