Zola Jesus has a new album on the way, titled Arkhon.
Spanning 10 tracks, the album – which takes its name from the ancient Greek term for "power" or "ruler" – has its roots in a period of writer’s block which saw the artist, real name Nika Roza Danilova, let other musicians into her creative process more than on past material. Among those were producer Randall Dunn, to whom she sent a number of demos, and drummer Matt Chamberlain, with whom she began collaborating while working on the record.
Speaking about the album in a statement, Danilova said: "When I look back at my work, I see there’s a theme where I fixate on my fear of the unknown. 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."
Above, you can listen to watch a video for the lead single, ‘Lost’, of which Danilova said: "Everyone I know is lost. Lost hope, lost future, lost present, lost planet. There is a collective disillusionment of our burning potential. As we stray further from nature, we drift from ourselves. ‘Lost’ is a sigil to rediscover our coordinates and claim a new path.
"I wanted to shoot the video in a place that carried a lot of energy, with someone that I felt understood the spiritual backbone of the song. It was a surprisingly natural process to make this video with Mu Tunc in Turkey. I put my faith in him and in Cappadocia, a labyrinthine city built within 60 million-year-old caves. Throughout human history these caves have served as a citadel for so many different groups of people who went there to get lost. It is a testament to the resilience of humanity, and the durability of our earth."
Sacred Bones will release Arkhon on May 20, 2022.
