The closer some artists get to that point of expanding the bandwidth—spreading the word among a larger group—the more some choose to adapt to popular norms or contemporary inclinations.
Allysha Joy does not.
On her previous sophomore album, Torn: Tonic, Joy ran a soulful 10-song manifesto created by women and non-binary folks, driven by the mantra “no love songs, just anthems, and hymns and remedies for change” put forth by Joy herself. It seems she knew what was coming.
New self-produced The Making Of Silk is the stuff that moves you, so deep in your gut, your wheelhouse of emotion, that active lab of chi and creativity, that you wonder for how long Allysha Joy shall remain a secret here in the States.
Don’t worry Bay Area, she’s touching down for a one-night affair at The Ivy Room in Berkeley on October 24, so witness this dynamo-musician, singer, performer, poet, and so on, in person.
But I’ll put my bias upfront first; I’m a sucker for a Fender Rhodes, and this album has seen her put those keyboard talents up and foreground alongside that lived-in breathy, whole hearty voice that matches the poetry within the lyricism.
The Making of Silk is a breakup album, and I will jump right into it, so when I’m done you can buy this record. On-site. It’s just that compelling.
“Hold On” carries the positive spirit of wanting to see your partner grow and be well—on their own. It shares a neighborhood, lyrically not musically, as Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” by Stevie Nicks. The sentiment intersects at the cross streets. Positivity, smiling through all the tears. Loving and the business of letting go.
“It’s like trying to hold on to the stars/You’re stifling the light they bring/I wanna see you shine/Even if forever at a distance” are the opening stanzas that, I’m sorry, she’s preaching right there, lined up with Joy making arrangements so deep in the jazzy, neo-soul, R&B lane that it all swerves right into a statement of growth, action of purpose. It’s another mantra, Joy kinda does that, for you and your former partner—distance will do us both well.
“I know that the true gift of love is letting you be you / And me be me, yeah” over this half-time, conga-driven milieu, with stout basslines and those chestnut Fender Rhodes chords—it’s a new high for saying “next lifetime” for sure. But the weight, that heft in the soul of the song carries earned wisdom. It’s some of the finest R&B-based arrangements I’ve heard in years.
No question.
Joy delivers on her terms. No gaudy R&B stretches here—these selections feel unrushed. Spacey. As though they are jams or session work that organically became tuned-up art from directions of melody. Where to add those background voices—possibly a skill she picked up in church.
And true to form, these jawns, such as the title cut “Silk,” feel rooted and organic all at once—stretches of musicality on that Fender Rhodes and Joy accompanying herself, right in the moment—but still orchestrated and precise. Sure, that’s jazz training, but it’s also being in total control of your instrument.
Understand, this is released on the mighty First Word Records, so you can expect a blitzkrieg of London-type humid remixes, broken-beat mastery indeed, sometime in the next few months from their top-tier stockade of producers, too many to name but it starts with Kaidi Tatham and on down… but do yourself a favor and grab this version. Give your ears, your heart, and your soul a well-needed moment to process what love is; the act of being selfless. Dip into these warm swoony versions, when Joy and company are crafting moments that just make you feel free.
Grab The Making of Silk here and tickets to the show in October here.
But folks….It’s Under The Stars, babe: a quasi-weekly column that presents new music releases, upcoming shows, opinions, and other adjacent items. We keep moving with the changes and thinking outside the margins.
When attending a live show, put down the phone
And take in the moment……Let’s go!
JIMETTA ROSE & VOICES OF CREATION, THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER (DAY DREAMER)
Are you feeling off your game? Listless? Without energy? Put down the sports drink and get the good word from Jimetta Rose & Voices of Creation. It’ll pick you up, without caffeine, judgment, or sugar intake.
Back in 2022 How Good It Is was their debut, and Man. It arrived on time.
Full of those tones and frequencies, bearing witness. Black voices performing upliftment in a choir setting.
Hallelujah, as the ancestors say.
Two years later after receiving universal acclaim (I was worried they might not make it back from Europe where folks luv this choir), their Things Are Getting Better doubles down on the previous effort by updating the “new Black classical music” with that gospel soul power that can only be achieved through a multigenerational community-based choir of mostly non-professional singers. That’s how God speaks.
Jimetta Rose states where this all came from in the Bandcamp liner notes; she’s a witness:
“This collection of songs are my testimony in a way, a sonic exploration of finding my faith and figuring out how to use my faith to navigate life and this great big old world after losing family (my mother Betty and my brother Keith) and in a way losing my sense of hope for what my future could even be. Through the writing and singing of these songs, I healed myself of the doubt and mistrust of the unknown. I found a way to forge my faith into what is now a mighty sword of song, community, and ministry with the intention of healing myself and others.”
Amen.
Pick up this healing music here.
ANNA BUTTERSS, “SHORN” MIGHTY VERTEBRATE (INTERNATIONAL ANTHEM)
In recent years, if you’ve noticed the Adelaide, Australia-born bassist and composer Anna Butterss playing their cleverly steady and artful bass on a single, album, or live performance, there’s a real strong chance Chicago heavyweights Jeff Parker, Makaya McCraven, or Daniel Villareal, chose to be in Butters’s presence.
A business and creative decision with multitudes arriving in the return on investment column.
Coming off the heat of this summer’s proggy funk-fusion of Afrobeats on SML, Butterss will release a first solo recording, Mighty Vertebrate, for the prodigious International Anthem imprint out of Chicago.
“Shorn,” the lead single, follows a similar design, where pace and meter begin with Butterss and that steady talking bass; it feeds numerous swirling orbits of rhythm, prismatic auditory experiences slip-sliding in and out of grooves that just keep on tunneling through, searching for the root.
That’s the Butterss business and business is doing quite well.
Pre-order Mighty Vertebrate here.
LUNAR NOON, ”TEARDROP”
Hearing a cover of a song can be an enjoyable sensation, having a new-fangled déjà vu unfurl on the tip of your Shazam finger. San Francisco artist Michelle Zheng, who records as Lunar Noon, has taken something grand/familiar to a particular group and era, disentangling said tune from all previous associations by way of voice, piano, mallet hits, strings, and bass.
Massive Attack’s archetypal “Teardrop” is forever associated with death and sorrow—some corner it as an “anti-abortion” song. But returning to the quiet words and notes, San Francisco creative Zheng snatches unhackneyed hues from the color scheme painting. Yes, sorrow persists, but resignation that change comes after the rain gets inserted. Listen, it’s hard work to remove a previous artist’s ideas from a seminal arrangement, but Zheng strikes an imposing chart dedicated to stillness. Be on the lookout for future endeavors from this artist here.
JEMS!, GEMS IN THE CORNERSTONE II
On a casual listen to the blue skies forever, summer-infused jawn “FLIGHTS,” it sounds even better than the sweet blasting ’90s R&B figure it inhabits. What’s the secret sauce, the mega superpower that makes ya play it again and again…
JEMS! Oakland’s Elujay and Baltimore’s J.Robb have tapped into their Caribbean lineage — J.Robb is Bajan, and Elujay is Trinidadian. While making their feel-good, smell-better style of soul on Gems In The Cornerstone II, they didn’t just listen to old dancehall mixtapes on YouTube, nah. They studied and deciphered real quick; it’s all about vibe, bounce, flow, smoothness, and most importantly, ease.
Those little simple but oh-so-important double basslines, it’s feel, assure us all that the intimate gathering on the beach, or the forever breezes on the front porch with that someone special, shall all remain evergreen.
Elujay and J. Robb were wise to snatch up all the good bits: Old-school R&B, hip-hop, Lovers Rock, and dancehall—they’ve taken Soundsystem culture, made very popular in the UK, and created a stateside reduction sauce that goes down real easy.
We get into the drum and bass stammer-step, of course, in a very soulful manner, on “Mashup (featuring Chase Shakur)”, and the beats gurgle up and blush with expediency and sweetness on “Sweepstakes,” which represents the throng of musicians and players who can slang that UK humidity.
Recorded in Los Angeles, Oakland, London, and New York, those vibes and precious accents fill out one of the most extensive and soulful releases this year.
Stay informed here.
KEVIN MORBY PRESENTS: THIS IS A FESTIVAL, THE QUARRY AMPHITHEATER IN SANTA CRUZ, OCTOBER 12
Listen up, boppers! Noise Pop and numerous other organizations have been putting up a gallant full-court press to remind people all summer that the Bay Area is a “music first” region, whether you believe it or not.
The most recent “Here I Am” concert to mysteriously enter the chat is a one-day festival curated by Kevin Morby that’s coming to The Quarry Amphitheater in Santa Cruz on October 12. With performances by Kevin himself, Jessica Pratt, Youth Lagoon (solo), Makaya McCraven, Ben Kweller, and Blackstarkids, and hosted by Chris Black and Jason Stewart from the popular culture podcast “How Long Gone,” it’s more than enough motivation to make the 65-mile trek down south for some great tunes and easy vibes.
More info here.
