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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.

Zola Jesus

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Zola Jesus
Age: 35
Born: 1989
Born: April 11
Composer
Recording Artist
Singer
Singer-Songwriter
Songwriter
Phoenix
Arizona
Nika Roza Danilova
Nicole Rose Hummel
Nika Rosa Danilova
Believe
Performing
Always
Performance
Guttural
Performances
Staged
Singing
Rehearsed
Honest
Cringe
Word
Suggests
Makes
Theatrical
True
Opera

More quotes by Zola Jesus

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I feel like I am alone when I am in the presence of those I love. It is so freeing and comfortable, you become one with them.
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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.
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I don't know why people think I'm a Goth - that's a misconception.
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I think I'm making music that's pretty universal.
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A lot of times I have the song inside of me and I have to fight to get it out. I'm a very visual person, so I can see the song but I can't hear it. But I think that if your music becomes a war for it to happen, in the end there's a certain kind of aggression in the music. And I think that's a lot more interesting.
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You are born and then you die, but in between you can do anything you want. It's society that creates rules for us, but you can break out of that.
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I know for sure that nothing matters.
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When you fall in love, you become weak.
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I started performing opera when I was 10 years old. I didn't perform as Zola Jesus until I was probably 18.
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And my music is always such a release of what I feel inside, an impulse.
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No matter what you do, if there's something you're afraid of, you need to break through it.
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The most important thing for us to do as beings is to be aware of our position in the world on a micro and macro level.
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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.
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As a child, I was always making sound it was a compulsion. I loved to scream and yell and sing it freed me from all the thoughts in my head. I begged for opera lessons because opera singing is the most formidable, most emotional way to use your voice.
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I don't find much influence in opera. It was such a different part of me.
Zola Jesus
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I like to remind myself that everything is meaningless.
Zola Jesus
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I feel like humans are a disease. It's a hard thing to communicate in a pop song. I mean, who wants to hear that?
Zola Jesus
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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!
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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.
Zola Jesus
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My music started as a way to break through weaknesses - like anxiety, which was completely taking over my whole life, where I could barely function.
Zola Jesus