Following her debut album, Acadie : Raw (2018), and as lead vocal in the impressive output by the 30/70 Collective, Allysha Joy drops a new record, this time around via First Word Records. Torn : Tonic pulls us into a 10 track journey that weaves through the multiplicity of letting go, standing tall, and creating space all at once. As per usual, the singer, performer, poet and producer delivers a soulful and unfiltered work that is lyrically compelling and sonically complex. Touching the right spots, with a rhythm that is clearly hers, Allysha’s voice flows over an exquisite production work comprised of shuffling broken grooves and exquisite celestial melodies.

There are healthy swathes of skippy neo-soul boom bap sensibilities, entwined with stark swing-laden electronic percussion, Detroit-esque sun-saturated synths, and Antipodean bruk backbeats. Although Torn : Tonic is entirely produced by Joy, she is far from alone, inviting in an array of female and non-binary artists, such as Ego Ella May, Rara Zulu, BINA and others, to bless assorted tracks with their own unique gifts. The album expands track by track with a message that conveys power in embracing change, hope and diversity. Crossing-genres, embodying generational stories, Allysha Joy’s artistic vision reaches levels of supreme maturity with every single track being exposed with a purpose that sits at the intersection of a feminist manifesto of Joy's momentous leap as an artist, and her exploration of what it means to be human in today's capitalist-driven world. Available on vinyl, courtesy of First Word Records.

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