|
|
|
|
|
I Ya Toyah has released “White Walls”, a deeply personal track exploring the distance between how people appear on the outside and what they may be experiencing privately. Released independently through her own label, Femme Fatale Records.
For I Ya Toyah, “White Walls” began during a particularly difficult day, when writing became a way to process what she was experiencing. The song grew from that personal need into a broader reflection on the people who struggle silently, often appearing fine to those around them while carrying difficulties that remain unseen.
Its central idea is the gap between outward appearances and private struggles. I Ya Toyah describes the experience of feeling isolated even when surrounded by other people, alongside the desire to be genuinely seen and understood rather than rescued or fixed.
Mental health advocacy is an important part of I Ya Toyah’s work, and the release of “White Walls” provides an opportunity to encourage conversations about experiences that can be difficult to communicate. Her intention is to create space for people to acknowledge what they are going through and to recognise that outward appearances do not always reflect someone’s reality.
The release also includes a fundraising initiative supporting Backline Care. All proceeds from “White Walls” during its October 10 release weekend, together with proceeds from new Patreon sign-ups throughout October, are being donated to the organisation. Listeners can also donate through the button on the song’s official YouTube video.
Written and composed by I Ya Toyah, “White Walls” was produced by I Ya Toyah and Johnny K, mixed by Johnny K and mastered by Howie Weinberg. The cover artwork was created by Angelica Dulany, while Alex Zarek directed, filmed and edited the music video, which also features documentary clips by Allison Ciletti.
Based in the Chicago area, I Ya Toyah works across industrial, pop, electro, darkwave and alternative rock. Her independent approach extends across songwriting, recording, production and live performance, reflecting a hands-on commitment to her creative work.
She has also collaborated with artists including Raymond Watts, Julian Beeston, Rhys Fulber and Tim Sköld, and is a member of The Joy Thieves, a large collective of musicians with connections to a range of industrial, alternative and electronic acts.
With “White Walls”, I Ya Toyah turns a personal experience into an invitation to look beyond appearances, acknowledge invisible struggles and make room for conversations that might otherwise remain unspoken.
TOUR DATES
I Ya Toyah joins the performance art collective Little Miss Nasty for a UK tour this December. See below for dates. Find tickets here.•
December 9, 2026: Newcastle Upon Tyne – The Cluny
• December 10, 2026: Glasgow – Ivory Blacks
• December 11, 2026: Birmingham – Asylum
• December 15, 2026: Brighton – Patterns
• December 16, 2026: Bristol – The Fleece
• December 17, 2026: Manchester – Rebellion
• December 18, 2026: Swansea – The Bunkhouse Bar and Music Venue
• December 19, 2026: London – Underworld (Camden)
Find tickets here.
CREDITS :
Title: White Walls
Release day: October 9th
Release: Independent – via I Ya Toyah’s owned label Femme Fatale Records
Cover Artwork by Angelica Dulany
Written and composed by I Ya Toyah
Produced by I Ya Toyah and Johnny K
Mixed by Johnny K
Mastered by Howie Weinberg
Video directed, filmed and edited by Alex Zarek
Documentary clips by Allison Ciletti
Makeup by Janet Debris
A new all-ages concert series for fresh Australian sounds, future favourites and the fans discovering them first.
Frontier Touring and Melbourne Park today launched SUPAGLOO at Melbourne Park, a new all ages concert series created to uplift Australia’s next generation of music talent and provide young Victorian fans unforgettable live experiences.
SUPAGLOO will be an ongoing, multi-genre quarterly series, launching today with the first two events confirmed for 10 December 2026 and 2 April 2027 at MCA at Melbourne Park. Each edition will be curated around the school and university holiday calendar with future events planned for 2027.
The series has been conceived around a simple idea: creating a stage for a new wave of Australian artists and providing an in real life platform for live, loud and upfront music discovery for young fans. SUPAGLOO is proudly presented by Frontier Touring and Melbourne Park and brought to fans with the support of AXS, Melbourne Park’s official ticketing partner.
Today’s launch reveals the first two SUPAGLOO line-ups. Kicking off the summer holidays with the best in alt pop, we’re celebrating local rising stars 2charm with their Ninajirachi-produced hedonistic club music; Melbourne power pop trio Blusher with their spirited live show; as well as high energy artist-to-watch Robert Baxter. The night will be soundtracked by triple j breakfast hosts Abby & Tyrone (DJ Set), bringing their infectious charm to MCA at Melbourne Park on 10 December 2026.
Next year’s SUPAGLOO puts the spotlight on Australia’s breakthrough R&B talent, with rising global star Larissa Lambert making a rare Australian appearance to launch her celebrated debut album Yearning, alongside charismatic newcomer ZIPPORAH, and Filipina-Chilena tastemaker DJ 1SA on 2 April 2027.
Curated to spotlight Australia’s next wave of breakthrough acts, both line-ups reflect the sound, energy and ambition at the heart of SUPAGLOO with the backing of two of Australia’s most established names in live entertainment.
Tickets priced at $49.90, SUPAGLOO will invite young fans to discover and experience the country’s most exciting new talent.
Dion Brant, Chief Executive Officer, Frontier Touring, said:
“SUPAGLOO is about giving young fans a front-row connection to the artists shaping the future of Australian music. There is extraordinary breakthrough talent coming through this country, and this series creates a space where fans can discover those artists early, up close and in a live setting built for them. With Frontier’s artist development experience and Melbourne Park’s world-class venue infrastructure behind it, SUPAGLOO supports the next generation of artists and audiences from both sides of the stage.”
John Harnden, Chief Executive Officer, Melbourne Park, said:
“Melbourne Park is home to some of the world’s biggest sporting and entertainment events, but we’re equally passionate about supporting the future of live music.
SUPAGLOO reflects our commitment to creating opportunities for Australian artists and connecting new audiences with great music experiences. We’re proud to partner with Frontier Touring on a concept that will help more young Victorians engage with live music while contributing to the strength and sustainability of Australia’s live music ecosystem.”
The visual identity for SUPAGLOO has been created by up-and-coming VIC designer Sunnie Kuan, founder of Cheeky Noot Studio, further reflecting the commitment to back emerging local creative talent both on and off the stage. Developed with a bold design, the brand captures the energy, immediacy and sense of discovery at the heart of SUPAGLOO, helping create a visual world for the next generation of artists and live music fans.
Presale tickets via frontiertouring.com/supagloo will be available for both events from Friday 16 October (10am local). General on sale starts Monday 19 October (10am local).
Visit supagloo.live for all the details.
SUPAGLOO MELBOURNE PARK
Presented by Frontier Touring & Melbourne Park
ALL SHOWS LICENSED ALL AGES
2charm, Blusher, Robert Baxter, Abby & Tyrone (DJ Set)
Thursday 10 December 2026
MCA at Melbourne Park | Melbourne, VIC
Larissa Lambert, ZIPPORAH and 1SA
Friday 2 April 2027
MCA at Melbourne Park | Melbourne, VIC
FRONTIER MEMBER PRESALE
via frontiertouring.com/supagloo
Runs 48 hours from: Friday 16 October (10am local time)
or until presale allocation exhausted
TICKETS ON SALE
Begins: Monday 19 October (10am local time)
SUPAGLOO DECEMBER 2026
About 2charm
Queer, tongue-in-cheek and made for the dancefloor, duo 2charm will bring late-night energy to SUPAGLOO’s debut. Handpicked to support pop disrupter Slayyyter on her recent tour and fresh from criss-crossing the USA with superstar collaborator Ninajirachi, the pair are building serious momentum with their electric presence and heavenly club cuts.
About Blusher
The glossy and energetic Blusher have been in your feeds and your earbuds over the past 12 months. Their rave-charged pop anthems are only matched by their spirited live show, full of bubbles and choreography. They’ve supported Kesha, played the main stage at Laneway, and are about to open for the iconic Robyn on her upcoming arena tour. Catch them at SUPAGLOO while you can.
About Robert Baxter
Producer, dancer, DJ and model Robert Baxter is an emerging force from the runways and ballrooms of Naarm/Melbourne. Their radical sound has already made waves – the STARGIRL and PARTYANIMAL EPs have seen viral and chart success – and their immersive, high-energy live shows are undeniable. Fresh from supporting Ashnikko, expect club-ready pop, high energy dancers and standout looks. A champion of queer POC perspective and culture, Robert’s artistry is a bold vision of a modern Australian popstar.
About Abby & Tyrone (DJ Set)
Stepping out from behind the triple j Breakfast desk, Abby & Tyrone bring their infectious energy and charm to the SUPAGLOO dancefloor, armed with a USB stick full of Chappell Roan edits (Abby) and the collected works of Role Model (Tyrone).
SUPAGLOO APRIL 2027
About Larissa Lambert
Ballarat-born Larissa Lambert is Australia’s premier R&B export, captivating audiences worldwide with her signature vocal tone, raw lyricism and genre-blurring sound. From online viral performances to global accolades and co-signs from SZA, Justin Bieber and Ty Dolla $ign, Larissa Lambert is shaping the next wave of modern R&B with her compelling voice. Larissa will make a rare Melbourne appearance, bringing her debut album Yearning to the SUPAGLOO stage.
About ZIPPORAH
Born into the entertainment industry to beloved performers, ZIPPORAH’s earliest core memories have been formed in rehearsal rooms, venues and on stages around the country. A proud Samu and Suy woman from Saibai Island in the Torres Strait, ZIPPORAH has walked between two worlds, embracing both sides of her Torres Strait / Australian heritage to build a career that has always kept her culture front of mind. Her soulful vocals and captivating presence elevates any stage she walks on. SUPAGLOO will be no different.
About 1SA
1SA takes the crowd on a journey through R&B, hip hop, Latin, Afro and global sounds, bringing her unapologetic energy to stages around the world. As a proud Filipina-Chilena DJ raised in Naarm/Melbourne, she’s committed to celebrating culture through her community event Kapwa, and is passionate about sharing sounds that connect her roots to the dancefloor.
Pitch Music & Arts will celebrate a landmark milestone from 5-9 MARCH 2027, returning to the foothills of Gariwerd (The Grampians) for its 10th edition, an anniversary chapter honouring a decade of music, community, art and shared experiences.
The festival today launches its 2027 campaign with a new video, soundtracked by Sam Girling’s ‘Look What U Done’, transporting viewers through archival footage and moments captured across previous editions of Pitch Music & Arts through the concept of a time capsule.
The film follows a snippet released last week, teasing the time capsule from beneath the soil to Yanamaste’s track ‘Evil’, offering the first hint of what is to come when the 2027 music programme is revealed.
Untitled Group Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Filippo Palermo, said – “Reaching our tenth edition is an incredibly meaningful milestone for us. Pitch began with a clear vision for bringing music, art and community together and has grown and evolved year after year, shaped just as much by the people who return as the festival itself.
“For 2027, we want to honour everything that has made Pitch what it is today. We have some boundary-pushing surprises in store, alongside subtle nods to the festival’s earlier years, including elements that reference Pitch’s very first edition. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back for this landmark edition.”
For its tenth edition, Pitch’s music programme will once again unfold across three custom-built stages, bringing together state-of-the-art sound systems and world-class production against the festival’s picturesque Grampians backdrop.
Pitch One will continue the brutalist-inspired design language that has defined the stage across the festival’s history. The Resident Advisor Stage will evolve once more for the tenth edition, complete with Funktion-One sound, while Pitch Black returns with its dual-level structure, influenced by Berlin’s underground and historic amphitheatres.
Beyond the dancefloor, The Rock Pool returns after last year’s debut as Pitch’s hidden oasis beneath the mountains, offering a space to cool off, slow down and reconnect throughout the weekend. The Pitch Pavilion will also return as a space to pause between sets, with ambient DJ sets, wellbeing workshops, talks and mindful activities throughout the weekend.
Anna Nalpantidis returns for a second consecutive year as Pitch Music & Arts’ Arts Curator for 2027, following a 2026 programme that included crowd favourite Chocolate Goblin. She will bring her distinctive approach back to Pitch, creating space for the strange, the ambitious, the playful and the unexpected across the festival landscape.
Festival entry will be available across two, three and four-day pass options, with General Camping included with all Festival Entry Tickets. For those looking for a different camping experience, Premium Camp, Pre-Pitched and Glamping options will also be available.
Festival and Vehicle Pass packages will also return to encourage carpooling, alongside Pitch transport options connecting Melbourne and Ararat with the festival site.
Afterpay, Zip Pay and Laybuy will be available from presale, giving attendees a range of payment options when securing their 2027 tickets.
Further information available at pitchfestival.com.au.
PITCH MUSIC & ARTS
5 – 9 MARCH 2027
THE GRAMPIANS (GARIWERD), DJAB WURRUNG AND EASTERN MAAR COUNTRY, VIC
Pitch Music & Arts is brought to you by Untitled Group, Australia’s largest independent music and events company and the team behind Beyond The Valley, Wildlands and Ability Fest.
SUNDER captured a particular point in your life, but revisiting it through SUNDERLUXE means hearing those songs in a different context. Has your understanding of what you were trying to express on the original project changed with time?
I wouldn’t say my understanding of the idea has changed because in the end SUNDER is kind of the same resolve it was searching the whole time, but you definitely get even more clarity about that with time.
What made this the right moment to revisit SUNDER? Was there something you felt the original release left unfinished, or did you become curious about how the material might sound through someone else’s perspective?
SUNDER was this world I had spent a long time building, so I just wanted to explore it further and see where else it could go, and where others might take it.
Remixes can completely change the emotional character of a song while preserving its core. When you heard the reinterpretations for SUNDERLUXE, was there a version that made you hear one of your own tracks differently?
I was so hyped hearing all these artists I love, taking these songs and reimagining them in a way I never would’ve thought of, that was such a sick experience. How Mel Blue flipped SOUTH into this huge major key anthemic kind of UK breakbeat track that somehow fit so well inside the SUNDER world I still don’t know.
Your music sits between alternative R&B, soul and electronic production, with atmosphere playing an important role in the finished sound. How do you find the balance between creating something sonically interesting and making sure the emotion at the centre of a song remains intact?
Honestly those two things are what drives it, but the feeling comes first. I try to capture a certain feeling, and then I do what I can to make the atmosphere and the sonics sort of carry that feeling, that’s how it works for me.
The inclusion of an earlier version of “STILL DROWNING IN MY ROOM” offers a glimpse into the decisions that happen before a song reaches its final form. What did the original version capture that you didn’t want to lose, and what ultimately led you to take the song in a different direction?
There’s a feeling I get when I make something I really like and it’s what drives me to finish the idea, and I got that feeling when I made that initial idea, but I just couldn’t find the pocket for the vocals. After a while I stripped out all the house/funk rhythm sections and worked on a smoother half-time r&b type feel and the vocals came, but I never forgot the feeling of that first demo.
When another producer reworks your music, they inevitably bring their own experiences and instincts to it. How do you approach that exchange as an artist, particularly when their interpretation differs from what you originally imagined?
I think a big part of it is choosing artists that you feel will gel well with you and understand the vision, which they all definitely did.
Your songs often leave space for listeners to bring their own experiences to the music. When you’re writing, do you deliberately leave certain feelings or meanings unresolved, or does that ambiguity emerge naturally through the process?
A bit of both. I figure if I can make things a bit clearer to myself by writing, then maybe someone listening, in a way, might see what they’re dealing with in their own world in it, and hopefully it can even help them to make more sense of it. But I’m not trying to explicitly tell people anything, it’s just what I see.
As your catalogue develops, how do you recognise when a sound or approach genuinely reflects where you are creatively, rather than simply repeating something that has worked for you before?
If it gives me that feeling that I mentioned before when I’m making it, that’s the only way for me to tell really. Otherwise I just get bored with it or it feels stale, and I just leave it.
SUNDERLUXE brings together different interpretations of a project that originally existed in a more defined form. Has working on it changed the way you think about releasing music, collaboration or how long a body of work can continue to evolve after its initial release?
All of the above, for sure. The collaboration aspect has been a good time, especially with how insular the original SUNDER was, not just the story itself but how I made it, so it was cool to open that back up with other people and to keep building it.
Looking ahead, what are you feeling creatively that you haven’t yet found a way to express through your music? Is there a direction you’re curious to explore that might surprise people who have followed JVLY so far?
Yeah, I think so, keep an eye out
Stream:
Socials:
Credits:
Written & Produced by Kayle Butler
Remixes by Mel Blue, Contrecoeur, Lemonade Baby, dj poolboi
Mixing by Doug Wright
Mastering by Ryan Schwarbe
Photos & Artwork by Kayle Butler
For April Stace, the harp is a way to explore questions that extend beyond music. A harpist, composer, writer, Episcopal priest and theology professor, Stace brings these interests together on Aphelion, her album released on October 10, 2026, shaped by a period of personal transition and a changing understanding of solitude.
The album emerged during a time that included divorce, an empty nest and a solo journey through New Mexico. These experiences prompted Stace to reconsider what it means to begin again when the structures that once defined everyday life have changed. Rather than presenting renewal as a simple resolution, Aphelion explores the space between letting go of the familiar and finding a way forward.
The title refers to the point in an orbit when an object is farthest from the sun. Stace uses this idea as a metaphor for the distance that can emerge when familiar structures fall away, creating room for a different perspective. It provides a framework for an album concerned with grief, uncertainty and the possibility of change.
Musically, Aphelion moves beyond the harp’s traditional register. Solo passages sit alongside layered arrangements drawing on contemporary classical, ambient, jazz and world music influences. The harp remains at the centre of the compositions, its resonance providing continuity as the arrangements explore a broader sonic landscape.
The 14-track album opens with Intuition, followed by Holding onto Winter, Train Song and Writing Again. Later titles include Little Steps, Garden, Darkness A Gift and Wild Patience, before the record closes with Aphelion / Trisagion. The sequence of titles reflects the project’s wider concerns with reflection, patience and change without reducing the album to a single narrative.
Stace wrote and performed all the songs on Aphelion. The album was recorded and mixed by Will Russell at Electric Wilburland Studios, with artwork by Alan Pollack.
Her background offers another perspective on the project. Stace began playing the harp at seven and holds a degree in harp performance and composition from the University of Maryland. She is an Associate Professor of Practical Theology at The General Theological Seminary and has spent more than two decades working across ministry, teaching and the arts. She has also released multiple albums as a solo artist and with her band, Harp 46, and written and edited books on spirituality, culture and religious life.
These different strands of her work come together in Aphelion, which extends beyond a collection of instrumental compositions. The project is conceived as an immersive musical memoir incorporating original harp music, poetry, storytelling and visual art. Its approach reflects Stace’s interest in the connections between music, spirituality, loss and transformation.
Living and creating in New York’s Finger Lakes, Stace continues to work across music and writing. With Aphelion, she brings that multidisciplinary perspective to an album shaped by personal change and an expanded approach to the harp.
Rather than offering easy answers, Aphelion centres on the experience of finding oneself somewhere unfamiliar. Its exploration of distance, solitude and renewal gives the album a clear conceptual foundation, while the harp remains the defining voice throughout.
As a child, drawing was already a way for you to communicate things that felt important. What were those early drawings about, and what feels different about the things you draw now?
I used to stick paper to the static on the television screen as a kid and attempt to trace what was happening in real time. Michael Jackson’s moonwalk, football games, westerns, cartoons, The Three Stooges, whatever was on. Everything outside of that was the pursuit of drawing from life and learning the tools to execute with. Through time, the rendering of my stored experiences from this plight became the entanglement that manufactures the compositions now… every drop of the good, the bad, the unthinkable emotions. It feels like all one thing at this point.
Music was also a major part of your childhood, and that connection eventually led to drawing live performances. What did music give your visual work that drawing on its own didn’t?
To set the stage… My very first epiphany in music was getting The Cars’ debut album for Xmas, 1978 at 6 years old. The only vinyl I had up to that point was The Year Of Roosevelt Franklin/Gordon’s Friend From Sesame Street. Two widely varying recordings. I loved the beats and rhythms throughout. I would set up pieces of paper from my drawing tablet I’d cut into circles onto my bed and dresser, pretending to be surrounded by drums, and pound them to shreds with chopsticks. That summer, I heard AC/DC’s Highway To Hell in my neighbor’s basement, where his brother had a DRUM KIT… the first one I’d ever seen in person. This moment was like discovering the holy grail for me. We were only allowed to gawk at it. That was it. I wanted to be a drummer. The first concert I’d attend was The Four Tops and The Temptations with my Mom. I’d go on to play percussion in marching band and jazz band through my school years, coupled with scrappy jams and punk incarnations with friends after school. When I moved to Brooklyn years later, I played in two bands. Discovering early on that there’s a rhythm to making marks, and it most closely associates with jazz in my experience, I sought after that dialogue. This is the adventure, and music has always been a source for me, conjuring audible expression. I’m still always tuning in on the multi-frequency dial, using every sense as a beacon of sorts, to that tiny spark between the two hemispheres and onto a surface. Art looks and sounds like music to me and I love the dynamics.
The first live band you drew was Guided By Voices in 1999. What did that experience reveal about drawing from a live performance that you hadn’t experienced in the studio?
Guided By Voices is, hands down, my favorite band on the planet. There were a lot of years making art that led up to that moment. My studio was a gathering spot for musicians and artists, and I would be rendering them all the time I wasn’t jamming or recording with them. A friend turned me on to GBV during the early 90s and I was hooked. Not just on the music, but their process. I had this romantic idea that they made these recordings performing off the cuff all together. Where it went next level was getting a call from a friend who requested I paint live with GBV for a special one-off show at the legendary Sapphire Supper Club in Orlando, Florida. Meeting Bob Pollard and Doug Gillard after, and hearing how their creative process REALLY worked, caused a monumental shift for me. It was not the idea I had envisioned all those years before, which originally inspired our own process. This resulted in the understanding that we were creating from our own altered mindset, all original. This transition clearly set in motion what would become my sole effort to create the dialogue between visual art and music. No editing. I would go on to draw live with Pollard and other member bands in the years to follow.
Editor’s notes: Bob is an absolutely brilliant multimedia artist as well. I would take that relationship a step further by hosting two NYC art shows for Bob in the years after. The first being his debut:
NY, NY, Studio Dante, 2007, Robert Pollard “Do The Collage”, hosted by Todd DiCiurcio and Michael Imperioli.
NY, NY, The 45 Space, 2010, Robert Pollard “The Public Hi-Fi Balloon”, hosted by Todd DiCiurcio and Vanity Fair editor Michael Hogan.
During a performance, each mark is a reaction to sound, movement and what is happening on stage. How do you train yourself to stay completely present while still making decisions about the drawing?
I do best not to think in the attempt of conveying the most with the least through mark making. It’s all a reactionary stream of unconsciousness.
Blind contour drawing was part of your university training. How does that way of observing a subject show up in the work today?
It’s merely a tool, but plays a role in everything I create. As a way of seeing things inversely proportionate, rendering negative space is recorded much more unconsciously when combined with it, outlining the shapes that become items of interest in the expanding concepts.
A live drawing can become the basis for a much larger finished painting. What happens between that first performance drawing and the final piece?
Absolutely nothing in regards to the live shows. I start when they start and end when they end. It’s my very own dogma, and it was never intended to be performance based, but rather solely done during performance.
Alternatively, my paintings in the studio can take months to complete.
Music has led to decades of collaborations with artists including The Rolling Stones, New Order, Cat Power and Broken Social Scene. What makes a particular musician or performance give you something you want to respond to visually?
One thing is the simple fact that I listen to their records in my studio while I work. I grew up on the other side of the tracks listening to the punk and indie/progressive music scene bands. Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with a lot of the bands that inspire my work. Ronnie Wood inviting me to capture The Rolling Stones live at Barclay Center in Brooklyn was next level. Tommy Hilfiger acquired that piece for his personal collection, along with the Gold painting of The English Beat for his corporate collection. Notably now, Dope Lemon is exceptional. When I met Angus Stone, I was co-directing a music video with Taylor Steele for his then-new solo release, “Monsters”. I asked him what he wanted to do, and he told me how much he admired Kurt Vile and wanted to make an album with Rick Rubin, which he later manifested. Angus is the archetype of what makes art and music attract in my opinion. Manifestation hit heavy for me shortly after when I was invited to be an Artist-In-Residence for Splendour In The Grass, putting me side stage with Babyshambles, TV On The Radio, Empire Of The Sun, The National, Portugal The Man and others. During this time, I was crashing at Taylor’s studio on Belongil Beach, recording late nights with Michael John Bryant of MT Warning. One Time.
Some collaborations begin with music, while others have taken your work into film, fashion and surfing. What usually happens in the early conversations that turns an idea into an actual project?
To apply my sense of composition to a specific medium of another scope, there is always a relationship forged by a unique introduction. The conversations are often tangential and breathe the rarified air of an entire concept, which become manifestations. My muse Megs has towed me into so many incredible introductions, and I’ve made it my life’s work to give my passion to them. They can take years and demand a high level of focus and belief, because their true originality and lack of structure make them impossible for others to grasp. I’m completely commercially impaired, and everyone wants “cool factor”, but I’m total genericide when shaping these nebulous concepts.
One such pivot took five years from my introduction to Yvonne Force Villareal, via a guerrilla drop of a drawing at her home office, to her making a studio visit and, finally, hosting my 2008 debut NYC exhibition, “Synthesis”, unveiling Santos’ Party House. I would later work with her non-profit, Art Production Fund, and its partners on other projects, including my concept, “Draw Us Sin” at P3 Studio in The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas.
Separately, Rob Machado was introduced to me by Taylor Steele, whom I’d met while I was a juror for the NY Surf Film Festival. Machado’s Melali Sessions Band played NYC, and I made it a point to draw live at that show. Years later, while brainstorming Solento Organic Tequila all together during a surf session, Taylor mentioned to Rob that he should have me paint on a board, which I did that day at his archive. That sparked the idea of a NY show of my art on his boards, which was brought into Chris Benchetler’s Fire On The Mountain during a meeting when we were making said boards. I ended up creating large paintings with Chris in addition to the project and further, all in collaboration with the Grateful Dead.
These moments are woven into the tapestry of my foundation. A world of firsts. They are immensely important and continue to manifest. If I didn’t believe in the unknown, or what one might think is unattainable, and wasn’t creating the entire time, none of it would have happened. I have also been fortunate to work on art-driven brand collaborations, including FireWire Surfboards, Caddis Eye Appliances, Catch Surf, March NYC, Rag & Bone, Kenneth Cole and Gap Product Red. In hindsight, the love and respect for what we all do and create passionately is the measure of how far we can take it… There are no rules.
The work has always responded to the surrounding environment, while the recent Telepathy Exit paintings deal directly with communication and connection. What parts of the world around you are occupying your attention at the moment?
Currently, my latest exhibition, “The Club Is Open”, in Middleburg, Virginia’s newest gallery, The Modern At Highbury, is taking a deeper look into the essence of how everything in the paintings is connected musically and moves through ramifications of commercial existence. Truly an inside-out framing of the work. It is curated by Carlos Linares, who himself is an accomplished musician. IYKYK.
What are you listening to right now? Are there musicians or records that are making you want to draw?
I’m staring at five records on deck that will play in their entirety whilst I respond to this interview…
Elliott Smith – Either Or
Fontaines D.C. – Skinny Fia
Depeche Mode – Construction Time Again
AC/DC – Dirty Deeds
Iggy Pop – Post Pop Depression
There will forever be music that makes me want to draw, and I’m always listening for it. My cerebral and emotional recall is hinged to where and when I first hear music. The output reveals my chronicles of humanity.
Telepathy Exit brought 28 new paintings and your first solo exhibition in almost a decade. What changed in the way you approached the work during that period?
I write alongside my paintings. With each layer comes a new thought that could easily be mismanaged or forgotten into the next as I’m working, so I jot down what I think I’m seeing and feeling. These words are mostly just what comes to mind, out of context to color or form; even a subtle blur of the eyes can manipulate them. As the layers add and subtract, things become hidden and others revealed in the tides of a session, normally pivoting between three to five surfaces over long hours. This sea change was the departure from the previous body into what shaped Telepathy Exit. Camille Murphy curated the show.
After decades of making work, what still makes you pick up a pen, brush or piece of charcoal and start?
There’s a mystery in the pursuit of drawing that is always seeking truth. The idea that with just marks alone applied through the mortal experience, the great spirit in every life form can shape the unknown connections powered by the subconscious. I’ve always just felt like a vehicle passing through that static.
Australian artist and producer JVLY returns with SUNDERLUXE, a deluxe album that revisits the world of his acclaimed SUNDER EP as he explores the same emotional and sonic territory through a new lens, bringing together new material, alternate versions and reworked collaborations across 12 tracks. The result is a companion piece that feels familiar, while pushing the world of SUNDER somewhere new.
Opening with ‘IT’S FINE/SOJU ON THE MOON’ before moving through the likes of ‘SOUTH’, ‘DROWNING IN MY ROOM’, ‘LOCUM’ and ‘WALKED THE SUN’, the album expands on the atmospheric, introspective sound that has become synonymous with JVLY. The second half of the record introduces a series of remixes and bonus tracks, with contributions from Mel Blue, Contrecoeur, Lemonade Baby and dj poolboi.
At the centre of the project is focus track ‘SOJU AGAIN’, which JVLY describes as an opportunity to approach the feeling of the original record from somewhere completely different.
“SOJU AGAIN came from wanting to see what that feeling was like on the other side of the record, and approach it from a different place. So it felt like the right song to open the B-side of SUNDERLUXE. I wanted SOJU AGAIN to feel like it belonged to that world without just being a return to something I’d already done. There’s something familiar about it, but it feels like it’s moved somewhere completely new, which is the whole parallel universe idea behind SUNDERLUXE.”
For JVLY, that sense of familiarity and discovery sits at the heart of the album. SUNDERLUXE takes ideas established on SUNDER and gives them room to evolve, introducing new perspectives and collaborations while remaining connected to the world that came before.
“I think SUNDERLUXE is really about seeing the same world from a different angle. SUNDER had its own energy and its own journey, and I wanted to take some of those ideas somewhere else while still feeling like they belong in that world. It gave me the chance to explore sides of it and bring in some new pieces that I couldn’t really fit into SUNDER itself. I also got to work with some of my favourite artists and producers in the process. I guess SUNDERLUXE feels like stepping back into that world and looking at it from somewhere else.”
With SUNDERLUXE, JVLY continues to build out a world that has become increasingly central to his music, one where familiar ideas can be revisited, reshaped and viewed from an entirely different angle.
Stream:
Socials:
Credits:
Written & Produced by Kayle Butler
Remixes by Mel Blue, Contrecoeur, Lemonade Baby, dj poolboi
Mixing by Doug Wright
Mastering by Ryan Schwarbe
Photos & Artwork by Kayle Butler
Canadian country artist Kerrington Gillespie is thrilled to share her newest single, “Three Missed Calls”, which is on all streaming platforms.
The song was initially featured on two of Spotify’s editorial playlists – “North Country” and “New Music Friday Canada” – before Kerrington graced the cover of “Fresh Finds Canada”, accentuating the positive response to the single.
Written by the artist, Tavish Crowe (Carly Rae Jepsen, Sacha) and producer Jared Manierka (Fionn, Emily Rowed), “Three Missed Calls” is a glossy pop-leaning country tune that mirrors the influences of Sabrina Carpenter and Megan Moroney and radiates relatability and quirkiness in examining the emotions that emerge when the person you’ve moved on from starts calling again.
Kerrington says, “This song came from that moment when you’re finally over someone and genuinely doing great, and then they reach out and it sends you right back into the spiral you thought you’d left behind. It happened to me, so the song is personal, but I also wanted it to have that fun, girly pop energy with little country undertones. I hope people blast it, sing along, and still feel the honesty and chaos behind how three missed calls can pull you right back in.”
Based on Vancouver Island, Kerrington is just 17 years old, but “Three Missed Calls” already represents her tenth single release in just under a year. Coining her sound as “pop country with a lil’ heartbreak”, Kerrington has written and recorded prolifically in Canada with Crowe and Manierka, as well as in Nashville with noted hitmaker Trey Bruce. To date, her ambitious release output has netted over 300K Spotify streams to date.
As a live performer, she’s immersed herself in the local music scene around her home province of British Columbia, having played at Sunfest, the Cloverdale Rodeo, the Salmon Festival, the Vancouver Island Exhibition, and the Alberni Fall Fair as support for Canadian country star Jojo Mason.
With “Three Missed Calls”, Kerrington is continuing her dedicated creative and performance pace but is also slowing down just enough to remind fans that it’s only human to navigate confusing feelings on the way to ultimately leaving someone behind.
“Three Missed Calls” is on all streaming platforms.
I Ya Toyah has released her cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer”, reinterpreting the iconic track through themes of validation, perfectionism, comparison and identity.
The release follows “FEELINGS” and “APOLOGY”, completing a trilogy exploring the forces that shape identity and human behaviour. With “Closer”, I Ya Toyah shifts the focus towards psychological obsession and the pursuit of external approval, placing the song within a contemporary context shaped by social media and digital culture.
Blending industrial rock, dark electronic textures and cinematic intensity, the track examines a culture increasingly influenced by algorithms, ratings and constant comparison. I Ya Toyah explores what happens when self worth becomes tied to external validation and the pressure to meet expectations set by others.
The accompanying music video expands on these themes, placing I Ya Toyah inside a sterile white room where she is watched, measured and judged through invisible scores. As the pressure to achieve a perfect rating intensifies, the video examines the relationship between surveillance, social media metrics, personal expectations and algorithmic approval.
Based in the Chicago area, I Ya Toyah is a musician, singer, composer, producer, remix artist and performer. She oversees her own songwriting, recording and mixing, as well as the lighting programming for her live performances. Her sound draws on industrial, pop, electro, darkwave and alternative rock.
Her recent collaborations include Raymond Watts, Julian Beeston, Rhys Fulber, Tim Skold, Phil Owen and Stabbing Westward. She is also a member of The Joy Thieves, a supergroup with more than 50 members whose roster includes musicians associated with Ministry, Depeche Mode, Killing Joke, Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM, Nitzer Ebb, Die Krupps and White Zombie.
Beyond music, I Ya Toyah has contributed to projects supporting mental wellness, human rights and animal rights. She states that 15 percent of proceeds from her music and merchandise have been donated to organisations including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation.
With “Closer”, I Ya Toyah brings Nine Inch Nails’ influential track into a contemporary conversation about validation, comparison and identity, connecting its darker themes with the pressures of navigating an increasingly measured and scrutinised world.
You’ve taken a pretty unusual route through creativity, from visual arts and photography to playing in bands, teaching drums and eventually building a career around your artwork. When did you first realise you had something creatively worth pursuing?
From a young age I was always interested in art and being creative. I would draw all the time and even won awards at local shows.
The first time I sold a photo print was a defining moment. That realisation that someone valued something I created and wanted it in their home on their wall was huge. Putting that aside, I would be creating art just for myself regardless of pursuing it as a career. I can’t help myself…
Where does an idea usually begin for you? Is it something you see, photograph, hear, sketch, or does it sometimes appear once you’re already working?
Honestly I think it’s all of the above. I think about what I could create all the time. Can’t switch it off. Inspiration can be found anywhere. I definitely find it in music and from other artists. But I also absolutely love to just play. Start with nothing and turn it into something. Experiment with different mediums, programs and tools. Sometimes I have a clear vision of something I’d like to create and sometimes I just see where the moment takes me.
When you’re taking photographs, what makes you stop and take the shot? What are you noticing that makes one moment more interesting than the next?
I think you develop an eye. I’d like to think that every individual artist is in search of their own visual language. Wanting to share their unique view with the world. Or capture a moment that won’t be repeated. I’m looking for something that fills the frame in a beautiful way. Or a moment that I feel I can get creative with.
You take a lot of photographs that never become finished artworks. What makes you come back to one particular image and start experimenting with it?
One of the things I love about manipulating photos is that you can take a photo that might not seem all that interesting as it is, but then turn it into something creative or surreal or abstract… I have often created art from photos that I took years earlier and just suddenly found some kind of inspiration around it at a later time. Often it’s because you have new skills or tools that you can use and it fits in with what you are experimenting with now.
Once you start working on an image, how much of the final piece is planned and how much is discovered along the way?
It varies a lot. As I said earlier, sometimes I have a clear idea and take a photo for a specific purpose or plan. And sometimes it is fun just seeing where it takes you. I also love the happy accidents that can come from just trying things.
Your finished work can look completely different from the photograph you started with. How do you decide what to change, what to keep and when the image is finished?
Again, I think it is just a feeling or an eye thing. I think most artists would say that sometimes it can be difficult to know when a piece is finished. I try not to overthink it. If it looks and feels right to me, it’s done.
What role does experimentation play in your work? Do you deliberately try things that might fail, or does the experimentation happen naturally while you’re making something?
It plays a huge role. It’s what I love to do the most and has led to me finding my own visual language. If I didn’t mess around with a bunch of different editing programs and apps, I never would have found some of the visuals that have become signatures of my art.
When a band gives you a song to create artwork for, how do you translate something you hear into something visual without simply illustrating the music?
I feel like I’m saying this a lot, but it’s probably more of a feeling than anything. I love trying to tie in something from a key lyric or theme. There is usually some direction and collaboration with the band/artist too. It all becomes a melting pot until you find the thing that feels right.
Working with another artist brings another person’s ideas into the process. How do you handle those moments when their vision takes the work somewhere you hadn’t originally imagined?
It’s one of the things I absolutely love about collaborating with other artists. It definitely takes you places you wouldn’t have gone on your own. I feel like I’ve been very fortunate to work (read play) with so many amazing artists that have pushed me to lift my game. Some of my favourite artworks that I have made have been collaborations.
After years of making photographs, artwork and design, what are you still trying to figure out?
Everything. Ha!
I think it would be a little sad and quite arrogant if you thought you had it all figured out and just did the same thing over and over. I want to keep learning, pushing myself and doing things that I haven’t done before. I have any number of weaknesses in what I do, especially in the design aspect of what I do. I also feel I have a lot to learn on the business side of things too. Keep learning. Keep doing. Keep creating. Keep going!
After 23 editions, NYE on the Hill is coming to an end, with this year’s event set to be the final chance to gather on the Hill.
What began in 2009 as a small invite-only party for Melbourne bands and their friends grew into an annual celebration bringing together around 3,000 music lovers for a weekend of live music, friendships and good times.
Across the journey, more than 600 bands and over 2,500 musicians and performers have appeared at the event, with the Hill also providing a first festival stage for many artists.
The final NYE on the Hill will be a chance for the community that has grown around the event to come together one last time and celebrate the people, music and memories that have shaped it over the years.
The organisers are encouraging everyone who has been part of The Hills Are Alive and NYE on the Hill journey to return for one final gathering.
One final Shindig. One final Hill.
TICKETS
|
|
|
|
Electric Hills: The Italian Synth History Hidden in the Hills of Marche
The Museo del Synth Marchigiano and The Blink Fish have launched a crowdfunding campaign to complete Electric Hills, a documentary exploring the history of electronic instrument manufacturing in Italy’s Marche region and its influence on music internationally.
Produced by The Blink Fish, the film follows the development of electronic instruments in the region, where traditional craftsmanship and emerging technology came together across workshops and manufacturers.
The story begins with the accordion makers of Castelfidardo before moving through the electric organs of the 1960s, early Italian synthesizers and pioneering drum machines. Companies including Farfisa and Elka feature in the documentary, alongside Fatar, Eko, FBT, Sisme, Viscount and Crumar.
The project brings together rare instruments, archival material and previously unseen interviews, while tracing the people and companies behind the development of electronic instruments in the region.
Electric Hills features musicians, composers, producers, inventors and designers from Italy and around the world, including Jean-Michel Jarre, Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, Boosta of Subsonica, Claudio Simonetti of Goblin, Tommaso Colliva, Massimo Martellotta and Enrico Gabrielli of Calibro 35, Hainbach, Look Mum No Computer, Martin Schmidt and Andrew Daniel of Matmos, and Fabrice Quagliotti of Rockets.
Kyle Dixon, Michael Stein, Hainbach, Look Mum No Computer and Boosta have visited the Museo del Synth Marchigiano, where they performed and recorded using instruments from the collection.
The documentary grew directly out of the museum, which was founded by friends, musicians and collectors dedicated to recovering, restoring and preserving electronic instruments manufactured in the Marche. Its collection includes synthesizers, organs and drum machines connected to decades of pop, rock and electronic music.
As musicians, composers and researchers began visiting the museum, the idea developed to document the history of the region and its electronic instrument industry.
Development, pre-production and filming for Electric Hills have already been completed, with the crowdfunding campaign now supporting the remaining post-production work.
The campaign is seeking €40,000 to fund editing, archival licensing, the original soundtrack and music rights, sound design and mixing, colour grading, mastering, subtitles and festival versions.
The campaign operates on a “keep what you raise” basis. The film will be completed regardless of whether the full target is reached, although the campaign states that this could affect the production timeline and amount of archival material used.
Rewards include photographic prints, paper designs and vintage lithographic films from the Bontempi and Farfisa archives, a rare IRIS/Bontempi integrated circuit, a signed film poster and an Apesoft software plug-in licence. The Studio Experience also offers supporters two days of recording at the museum using instruments from the collection.
The screenplay was written by Paolo Bragaglia, composer, performer and founder of the Museo del Synth Marchigiano, with the collaboration of Leonardo Gabrielli and the museum staff. The film is directed by Marco Bragaglia, a filmmaker and visual artist with more than 30 years of experience across cinema and the visual arts, and produced by The Blink Fish.