A Zola Jesus Baker's Dozen: 13 LPs By Women Who Inspired Me To Sing | Page 8 of 14 | The Quietus

Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

7. Diamanda GalasLitanies of Satan

Diamanda is an icon of will against nature. Her voice… her possession, embodies a fortitude so thick you can barely imagine her body existing alongside anything truly corporeal. Her voice is a thing in itself; at one moment working limpidly in exorcism, the next it bites back in defiance against refuse. Listening to her as a teenager studying opera, I cannot explain to you the freedom I felt. Hearing this spinto voice pushed and pulled beyond it’s limits, turning in on itself, rebelling and yet playing by the rules… it was in dusted headphones did I find a companion in knowing the potential of the human voice. All it can express and implode, I was there with her.

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