#arkhon

i can't believe I'm barely breathing

Zola Jesus announces her 6th full length, Arkhon, due for release on May 20 via Sacred Bones. As a preview, she has shared the powerful opening track, ‘Lost’, and its stark and mesmerising accompanying video directed by Mu Tunç, shot on location in the Cappadocia area of Turkey.

Nika Roza Danilova, the singer, songwriter, and producer who since 2009 has released music as Zola Jesus, has a voice that can cut through the fascia of reality, cleaving through habit into the raw nerve of experience. Never has this been more present than on ‘Lost’ in which Danilova sings “Everyone I know is lost.” The lyrics of the song, its tight, interlocking percussion, and samples of a Slovenian folk choir propel narratives of collective despair and mutual comfort in kind.

Speaking on the track, Danilova says: “It’s true. Everyone I know is lost. Lost hope, lost future, lost present, lost planet. There is a collective disillusionment of our burning potential. As we stray further from nature, we drift from ourselves. ‘Lost’  is a sigil to re-discover our coordinates and claim a new path.” Of the video she states, “I wanted to shoot the video in a place that carried a lot of energy, with someone that I felt understood the spiritual backbone of the song. It was a surprisingly natural process to make this video with Mu Tunc in Turkey. I put my faith in him and in Cappadocia, a labyrinthine city built within 60 million-year-old caves. Throughout human history these caves have served as a citadel for so many different groups of people who went there to get lost. It is a testament to the resilience of humanity, and the durability of our earth.”

Director Mu Tunc adds: “The story of ‘Lost’ is a visual litany of devotion. Reflects the exodus of the true self through the mystical environments of Cappadocia. Zola Jesus is for me like an outcast philosopher of today’s confused society.’’

Arkhon:

01. Lost 02. The Fall 03. Undertow 04. Into The Wild 05. Dead and Gone 06. Sewn 07. Desire 08. Fault 09. Efemra 10. Do That Anymore

Dear Aunty Aspasia 

My wife and I have been married for only two years and things have been rocky. She believes that I’ve been neglecting my role as her Kyrios and ever since she had our twin boys she has been busy with child rearing and whatever other stuff women do. We have yet to create some spare heirs for my oikos but I feel that she doesn’t want to come near me. As a result I have been frequenting the Kerameikos late at night and enjoying the occasional woman and throw of the dice. Yesterday, my wife cornered me in my house and told me she was off at the end of the week to get a divorce, as I am not the citizen man her and her father thought I would be. I yelled at her for her insolence but I am concerned, ultimately my wife wants a divorce and I cannot pay back her dowry. I have to find four hundred drachmas before she initiates divorce proceedings. What should I do to prevent such a mess?

From, By Zeus I’m Broke. 

Dear By Zeus I’m Broke

Your wife is feeling neglected and to accuse you of being a bad citizen is not without merit. She can tell that you are off to the Kerameikos and you are probably not revealing the extent of your nocturnal trips - considering you are lacking four hundred drachmas of her own dowry. If her old Kyrios wishes to have her back than he can and he will demand the dowry. I think your first move should be to placate her and convince her that involving her old Kyrios is not necessary. Show her you are a good citizen man and avoid the Kerameikos at all costs - furthermore, if you have anyone who owes you money or whether you can sell things try and raise the four hundred drachmas somehow in case. If you can placate your wife enough be weary that she may attempt to get a divorce by herself. In order to do so she will have to submit this to the Arkhon and I know for a fact that if this happens you can physically pick her up and take her home (but hopefully it will not come to that). I wish you some luck in your endeavours but you have brought some of this upon yourself. 

Regards,

Aunty Aspasia 

Vocabulary:

Kyrios - normally a man of the household whose role included representing his charges in the law courts and was seen as their ‘protector’ or ‘guardian’. 

Oikos - the term for the family unit in Athens. 

Kerameikos - A place in Athens, think of the word ceramics as it’s where all the potters lived. 

Arkhon - An official role who presided over law courts. Was not a position that you had to be smart or qualified in order to attain it. 

Sources:

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