There's a great American tradition of New York being a welcoming port and FADER teamed up with Converse's new Rubber Tracks studio in Brooklyn to further it. Once a month, we'll be welcoming touring artists to the neighborhood with a visit to a local Brooklyn institution, as well as making time for an intimate performance. Catch that exclusive show, interview and MP3s right here.
Much has been made of Zola Jesus frontwoman Nika Danilova's soothing roar in relation to her petite stature, but seeing the FADER #76 coverwoman sing live is no less awe-inspiring for it. Watching Danilova at work is akin to seeing a single candle light a tunnel completely, from one end to the other. A lucky handful of Zola Jesus fans recently bore witness to the phenomenon up close and personal as Converse's Williamsburg recording studio, Rubber Tracks, hosted an intimate performance in the midst of the band's latest tour to promote Conatus. While fans were never further than arm's reach, under the stage lights Danilova appeared as an apparition, her voice a vessel of a transcendent calm. Of her song "Vessel," Danilova tells the Guardian, that it was "...one of the last songs I wrote. It feels the most vivid to me, as if finally I was able to communicate this universe that is my prison." Incarceration never sounded so inviting. Watch her perform "Vessel" above and "Night" below. In the coming days FADER will have an exclusive download from Zola Jesus' Rubber Tracks set as well as an interview with Danilova recorded at Williamsburg's 4th State Metals.