J Hacha De Zola
J Hacha De Zola | WITHOUT A TRIBE LP | CABALLO NEGRO | JUNE 9, 2023
ABOUT:
“Let’s just say I live in a very different Jersey than Springsteen’s Jersey.”
J Hacha De Zola speaks with authority about the reality that he knows better than anyone who may mythologize his home state through the songs of The Boss.
“With this album, I want to anchor myself as being from ‘Dirty Jerzee,’ he jokes. “It’s a badge of honor, really, because this place isn’t for the faint of heart.”
Hacha De Zola was born in Secaucus, the subject of “A Day in Secaucus, New Jersey,” the opening track of Without A Tribe, his sixth album, scheduled for release on June 9, 2023 via the artist’s own Caballo Negro label. Former New Jersey-ian John Agnello, known for his long career working with Dinosaur Jr., Son Volt, and more recently Waxahatchee and Horsegirl mixed Without A Tribe.
Hacha De Zola was described early on in his career as “a wild man” (Paste), “unsettling” (NJ.com), and “distant and strange” (MAGNET), with creative genre labels applied such as “Urban Junkyard,” “Baroque Pop,” “Avant-Indie,” “Downtown Goth,” and “Boozegaze.” Comparisons to singers and front men ranging from Jim Morrison to Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and Captain Beefheart followed.
On Without A Tribe, Hacha De Zola strips that hyperbole back a touch and expands on the vocal delivery that he made a centerpiece of East of Eden, his 2021 full-length.
“We’re doubling-down on what began with the last album by borrowing heavily from my love of R&B, Soul, and Doo-wop vocal harmonies and arrangements,” he explains.
To help accomplish this goal, Hacha De Zola reached out to Fernando Velez, an original member of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings.
“Fernando’s deep knowledge of Soul music was the key in getting the sound we wanted on this record,” Hacha De Zola says. “We are very inspired by the New York, Philadelphia, and New Jersey vocal group styles from the 60s and we hope that we have re-imagined these sounds in a way that feels fresh.”
With the sonic styling of the record more focused than ever, Hacha De Zola’s darkness becomes less “wild,” “unsettling,” or “strange.” Now it lurks, with a kind of menace and torment that emerges from his vulnerability and pain.
“It’s a place of subtle dread, kinda like some oddball Stephen King story,” Hacha De Zola says, returning to the album’s jump-off about his home, “A Day in Secaucus, New Jersey.”
As a PhD candidate who works in a lab by day, Hacha De Zola can’t help but apply science to this assessment.
“A cloud of hydrogen sulfide — very toxic — settles across Secaucus. The source is metabolic waste product from the bacteria put out by the slaughterhouses in the area. If your car breaks down on those roads, the gas can easily overcome you. That’s my Jersey.
“The song came to me very early on in my writing, but I was only able to make it work for this album. It’s a piece of ear candy. Raucous and noisy.”
Other singles expected from Without A Tribe include the intriguingly titled “I’m High” and “Do You?”
“Lyrically and thematically, I am revealing much more of myself than ever before by facing some of the ‘meat hook realities’ of life, such as becoming older, watching loved ones pass, and struggling with addiction and recovery,” Hacha De Zola says.
“Despite one thinking of ‘getting high’ as a euphoric experience, as any true addict will tell you, it soon stops being fun and becomes a sickening, nauseating need. ‘I’m High’ isn’t necessarily about intoxicating substances, but instead about experiences, people, places, or things that start out positive but unravel into something different altogether.”
Asked to describe “Do You?,” Hacha De Zola is blunt.
“If you’re looking for a heart-warming love song, then you’ve come to the wrong place. This one is a straightforward Motown-ish tune with all of the amorous feelings of wanting to be loved and desired, but also being thoroughly clueless and disconnected from the actual dance.”
The album’s closer “Drag Me Under” is something cinematic, with minimal lyrical content, but heavy on the production. Big horns, baritone saxes, trumpets, Balkan folk instruments, and banjos conspire to embrace a certain level of absurdity.
It leaves little doubt that Hacha De Zola’s New Jersey is indeed different from Springsteen’s, but is still something Bruce would love.
Without A Tribe, the sixth album by J Hacha De Zola, arrives on June 9, 2023 via Caballo Negro (distributed by Slow Start Records / Burnside / The Orchard) and preceded by the singles “A Day In Secaucus, New Jersey” (April 7), “I’m High” (April 28), and “Do You?” (May 19.)
ARCHIVE:
2022: For Info and Assets about East of Eden and the “Not Acoustic” EP, the 2022 releases by J Hacha De Zola, click here.
2021: For Info and Assets about J Hacha De Zola’s Greatest Hits, the 2021 compilation by J Hacha De Zola, click here.
2020: For Info and Assets about Icaro Nouveau and the “Unpopular” EP, the 2020 releases by J Hacha De Zola, click here.
2018: For Info and Assets about the “Syn Illusión” EP, the 2018 release by J Hacha De Zola, click here.
2017: For Info and Assets about Antipatico, the 2017 allbum by J Hacha De Zola, click here.
2016: For Info and Assets about Picaro Obscuro, the 2016 album by J Hacha De Zola, click here.
News:
Assets:
J Hacha De Zola as photographed by Adrian Buckmaster. Click for hi-res.
J Hacha De Zola as photographed by Adrian Buckmaster. Click for hi-res.
J Hacha De Zola as photographed by Adrian Buckmaster. Click for hi-res.
Without A Tribe cover art. Click for hi-res.
“A Day In Secaucus, New Jersey” single cover art. Click for hi-res.
“I’m High” single cover art. Click for hi-res.
“Do You?” single cover art. Click for hi-res.
PRESS RELEASES:
SOCIALS:
LISTEN:
Bandcamp: jhachadezola.bandcamp.com
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2PnnUJw
Apple: https://apple.co/3vncV2i
Press Quotes:
“A wild man in the vein of such fire breathing artists like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Captain Beefheart.”
“The kind of alluring character found in old children’s books.”
“Dangerously delightful, whirling, and rhythmic.”
“J Hacha De Zola sings a song of unrequited love with ‘Syn Illusión’. As songs on the matter go, this is one that’s bound to light the way forward and inspire a legion of imitators.”
“Completely original approach to crafting American music.”
“It’s the perfect panacea for our post-pandemic funk: Weird, but in a good way... he’s emerged as a fully realized artist confident in his ability to be different.”
“The main influence is that of Tom Waits. But if Zola has influences, he also has talent.”
“We could throw comparisons out to other artists/bands/genres around at this point, but firmly believe J Hacha De Zola sits at his own, most likely oddly shaped table.”
“Should brighten or darken your mood depending on your state of mind.”
“Falls so far out of the box, for good or bad, there’s no one around left to hit him with any sort of healthy competition.”
“J Hacha De Zola usually breaths fire on his records, a garage-rockin’ Latin bluesman in the style of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. ”
“A dark and swinging blend of jagged jazz, back alley blues and deliciously demented carnival stomp. Hacha De Zola might very well be one of the most important and singular artists making music today.”
“A large, spinning rock ‘n’ roll affair as enticing as it is distant and strange.”
“A swaying barroom roll somewhere between Tom Waits and the Pogues.”
“A twisted, dystopian narrative straight from the mind of John Carpenter.”
“Possibly the wildest record I’ve heard all year. A compelling all-over-the-map collision of jazz, blues, show tunes, garage rock, and Latino flavors. At points, hypnotic, cinematic, lush, and dissonant—but there’s no question that it is also a challenging, at times daunting, listen.”
“Mutant blues rock. Balances romantic crooner pop with the junkyard blues weirdness of Tom Waits—the end result something like Lee Hazelwood at his late ’60s peak. It’s a delightful noir hallucination.”
“A fantastic power that is as carnival-like and playful as it is possessed and cacophonic.”
“J Hacha de Zola might be the closest thing we have to a modern day Frank Zappa.”