Zola Jesus: piano, vocals

Behind Zola Jesus is Nika Roza Danilova, the American "queen of melancholy" with Russian-Ukrainian roots - an opera diva who immerses herself in the world of sombre soundscapes. Her stage name already combines what characterises her pop noir: the clear realism of French writer Émile Zola on the one hand and the emotive spirituality of Jesus on the other. "When Danilova sings, you almost always believe that it's a matter of life or death," was the logical judgement of the renowned music magazine Pitchfork, as she creates music that is larger than life and intense in its effect, songs that are so overwhelming and powerful that your veins even ache. Now Zola Jesus is coming to Vienna's Porgy & Bess on 16 September with the live EP "Alive in Cappadocia", recorded in a former monastery in the Turkish district of Bezirhane, and is preparing to "fill the spiritual emptiness that is around and within us" with her music.