Opera student-turned-noise musician, Nika Roza Danilova, aka Zola Jesus, is coming up fast. Starting out alongside the likes of TV Ghost and Leper Print on small noise label Die Stasi and sharing labelmates like Blank Dogs and Moon Duo on Sacred Bones Records, Zola Jesus has her roots amongst well-respected modern noise. But from these smaller scenes, she quickly rose to crossover prominence while touring with the likes of Xiu Xiu, Fever Ray and The xx, at just barely 22.

Musically, her diverse influences clearly impact the way people categorize her as being all across the board: from lo-fi goth to noise to various _____waves (darkwave, crimson wave, etc). Lush, droney instrumentals are cut with her strong, sturdy vocals, with only a slight echo to blend the two–as if Kate Bush or Souxsie Sioux made a guest appearance on a Throbbing Gristle record.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM8fEP8FOqE&w=560&h=349]

She’s on tour now! If you’re in Portland, you can see her this Thursday, May 5 at Holocene with Naked on the Vague (Slitbreeze Records frequenters, solid noise).

Photo courtesy of Ground Control Touring