Versions

Description

Following the world tour for the album Conatus, Nika Roza Danilova (Zola Jesus) was invited to perform at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, one of the most prestigious museums of contemporary/modern art. She seized this opportunity to work with a classical composer to arrange her songs for a quartet. She then recruited JG Thirlwell (aka Foetus), one of the pioneers of New York industrial music from the early 80s, who, through his various projects (Manoerxia, Steroid Maximus, Wiseblood, and soundtracks for the Adult Swim series), remains recognizable for his cinematic, intense, and dramatic approach to music. Having worked with big bands and projects ranging from noise-rock to abstract electronic music and chamber music, Thirlwell seemed like the ideal collaborator for Zola Jesus/Danilova. On *Versions*, they rework the approximations of past albums, reinventing the tracks. Without the electronic elements that structured the original songs, the tracks become lighter, reaching a wider audience who might not have ventured into the techno-pop/industrial arena.