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.
https://vyd.co/IYaToyahWhiteWalls
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.
Short version:
White Walls was born on one of those days when I could no longer carry the darkness quietly. I was fortunate enough to have somewhere to put it — into sound, words, creation. But I know many people don’t.
Released in connection with World Mental Health Day, White Walls is about the invisible distance between how we appear and what we are actually surviving. Mental health advocacy has become deeply intertwined with my work, and this song is both a confession and a hand reaching through the wall: a reminder to speak, to notice, and to make room for what is difficult to see.
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.
CREDITS :
Title: White Walls
Release day: October 9th
Release: Independent – via I Ya Toyah’s owned label Femme Fatale Records
Cover Artwork by Angelica Dulany
Written and composed by I Ya Toyah
Produced by I Ya Toyah and Johnny K
Mixed by Johnny K
Mastered by Howie Weinberg
Video directed, filmed and edited by Alex Zarek
Documentary clips by Allison Ciletti
Makeup by Janet Debris
TOUR DATES : I Ya Toyah joins the performance art collective Little Miss Nasty for a UK tour this December. See below for dates. Find tickets here.
• 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)
