Photo Credit Tristan Oliveira (hi-res)
After years of building into one of the most highly anticipated debut releases, Zsela (ZHAY-la) has announced her first album, Big For You, out June 14th on Mexican Summer. Big For You is a timeless statement that flows between grandiosity and intimacy to build a sonic landscape overflowing with introspection. A work of cavernous depth produced in tandem with Daniel Aged (Frank Ocean, Kelela) and Gabe Wax (The War On Drugs, Soccer Mommy), the album also contains cameos from several members of Zsela’s extended family of collaborators, including Marc Ribot, Nick Hakim, Casey MQ and Jasper Marsalis (Slauson Malone 1). Pre-order HERE
With the announcement arrives a new single and video, “Lily of the Nile,” a dignified and driving album opener where the New York native’s confident voice takes center stage — a constant that carries throughout the record. The video, directed by Chester Raj Anand, continues with Zsela’s high-concept, editorialized vision that began with the first single “Fire Excape.” Of the video, Zsela explains, “I had a vision of stealing a bride from the altar and it turned into a Bride and Clyde, runaway love story.” The director notes, “So much of this video has to do with identity, and the manipulation of it. In a funny way, that's how it felt on set. Our egos had dissolved or morphed into one harmonious expression. Zsela and I have a history of collaborating, but this instance truly felt like an evolution in the most fun and natural way. I don't think I can be happier with how the video turned out.” Watch the video for “Lily of the Nile” HERE
This new body of work is a quantum leap for an artist who has taken giant strides as a performer in the years since her 2020 inaugural release, Ache of Victory, which quickly caught the attention of The New York Times, Pitchfork, Vogue, and many more. Dripping with rich textural treatments and amorphous, heart-on-the-sleeve arrangements, the dynamics and diversity that define Big For You prove Zsela is painting with a wider palette than ever before.
Reflecting on the making of the album’s ten songs, Zsela explains that the initial sketches went through countless versions before evolving to their final forms. “It was important for me to stay open in this process, finding the truth of what the songs want to be,” says Zsela. “That meant breaking them down and building them back up again and again, not being precious and trying to listen.” By stripping back to the truth of these songs, Zsela arrived at sonic settings that are striking in their contrast, using negative space to conjure a grander sense of scale; a theme also found in the album’s title with Zsela noting, “At the heart, it touches on the causal versus intentional dance we play between being ‘full of you’ and ‘full for you’ — the complexity and magnitude of the space we take and fill up for love.”
Zsela, who has shared stages with the likes Cat Power, Caroline Polachek, and Angel Olsen, and made appearances at the likes of Carnegie Hall and MoMA PS1 in New York and the Natural History Museums in both New York and Los Angeles, has announced a handful of U.S dates in support of the album. Starting in Seattle on August 16th, Zsela will make stops in San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. She’ll also perform at Pitchfork London later this year (full dates below). Tickets for the U.S dates go on sale this Friday at 10:00am local time. BUY HERE
LISTEN TO AND WATCH “LILY OF THE NILE” https://officialzsela.ffm.to/lilyofthenile.opr
LISTEN TO AND WATCH “FIRE EXCAPE” https://officialzsela.ffm.to/fireexcape
PRE-ORDER BIG FOR YOU https://officialzsela.ffm.to/bigforyou.opr | 
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