I Ya Toyah
Ania Tarnowska, known professionally as I Ya Toyah,[1] is a Chicago, USA musician, singer, composer, producer, performer, and the founder/CEO of Femme Fatale Records label. Her music incorporates elements of multiple genres including industrial, electro-industrial, goth electro, punk electro, electronic rock, and synthwave. It best fits in the alternative music category.
She began releasing her music independently in 2018, with 4 single releases, followed by her self-recorded and self-produced debut album, Code Blue.[2] In 2019, she released 5 singles, participated in many collaborations, became a member of post-industrial supergroup, The Joy Thieves[3] and toured excessively with bands such as Pigface[4] and Zwaremachine.[5] In 2020, she released 2 singles and a double album of remixes titled Code Blue Reloaded plus bonus album Code Blue Revelations.[6] In 2021 Out of Order - a 5 chapters E.P. consisting of five singles and music videos came out in both digital and physical forms.[7] 2022 brought I Ya Toyah on the US East Coast Tour,[8] and marked her first acoustic EP release Ghosts.[9]
When spoken out loud in Polish, I Ya Toyah means “It’s Just Me.” Her logo art merges the symbols for peace and anarchy that symbolizes her “rebel psyche.”[10]
History
Born and raised in Lódz, Poland, Ania began her music education as a child, studying classical guitar, piano, vocal performance, and music theory. She moved to the United States as a young adult, and soon became a part of multiple musical projects, performing with metal, punk rock jazz, and prog rock bands in prominent venues across the US.
In 2016, she graduated as the valedictorian from SAE Institute, where she focused on Music Business and Audio Engineering. In 2017, she began working at her home studio on her solo project, I Ya Toyah, and her debut album, Code Blue, was released independently on Oct. 26th, 2018.[11] True to her motto, she spent the majority of 2019 “spreading the disease of music and infecting the human race”[12] by touring.
In 2020, she was scheduled to tour the US and Canada as direct support for Stabbing Westward, but it was postponed, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] The lockdown was spent creating new material for her EP, Out Of Order, and collaborating with various artists. In February / March 2022 I Ya Toyah embarked on an East Coast US Tour, promoting her new material in live settings.[14]
Remixes
I Ya Toyah's music has been remixed by artists, including Skold (Marilyn Manson, Shotgun Messiah, KMFDM, Motionless in White),[15] Gopal Metro (the co-founder of the Gothic Rock band, Bella Morte),[16] Rhys Fulber (Front Line Assembly, Conjure One),[17] Adoration Destroyed,[18] and The Joy Thieves[19] (See full discography below.)
Collaborations
In 2019 I Ya Toyah recorded music with artists such as Julian Beeston (Nitzer Ebb, Cubanate), Max Fox (Zwaremachine), Indign, and Traumabond. That year she also became a member of The Joy Thieves, a post-industrial super group that includes current, former, and touring members of bands such as Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Pigface, Marilyn Manson, Stabbing Westward, Nitzer Ebb, KMFDM, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, Blue October, 16VOLT, and more.[20]
In March 2020, she also started working as a composer, alongside movie director, Ralph Klisiewicz, creating the score for a short film called The Artifact.[21]
Social awareness and causes
As a suicide loss survivor, I Ya Toyah advocates for the importance of mental wellness, and ending the stigma that surrounds mental illness.[22] During her live performances, she often talks about mental health with her audience, communicating the significance of breaking the stigma. Her ‘Code Blue’ album focuses on mental health and suicide prevention, and 15% of all proceeds go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).[23] In July 2020, she organized an Art Auction for Mental Health During the Times of Pandemic. Artists from across the US created and donated art pieces that were inspired by her lyrical content, and all the proceeds aided the AFSP.[24] In December 2022 I Ya Toyah released a self-funded line of suicide prevention and mental health wristbands promoting 988 Crisis Line, available for free with free shipping across the USA.
In April 2019, I Ya Toyah released a single and a video titled Forbidden Bark, which featured her dog, Benek. The release was used as a platform to raise awareness for charity organizations that focus on fighting animal cruelty.[25] Benek was featured again in May 2022 as I Ya Toyah performed a live streamed show during Goths For Sanctuaries Festival[26] raising money for animal sanctuaries around the world.
In 2020, her song Funeral for Love was selected to be a part of ESA (Electronic Saviors: Industrial Music to Cure Cancer) compilation released by Metropolis Records/Distortion Productions. This version of the song, featuring Traumabond[27] appeared on this release, alongside bands such as Ego Likeness, The Clay People, Leæther Strip, Angelspit, <PIG>, Die Warzau, Caustic, God Module, Skatenigs, and Cyanotic.
In Spring 2022 I Ya Toyah participated in the recording of a version of the Beatles’ classic Come Together[28] to raise funds for the people of the war-torn country of Ukraine. The project[29] named Lifeline International was arranged and mixed by legendary music producer John Fryer, who has worked with such seminal bands as Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, and Cocteau Twins. Participants included members of Faith No More, Stabbing Westward, Ministry, Rammstein, Filter, THE HARDKISS, The Joy Thieves, Agnostic Front, Basement Jaxx, and more.
Discography
Singles
- Code Blue - 2018
- Farewell - Mirrors Don’t Lie - 2018
- Funeral For Love - 2018
- Glass Eyes - 2018
- Funeral For Love (remix by Gopal Metro Invasion) -2019
- Forbidden Bark (feat. Benek the Dog) - 2019
- Flashback (remix by Rhys Fulber) - 2019
- Puppet (remix by Adoration Destroyed) - 2019
- Glass Eyes (remix by The Joy Thieves) - 2019
- Motion (remix by Skold) - 2020
- It’s No Good (cover of Depeche Mode) - 2020
- Out of Order - 2021
- Concrete - 2021
- Pray - 2021
- Death's Kiss - 2021
- Vast Spaces - 2021
- Pray (remix by Stabbing Westward) - 2021
- Vast Spaces (remix by The Joy Thieves) - 2022
- Code Blue (acoustic) - 2022
- Pray (acoustic) - 2022
- Time Machine (acoustic) - 2022
Albums and EPs
- Code Blue - 2018
- Code Blue Reloaded (remix album) - 2020
- Code Blue Revelations (bonus remix album) - 2020
- Out of Order - 2021
- Ghosts (acoustic EP) - 2022
Collaborative releases and compilations
- Smile That Killed the Country (with Max Fox of Zwaremachine) - 2019
- Cities in Dust (with The Joy Thieves) - 2019
- Autumn Storm (with Indign) - 2020
- Electronic Saviors: Funeral for Love feat.Traumabond ( Metropolis Records) - 2020
- Tiny Gods Who Walk Beside Us - 2020
- Tear Down The Walls: A Riveting Tribute To Pink Floyd's The Wall (Riveting Music) with The Joy Thieves - 2020
- The Unquiet Grave (Cleopatra Records) - 2020
- We The People (Featured by Julian Beeston) - 2021
- Higher Than The Sun (Featured by Julian Beeston) - 2021
- Crazy Horses (Featured by Julian Beeston) - 2021
- Broken Hearts & Robot Parts, Volume II (COP International) - 2021
- Follow The Leaders (A Killing Joke Tribute) by Coitus Interruptus Productions - Money is Not Out God with The Joy Thieves - 2021
- Come Together (with Lifeline International) - 2022
- Talkin' Bout The Wolf (with Jonathan/Christian) - 2022
- Love is a Battlefield (with The Joy Thieves) - 2022
External links
References
- ^ "iyatoyah.com".
- ^ "I Ya toyah - code Blue". brutalresonance.com.
- ^ "The Joy Thieves - Stealing Joy From The Happy". regenmag.com.com.
- ^ "I Ya Toyah - Video Journal (Pigface Tour Nov. 2019)". youtube.com.com.
- ^ "Code Blue Tour Recap". youtube.com.com.
- ^ "I Ya Toyah Releases Skold Remix From Upcoming Album". regenmag.com.com.
- ^ "Review: I Ya Toyah - Out of Order | Brutal Resonance". www.brutalresonance.com. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
- ^ "TOUR | I Ya Toyah". Industrial Electronic Music - I Ya Toyah. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
- ^ Major, Michael. "I Ya Toyah Announces 'Ghosts' Acoustic EP". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
- ^ "I Ya Toyah - 10 Questions Music Interview". indiemusicinterviews.com.com.
- ^ "Electronic/Industrial Artist I Ya Toyah Announce The Full-length Release Code Blue". theindependentvoice.org.com.
- ^ "I Ya Toyah - 10 Questions Music Interview". indiemusicinterviews.com.
- ^ "Show Canceled - Stabbing Westward - Dead Gone Tour". truewestpresents.com.
- ^ "TOUR | I Ya Toyah". Industrial Electronic Music - I Ya Toyah. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
- ^ "I Ya Toyah Reminds Us To put Mental Health Over Other's Expectations In New Video For Montion Skold Remix". music.mxdwn.com.
- ^ "I YA TOYAH - Funeral For Love". gopalmetrostudios.com/music/.
- ^ "Industrial Musician I Ya Toyah Releases Rhys Fulber Remixes of Flashback". brutalresonance.com.
- ^ "I Ya Toyah Presents New Single Remixed By Adoration Destroyed". regenmag.com.
- ^ "Spill Video Premiere I Ya Toyah - Glass Eyes - the Joy Thieves Remix". The Spill Magazine.
- ^ "The Joy Thieves interview - stealing Joy From The Happy". regenmag.com.
- ^ "The Artifact - Full Cast And Crew". imdb.com.
- ^ "I Ya Toyah Interview - Embracing The Inner Darkness". regenmag.com.
- ^ "I Ya Toyah - Converses With Madness To Creation". madnesstorcreation.net. 30 September 2021.
- ^ "Walking Through An Art Action For Suicide Prevention". youtube.com.
- ^ "Benek - Forbidden Bark". youtube.com.
- ^ "Goths For Sanctuaries - April 14-19, 2022". gothsforsanctuaries.com. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
- ^ "Funeral For Love". metropolisrecords.bandcamp.com.
- ^ "Come Together, by Lifeline International". COP International. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
- ^ "Members of Faith No More, Rammstein, Stabbing Westward cover "Come Together" in support of Ukraine | ABC Audio Digital Syndication". digital.abcaudio.com. Retrieved 2022-05-04.