Zitat des Tages von Zola Jesus:
No matter what you do, if there's something you're afraid of, you need to break through it.
I don't find much influence in opera. It was such a different part of me.
I think I'm making music that's pretty universal.
When you fall in love, you become weak.
Everything I do is a reflection of the duality within me. Musically, I really love things that are very synthetic and unnatural. And I also like the organic and human... the intrinsic, I guess.
I don't know why people think I'm a Goth - that's a misconception.
And my music is always such a release of what I feel inside, an impulse.
True expression is hard when performing opera. The problem is that opera relies on the dramatic context of the piece. It can be interpreted and represented, but there are guidelines; there is a vocabulary within the pieces that you must know objectively and reflect.
I started performing opera when I was 10 years old. I didn't perform as Zola Jesus until I was probably 18.
I try to create songs that are really massive and intense, but at the same time remaining honest and raw.
The word 'theatrical' makes me cringe, because it suggests a performance is staged, put on, rehearsed. And while all this is true for an opera, I believe the act of singing and performing should always be honest, raw, guttural.
People don't really understand who I am. They always think that I'm very dark or depressed, but it couldn't be further from the truth!
The greatest benefit of being a solo performer is that it is seriously frightening, but at the same time very empowering. It's just you and the audience. All the weight is on you to deliver the songs.
The only reason I would write a break-up song is because my own problem of allowing myself to relate to people.
