I YA TOYAH CONFRONTS INNER DARKNESS FOR WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY WITH “WHITE WALLS” SINGLE RELEASE
I YA TOYAH/FEMME FATALE RECORDS
“White Walls came to life in a very personal place — on one of those days when the darkness became almost unbearable, when being inside my own mind felt louder than anything happening outside of it. I wrote because I needed somewhere for it to go. I’m incredibly grateful that I have art as an outlet. I can turn something painful into sound, words, images — give it a body outside of myself. But while writing White Walls, I kept thinking about how many people don’t have that outlet. How many learn to perform “fine” so convincingly that nobody thinks to look twice. How much can live behind a face that gives nothing away.
That is where White Walls lives: in the distance between what we show and what we survive. It is the noise behind the silence. The exhaustion of carrying an invisible weight. The strange loneliness of standing among people while feeling completely unreachable. And somewhere inside all of that, the need to be seen — not rescued, not fixed, just truly seen.
Releasing White Walls around World Mental Health Day on October 10 felt inseparable from its purpose. Mental health advocacy is deeply woven into my work and into what I want to do with the voice I’ve been given. I want to help make more space for the conversations we still hide from, for the feelings we bury to make other people comfortable, and for the people who are fighting battles that leave no visible wounds.
All proceeds from White Walls during its October 10 release weekend, along with proceeds from new Patreon sign-ups throughout October, will be donated to Backline Care. You can also donate directly through the button on the White Walls YouTube video.
Sometimes the person who looks perfectly fine is standing behind their own white walls. This song began as something I needed on a very dark day. I hope it can become a crack in the wall for someone else.”
Tour Dates
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)
Artist Links
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: I YA TOYAH – “FEELINGS”
