Zola Jesus | In Your Nature | Moog Sound Lab

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Nika Roza Danilova, aka Zola Jesus, is best known for her dark moody ballads, but with the 2011 release Conatus, Nika moved forward creating her most dynamic album to date. Not content to rest Zola Jesus ventured into the Moog Sound Lab and further evolved her single "In Your Nature." In its original incarnation "In Your Nature" existed as an epic operatic with dance floor sensibilities, but here Nika imbues the song with analog warmth that contrasts her cold, snowy upbringing. A Minitaur Analog Bass synthesizer controlled by a Minimoog Voyager replaces much of the stringed arrangement found in the original version of the song. The Little Phatty played by keyboardist Nick Turco does double duty, further expanding what would have been a bowed arrangement and providing the arpeggiation featured in the second half of the song. The live violin played by Kim Free was routed through a MF-104 analog delay to thicken the sound and serves as the last trace of the rich strings that carry the original. Synthesist Alex De Groot provides the song's rhythm, expanding on the song's original percussive track with live drumming generated by three Voyager RMEs and controlled with a MIDI drum pad. Zola Jesus's Moog Soundlab session not only captures the energy and emotion of the original, but reshapes "In Your Nature" with a richness and gravity unique to this version.