Delivered unfiltered, straight from the soul, ´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. The album's expansive and vivid exploration of healing examines the power that comes with accepting the complexity of change. Allysha walks listeners through the remedy she finds in sound and emerges empowered to share this healing with others. Deeply moving and lyrically compelling, 'Torn : Tonic' hosts a stellar line-up of artists, creating a world of collective power, growth, and hope.

Allysha Joy is an integral member of the vibrant Melbourne soul & jazz scene, well known for both her solo work and as lead vocalist for 30/70. A uniquely-talented soul, her husky voice, and formidable Fender Rhodes prowess have garnered attentive audiences around the world.

Her 2018 debut album 'Acadie : Raw' was named 'Best Soul Album' at the Music Victoria Awards, featured in Bandcamp's 'Top Soul Albums' of the year and received a nomination for 'Best Jazz Album' at the Worldwide Awards. An incredibly prolific artist, Allysha has released on labels; Rhythm Section, Gondwana, Future Classic, Total Refreshment Centre and now another drop for First Word, after her acclaimed 2020 EP, 'Light It Again'.

Allysha's production on 'Torn : Tonic' effortlessly arches across a sonic palette, 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. And whilst this project was produced entirely by Joy herself, she is far from alone, inviting in an array of female and non-binary artists to bless assorted tracks with their own unique gifts. Ego Ella May, BINA, Rara Zulu, Belle Bangard and Dancing Water all appear, expanding upon the formulaic roles of featured artists to share the creative space as equal collaborators.

'Torn : Tonic' exudes vibes, from the opening whiplash snare of 'Peace, to the rolling jazz-bruk of lead single 'Let It!', to the sweet soulful sonics of 'Still Dreaming', to the closing triumphant shout of "All Joy!!" on 'G.N.D.', this is a 40-minute opus that will definitely require repeat listening.

Allysha's poetic introspection reveals the album's intention to demand space, purpose, and pleasure. Her words are deliberate and direct to the alarm bells and messages her artistic vision carries. Fluid, cross-genre, and spirited with generational stories embodied, 'Torn : Tonic' 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.

In Allysha's words, 'Torn : Tonic' is exactly as the name describes. "It is looking directly into the shadow of pain and overcoming it with joy. No love songs! Just social, political, emotional anthems for change! It is the first record I have produced entirely on my own and it feels like that perseverance that I have consistently had to conjure up is embedded in this music, overcoming my own conditioning in a society and industry that constantly tells me I can't, so I must!"

TRACK LISTING

1. Peace (feat. Rara Zulu)
2. Calling You (feat. Ego Ella May)
3. YK X YE (feat. BINA)
4. Let It!
5. Quit, Trying So Hard
6. Still Dreaming (feat. Rara Zulu)
7. Remedy
8. Healers (feat. Dancing Water)
9. Fatima (feat. Belle Bangard)
10. G.N.D.

DJ Nobu's Bitta welcomes Refracted. The Spanish producer delivers four expertly crafted cuts of his gloopy, plasma-churning techno; mined from deep within the reverb chamber and fully embracing Bitta's hypnotic and out-there approach. Not a million miles away from Donato Dozzy and the label Edit Select as it utilizes a range of tempos and time signatures to subtly drift across the tectonic plane. Overspilling with electricity and static charge, these shuddering and highly vibrational pieces will certainly penetrate listener's headspaces - a truly narcotic listen that's bound to force involuntary movement and heady disorientation. Highly recommended!

TRACK LISTING

Torn Relics
Grind You Under
The View From Cal Companyo
Down Under

Torn Hawk re-emerges on this ace limited edition double 7" edition. Intimate, darkwave bedroom ballads, plate-reverbed electronic punk and high degrees of rhythmic noise characterize this inimitable New Yorker, making him somewhat of a favourite here at Piccadilly. Across five tracks we get a further glimpse into what makes this freak tick, as he gracefully constructs a collage of abrasive and visceral textures underpinned with a dark, psilocybin-tainted sludge that makes you feel like you're in that scene out of Fear And Loathing when the carpet's melting and Hunter's struggling to keep a grip. Torn Hawk ably demonstrates the fractal and sonic fluctuations that occur during a peak psychedelic experience like few can, but rather than revel in the flowery, faux-hippy nature of the trip, he takes it to the darkest and most tumultuous parts of the journey; what a legend! Comes with fold out, full colour insert. TIP! 

TRACK LISTING

1. Men With No Memory
2. Poser
3. With Butterfly Knives
4. Stealing Geodes From The Nature Company
5. Not Quite Music

Union and Return is the third album from Luke Wyatt’s Torn Hawk. It was composed and recorded entirely by Wyatt at his home in Berlin and is inspired by painters like Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Caspar David Friedrich. Here. Wyatt parts the gauze that shrouded his former work to reveal a lush and ornate set of compositions -- elegantly orchestrated, awash in unguarded emotion.

Having spent years working with gritty production techniques, Wyatt seems refreshed and restored by the possibilities of definition and detail. Many tracks were initially composed on piano and then painstakingly fleshed out into final form. The feel is spontaneous, rather than labored, and the pieces possess an organic and grid-less grace. On album opener “The Romantic,” the flow of ideas is natural, seamlessly transferring melodies and themes from voice to voice, instrument to instrument. Orchestral arrangements give way to layered guitars, smeared pads and collaged digital detritus.

While the record luxuriates in subtle, delicate dynamics, Union and Return is just as disruptive as anything in his back catalog. Tracks like “Feeling is Law” and “Die Swimming in the Sea Here” supply a full-bore tenderness that can be uncomfortable, especially for those projecting a policed gruff or “masculine” image. This disruption is key to the music’s intent - gentle music as a tough gesture.

TRACK LISTING

1: The Romantic
2: Feeling Is Law
3: Borderlands
4: Thornfield
5: With My Back To The Tower
6: Friends & Family
7: Scene On A Staircase
8: Our Knives
9: The Archers
10: To Miss The Mark
11: Die Swimming In The Sea Here 

'Let’s Cry And Do Pushups At The Same Time' is the most recent statement from Torn Hawk aka producer and video artist Luke Wyatt. It's difficult to neatly categorize Wyatt's genre-refracting productions. The nuts and bolts are built from live guitar, drum machines, junky synths, and layers of samples which are smeared into a cohesive whole. Wyatt's guitar moves between the meditations of Manuel Göttsching, the jangle-grid of The Chameleons and the saturation of Medicine. Throw in the melodrama of a sax on a Don Henley hit, and you get a better idea of Torn Hawk's playfully sincere sensibility.

TRACK LISTING

1: I'm Flexible
2: She Happens
3: Afterprom
4: Return To The Pec Deck
5: Acceptance Speech
6: Because Of M.A.S.K.
7: Under Wolf Rule
8: There Was A Time