I was going to write a review on John Talabot’s new electronic album fIN, but then I realised how incredibly bored I was listening to it and writing about it, so I thought I’d write something up real quick on Zola Jesus’s new single In Your Nature.

The single is comprised of the unmodified original and a David Lynch remix. Zola, aka Nika Danilova, has confessed to normally turning down remix requests but decided to allow Lynch a crack at his interpretation of In Your Nature. She told Pitchfork that:

“When David Lynch asks to remix your song, you let him.”

The original is basically the epitome of her previous album Conatus; it rises up on a bed of strings and fairly complex percussion, slowly becoming more active and textural. All the while Danilova’s vocals are becoming bigger and more…guttural? Forcing out the lyrics in that deep and chesty manner that only Zola Jesus can pull off as she reaches the chorus.

David Lynch’s interpretation is stripped back and minimal, laying bare the  soaring vocals. Sticking to a simple bassline accompanied by sparse, slightly reverbed guitar, the remix is altogether darker with a greater emphasis on Danilova’s voice that the multi-textural original covered up slightly. The percussion is punchy and forceful though, giving it some real traction to work from.

I’m really tempted to get the 7″, especially since I recently picked up Conatus on wax. We’ll see; I certainly enjoy it enough to warrant a purchase. Good listen, good remix, pretty good way to get into her work. For lovers of dark wave and art pop.

7/10