J Hacha de Zola

Like a lounge lizard weaned on Primus, J Hacha De Zola cranks and curdles and clomps around his slithery croon tunes. In this latest single from the Jersey City sinner’s upcoming self-released LP, Escape From Fat Kat City, out January 8, way in the back yelling and way in your face horn blurts toss you back and forth, with Hacha De Zola reigning it all in then letting it splay out again. His arrow aimed at Tom Waits lands just short, but makes an interesting whirr as it whizzes by. - CMJ

Like a creepy city tour at night, this long-player will shake you up and leave you thankful for the daytime

J Hacha De Zola 'Escape From Fat Kat City' album coverThe music of New Jersey native J Hacha De Zola stalks the periphery of society, the dark corners where slippery characters meet and down-and-outs go to drown their sorrows. His new album was recorded in the shadows of a maximum security correctional facility and an oil refinery – a perfectly haunting setting in which to bring his warped vision to life.

Musically, Escape From Fat Kat City sounds like Jim Morrison leading The Doors on a gothic carnival. There are fairground waltzes (Strange) and unhinged ballads (City Girls) and Hacha De Zola’s jazz influences are subtly apparent throughout. On Hold Tight he fully lets go, unleashing his ferocious vocals with all his might as he welcomes the end of days. An array of toy instruments help to add an extra layer of decay throughout, as if this is music made from the scraps left behind by others.

With 15 tracks the album feels slightly bloated in places. Interruptions such as Death Rap and Ice Cream And Cigarettes could be removed, but you get the sense that Hacha De Zola doesn’t want this to be a wholly comfortable listen. By the time the minimal instrumental Next Exit closes the record you can’t help but feel a moment of relief, as if the air has suddenly become lighter – escape at last.

Verdict: A dizzying journey through Hacha De Zola’s world - Song Writing Magazine

Self-Released
Street: 01.08
J Hacha De Zola = The Hold Steady + Tom Waits + Soda Stereo

Most concept albums require patience and devotion to endure. Listeners must wade through an ocean of esoteric references to understand the album’s intent. More importantly, introspective music bores more than entertains. This is not so for the Latin-fused baroque pop solo-performer from New Jersey, J Hacha De Zola. Not since The Hold Steady’s Separation Sunday has a concept album provided both emotional depth and entertainment. “Strange” conjures the voice of Jim Morrison surrounded by a backdrop of Tom Waits–like carnival sounds. Capturing the sounds and visions of post-industrial New Jersey, “Hold Tight” blends cumbia rhythms and brass explosions over lead singer and multi-instrumentalist J Hacha De Zola’s bluesy croon. The piano balladry of “City Girls” reflects on the album title’s irony: There is no escape from Fat Kat City. –Stephan Wyatt - Slug Magazine

Equal parts Tom Waits gutter poetry and Dresden Dolls Brechtian angst, Escape From Fat Kat City was recorded by Jersey City’s J Hacha De Zola in the shadows of Rahway State Prison. Those grim halls seemed to have rubbed off, since this album has a murky gloom that’s hard to shake. De Zola has the flair of a carny barker and the calculated use of trumpet and accordion throughout this album adds just the right oddball touches to evoke seamy back alleys and the disreputable allure of circus sideshows. “Let It Go” showcases a soulful strut while “Hold Tight” might have sprung from a Sixties spy-flick soundtrack; the cinematic theme continues on the film noir-ish “Ice Cream & Cigarettes,” the Spaghetti Western languor of “Blue Sky,” and the piano ballad “City Girls,” which transports the listener to an intimate European café. This is a wonderfully evocative album where every song seems to create its own space and backdrop. You just may have to renew your passport to give it a proper listen. - Jersey Beat

When you think of New Jersey, what image comes to mind?

For me, I will always immediately go to an image shown during the Colorado Avalanche vs New Jersey Devils in the NHL playoffs many years ago. They did a montage of each team’s locale. For Colorado they showed the snow-capped Rockies, for Jersey, they showed a freeway and industrial park.

While this may seem a bit biased, there is something telling about the images of New Jersey. New Jersey is gritty and raw. It really earns its keep. This isn’t a drawback by any means, it is more of a testament to their unwavering identity.

It only seems fitting that J. Hacha de Zola formulated the album Escape from Fat Kat City amongst the modern complexity that is New Jersey. As he puts it “No one ever bothered me, I guess they knew you should never mess with a guy walking through the street with a pink toy piano tucked under his arm.”

And using the term “original” is the most lackluster, phoned-in explanation one could make of this record. The myriad of sound that emanates over the course of the fifteen tracks is built on a foundation of a haunted Jim Morrison meets Nick Cave in a much darker incarnation of pioneering jazz, funk, blues and songwriting brilliance. Where musical theory and mainstream meet, Fat Kat City barrels through pretense and expectation with a big black musical steamroller permeating the kind of sound that makes grandparents lock their doors and parents think twice about their “baby”. And on the whole, and in pieces, it is utterly brilliant.

The musical macabre of Escape from Fat Kat City unapologetically struts whimsical undertones to an otherwise smoky swagger that is equal parts dark, mysterious, and captivating; if not occasionally unnerving. And through the ambiance of fused progressive-jazz, I am unabashedly in love with this record. At the apex of horns and heavy guitar there lies an ominous presence of J. Hacha de Zola. At times, specifically “Let it Go,” an air of blues prevails, at others such as “Black Sparrow,” there is a side-show-esc quality that is as fun as it is drawing. I would be remiss, however, if I did not confess that I am captivated by “Moonpies and Pennywhistles.” It harnesses chaos amongst reflective psychedelic drifting in a beautifully orchestrated assembly.

Many people see New Jersey as the slick-haired, talentless, ass-clown twenty-somethings who, for no reason other than punishing the world at-large, had a show on MTV. For me, it is the turnpike and factories. It is the rough exterior paired with hard-edged ethic. It is J. Hacha de Zola. It is Escape from Fat Kat City. New Jersey should be proud. - Nanobot Rock Reviews

"Back alley struts, dizzying waltzes, and surf-raga-samba-freakouts". Blimey, it sounds as though J Hacha De Zola's new album 'Escape From Fat Kat City' might be an interesting album. Recorded in the shadow of a maximum security "correctional facility" and an oil refinery in New Jersey, it's was built in the kind of environment that may suggest a stark, dark or industrial vibe, and judging new single, the aptly-titled 'Strange', that is true to a point, as there is a freaky, slightly disturbed element to the disjointed voice which talks about feeling lost and strange and having emotions crawling out from inside of you.

Really though, 'Strange' is a heady psychedelic soup of much less bleak music. You could say that this is perhaps what they mean by "dizzying waltz", because it does make your head spin with its warped, looping waltz and increasingly harrowing vocals. Whirling instrumentation adds to the effect which is like a haunted '60s psych-rock song that's being played at the wrong speed as the vinyl it's on is gradually melting. The more you listen to it, the more intriguing it gets. Driven by screeching guitars, and swirling accordion, 'Strange' does live up to its title and also the description they give to the forthcoming album which is due in the first week of January. It'll likely get your year off to a fantastically surreal start. - The Sound of Confusion

Our Track of the Day today comes from J Hacha De Zola.

The Jersey City native’s new album Escape From Fat Kat City is out January 8th, but we’re premiering the first single for you today.

“Strange” is the name of the track and, according to Hacha De Zola, it features a protagonist who, “…has a hard time discerning reality from dream, truth from delusion. This is what it is be ‘strange…he doesn’t know where he’s headed. He’s all in and he’s willing to go down with the ship.”

The song grinds away with a wobbly and battered desolation that brings to mind Mark Lanegan fronting The Doors.

Recorded in Rahaway, New Jersey somewhere between a maximum security correctional facility and an oil refinery, “Strange” is fueled by both desperation and resignation. It’s feral and raw and it stings with burning self-realization and a primal, howling despair.

It’s stunning stuff, indeed.

Hacha De Zola’s Escape From Fat Kat City is one of the most anticipated albums of 2016.

Look for it. - Stero Embers Magazine

Jersey musician J Hacha De Zola has made a video for Let It Go, playing a down-and-out hung-over guy dressed as Donald Duck. It is a ballsy, trashy blues rock track with brass riding on top. The clip was filmed by Alan Walker, who doesn't like Hollywood endings. Recommended if you like Tom Waits, Jon Spencer and Nick Cave.

Let It Go is a self-released single. Buy it from his website. His full-length Escape from Fat Kat City will be released on January 8th, 2016. - Here Comes the Flood

J Hacha De Zola’s upcoming Escape from Fat Kat City was recorded in Rahway, New Jersey in the shadow of a maximum security correctional facility and an oil refinery, a setting that perfectly contributes to the slinky back alley strut, dizzying waltzes, and surf-raga-samba-freakouts that populate the record. The album composites various musical styles ranging from Blues, Folk, Jazz, Latin, Funk, and Psychedelia and influences such as Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Syd Barrett, Cesar Romero, and Tom Waits. [Fanatic]

Escape from Fat Kat City is out now. Download “Let It Go” by J Hacha De Zola here or stream it below: - Fish Pork

“It’s a kids party gone wrong,” says Jersey City-based “urban junkyard” artist J Hacha De Zola of the music video for “Let It Go,” the latest single from his upcoming new album, Escape from Fat Kat City, out January 8. “I always laugh at these videos where folks are trying so hard to look edgy, so I got together with a bunch of my friends and it was total slapstick.”

“I liked the idea of looking silly,” Hacha De Zola says of his party mascot getup in the clip, which also features someone named The Furry Overlord From Nevermore. “A friend of mine introduced me to him, and in turn he invited a bunch of his furry cohorts to frolic around at the shoot.”

As for the song itself, the video undercuts its serious tones. “It’s about coming to terms with some of harsh realities of life,” he explains. “Sometimes we drop the ball.” - Big Take Over

Exploring themes of alienation, paranoia and isolation, New Jersey based artist J Hacha De Zola is gearing up for the release of his upcoming album Escape from Fat Kat City. Featured on the album is fresh new track “Strange,” premiering exclusively on GroundSounds is the accompanying video.

J Hacha De Zola had this to say about his latest visuals:

“It was very important for every frame to wriggle, writhe, and dance. The video has a ‘doodle-y’ feel, which is characteristic of the director, Erica Glover’s work. I wanted to offer insight into the mind of a paranoid person in an urban backdrop – someone on that ‘brain chemistry roller coaster ride.'”
Check out “Strange” below, Escape from Fat Kat City will drop Jan. 8th, 2016. - Ground Sounds

“In its recent write-up, Utne Reader said that “One could be forgiven for assuming J Hacha de Zola is a transient, back alley carnival showman followed through town by a band of tangle-haired misfits. The kind of alluring character found in old children’s books.” It’s an apt description of the Jersey City native who has been drawing attention to his newly released record Escape From Fat Kat City.”

This is the first paragraph in the press release for J Hacha de Zola new music but do we want to continue reading it, no. While the concept of recording the album “in the shadow of a maximum security correctional facility and an oil refinery” may sound interesting, weird, and wacky at the same time, how do we really know this? Photos? A video on YouTube? Do we really want to believe this because for all we know, he could’ve recorded this in his grandmom’s basement. Regardless of the location of his recording, the end result will have to be simple: is the music good? I think it is and if the music and lyrics may sound gloomy and mournful, it is not his intention. Then again, it may be but whatever dramatics you sense from these songs, keep in mind that it’s not an act. Try out a song called “Let It Go” so if you like it after streaming it, it is available to download for free, while supplies last. - Some Stuffs