Listenable – Zola Jesus, the low-fi band that doesn’t exist
Posted by Mat | Filed under Music
“Zola Jesus didn’t need to clean up to stand apart from the Lo-fi horde– they already had Nika Danilova’s voice”
In the very first sentence of their review of Zola Jesus’ new EP Stridulum, Pitchfork presents the reader with a clear image of the music – great female vocals and Lo-fi sound. The expectations are set – early Liz Phair, or maybe the garage sounds of No Age or Vivian girls.
Nope, no Lo-fi here.
Buzzing guitars, scratchy vocals, pervasive noise, and other Lo-fi staples have been supplanted by dron, martial percussion, and a sole, powerful and echoing, voice. This is downright goth.
A look over at Zola Jesus’ site confirms the thought:
What are your musical influences? – Singers with big voices, like Diamanda Galas and Tina Turner. Divas. Film scores from the ’70s and ’80s. Industrial and power electronics. BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Opera, Philip K. Dick.
Bizarre female vocalist? Really avant garde electronic music? Dystopian science fiction?
Congrats to you, Zola Christ, you’ve managed to break the vicious cycle – you’re beyond the scene and have a much more relevant genre tag. I have found my post-goth figure to rally behind.
Tags: elitism, industrial, listenable, low-fi, post-goth, scene, zola jesus
PONDERED: Why your scene doesn’t matter
Posted by Mat | Filed under Music
It’s 1996. Nine Inch Nails is in constant rotation and take up half of the t-shirt wall at your local Warehouse Music. Down the isle is the the Escape from L.A. soundtrack, that featuring Stabbing Westward, Gravity Kills, and effin’ Ministry - talk about bang/smash/book for your buck.
Skinny Puppy and Front 242 were on MTV (midnight on a Sunday, but still they were on). The music you love has a pedigree dating back to Throbbing Gristle in the 70s. Your musical forefathers have mucho music cred, and the newest crop is rebellious and yet relevant.
Take in the sites and smells – this is the last time anyone else in the world will care about Industrial music.
We can file the numbers off and protect that names of the innocent in this scenario. It’s ‘97 and you like Ska. ‘04 and cardigan styled Emo. Two ill-spent months in ‘89 with baggy….
ad. infinitum
The truth of the matter is that while the music, your music, continues to spawn merch, tour, and inspire new bands, they don’t matter. They’re not the black sheep of the musical sub-genre family, they’re the fish head eating mutant that lives in the attic.
Why the pariah status?
Back in the early 90’s, a music critic referred to the London Shoegaze Scene as “the scene that celebrates itself,” and subsequently, the rest of the critics stopped caring. Despite birthing some musical landmarks, the Shoegaze scene got kneecapped, and went from being a sound to a scene.
The criticism was totally valid. When a sound is codified and becomes a sub-genre, the rules are set – attire, attitude, and others are standardized. With the rules set, the old fans become die-hards or drop out and the new fans come in already knowing the rules. Most importantly, with the look, the sound, and the crowd predefined, the artist stop creating and begin producing for the fan base.
Bands in the _________ scene make _________ music for _________ fans.
And this is why your scene doesn’t matter, at least outside of your scene.
Tags: baggy, emo, industrial, mainstream, pondered, scene, ska, Slowdive, sucks
