Live Review: 30/70 member Allysha Joy steps out on her solo debut 'Know Your Power'

Already established as a key member of buzz-worthy Melbourne collective 30/70, the multi-talented, multi-media artist ALLYSHA JOY is now looking to broaden her expressive horizons with ‘Know Your Power’, the first single lifted from her just-announced debut solo album, Arcadie : Raw, which is due out this September 21st.

‘Know Your Power’ is a raw two-part neo-soul affair, burning with a feverish, wandering sax line over a steady, jazz-imbued groove and cool vintage piano chords. Allysha’s husky vocals function much in the same way as the free-flowing sax line, roaming the instrumental landscape with an enviable emotional freedom, following only the whims of her passions as her cascading cadences fall in elusive combinations.

Of the track, Allysha explains that “‘Know Your Power’ is a call to us all to acknowledge our power and to encourage conversation, consent and consideration. I acknowledge that this song was written from the perspective of a white cisgendered female and that I am privileged and hold power in this way. I will always seek to use this to the advantage of all women”.

Directed by GREGORY McCANN, the visuals capture the zealess energy of the band’s live performance by keeping the camera in constant motion during this first half, complimenting their performance with scenes of ecstatic bodies writing and contorting in impassioned, possessed movements.

‘Know Your Power’ rides this fervid ecstasy until a unified descent signifies a beat switch towards the latter third of the track, washing away the neo-soul fervor of its opening for a more sleek, sticky R&B-inflected coda that could sound like something off the last INTERNET album. In the clearing, Allysha’s empowered thesis comes into focus as the visuals narrow in on a lone female dancing: “Know your power / Don’t dilute it”. Allysha Joy knows the power of her music and her message - and she does not plan to dilute it anytime soon. 

Arcadie : Raw is out September 21st via Gondwana Records - you can pre-order it here.

WORDS BY KYLE FENSOM

IMAGE: Supplied

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