The clue is in her name. Allysha Joy’s first solo release – Acadie : Raw – is a blissful labour of love. The record showcases her expansive creativity as a singer, song-writer, pianist, poet & producer, with her talents merging to form a distinctive sound which reflects the innovation of the current Melbourne music scene. In recent years, she has journeyed through successes with the cosmic jazz-funk collective – 30/70 – who released their internationally recognised album – Elevate – with the mighty Rhythm Section last year. Joy’s presence on the record was unmissable, and undoubtedly granted her with the opportunity to present her solo project with Gondwana Records. Expressing how she admires artists who reach ‘for something beyond the present moment […] being a vessel for something greater’, Joy is her raw-genuine-soulful-self in 10 carefully crafted tracks.

Each hold a serenity, perhaps because Joy finds inspiration in divine femininity and her own spirituality. The single track - ‘Know Your Power’ - is a mantra to the female essence and its resilience, a passionate stand against the disempowering sexualisation of women, puncturing its message with a humble neo-soul break down as Joy speaks “a woman’s purpose to be worshipped”.

It is refreshing to hear how Joy utilises all her capabilities as a vocalist. Her technical ability and husky tones are hair-raisingly soothing across the record. They are particularly present in the stripped back track ‘Akala’; a reflective ballad meditating on her responsibility to “make a change” “before the seas rise”, carried by her ambient and jazzy chords on the Fender Rhodes. She also uses her voice percussively, such as in tracks ‘Honesty’ & ‘Desire’, affirming Joy’s originality and musical maturity.

The slick Melbourne sound is still so present across the album, and it is no surprise that Joy enlisted the help of her 30/70 siblings. The infectious grooves of Ziggy Zeitgeist are the heartbeat of the record, which range from slacked J Dilla beats - like in tracks ‘Selfish’ & ‘Eagle’ - to afro-Latin inspired rhythms – like in tracks ‘Desire’ & ‘Doom’.  Henry Hicks provides timeless jazz/funk bass lines, which often mirror and expand upon Joy’s left hand on the Rhodes. Her singing partner, Danika Smith, enriches Joy’s soulful phrases with another layer of vocals, and the tones of Josh Kelly’s saxophone lifts and guides the music, especially in tracks ‘Know Your Power’ & ‘Swallow Me’. It is clear that this circle of musicians support and nurture one another. Listening their most recent venture and their separate projects – such as Horatio Luna & Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange – there is something to be said about the sounds that blossom from establishing and sustaining musical connections. This is all too evident in Joy’s solo debut. Catch her and the rest of the band at The Roundhouse on the 20th of October. It will be special.