Zola Jesus
| Zola Jesus | |
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Zola Jesus performing in Germany in 2012
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nicole Rose Hummel |
| Born |
April 11, 1989 Phoenix, Arizona, United States |
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| Years active | 2006–present |
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| Website | www |
Zola Jesus is the stage name of American singer-songwriter and producer Nika Roza Danilova (born April 11, 1989). She has released three EPs and five full-length albums that combine electronic, industrial, classical, and goth.
Nicole Hummel was born in Phoenix, Arizona and raised in Merrill, Wisconsin.
She also goes by the name Nika Roza Danilova, citing her Russian heritage. In various interviews she has stated that her parents are American, with combinations of Russian but also German,Slovenian, and Ukrainian descent.
Nika started singing early on, buying voice lesson tapes and opera sheet music at the age of 7. For a couple of years she had to stop singing due to anxiety and the competitive nature of opera. "I studied opera on and off for about 10 years. I wasn't in any operas, though, it was always really private and individual...I kept stopping because I was like, I'm not good enough, I suck, this is awful, and then I'd start again. I could never practice singing if anyone was home," she explained in a Pitchfork interview. In her teens Nika started to experiment in a more rock-oriented format. By naming her alter ego after Jesus Christ and the French writer Émile Zola she said she consciously wanted to alienate peers. "It worked perfectly—a lot of people wouldn't even say Zola Jesus because they thought it was sacrilegious", she said in an interview. "Using Jesus in my name isn't necessarily supposed to be a strong statement. I respect religion and I know people do need it, but it's a weird phenomenon in our world. It's so weird," she later commented. Inspired by favorites like Ian Curtis,Lydia Lunch,Diamanda Galás, Throbbing Gristle and Swans (but also bubblegum pop and classical aria), she started to record at home, using keyboards, drum machines and "anything else she had on hand". In 2008 she debuted with singles "Poor Sons" on Die Stasi and "Soeur Sewer" on Sacred Bones Records.
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