Chicago industrial artist Ai Ya Toya releases single “apology” It was released on June 26, 2026 through her own Femme Fatale Records. I Ya Toyah “Apology” single was released with an official video and follows “FEELINGS” released in May 2026.
On “Apology,” Ai Ya Toya sets a heavy guitar riff and pulsating industrial rhythm beneath upfront vocals, with a piano passage cutting in and working across industrial, rock, electronic, and alternative elements. She wrote and produced the track, Johnny K mixed and produced it, and Howie Weinberg mastered it.
Ai Ya Toya’s “Apology” single and video
The song repeats the line, “You all owe me an apology,” expressing what was stated in the press release. “A very uncomfortable question: When does justified pain become a right?” The lyrics oscillate between accusation and confession, leaving the narrator’s motives, pride, and sense of superiority unresolved.
video of “apology” The song is performed in an industrial area built around the Steel Throne, and features Ai Ya Toya as the central character, with his attendants appearing in the ceremonial scenes. The release explains that it is based on the following: “A visual tradition inspired by industrial, gothic and fetish” And it uses theatrical symbolism rather than literal storytelling.
“Apology” is available as a digital single through Bandcamp and streaming services. I Ya Toya previewed the song prior to its release during a recent performance in Europe.
About Ai Ya Toya
I Ya Toyah is the project of Ania Tarnowska, a musician, composer and producer born in Lodz, Poland in 1980 and based in Chicago, USA. “I Ya Toyah” as spoken in Polish means “It’s just me”. She trained in classical guitar, piano, and voice as a child, immigrated to the United States as a young adult, and graduated from SAE Institute in 2016 with a major in music business and audio engineering. She runs her own label, Femme Fatale Records.
She started her solo project in 2017 and independently released her debut album “Code Blue” on October 26, 2018, the same year as the single “Farewell – Mirrors Don’t Lie”, and the video premiered on Side-Line. In 2019 she joined post-industrial group The Joy Thieves and toured with Pigface. A double remix album Code Blue Reloaded and bonus set Code Blue Revelations followed in 2020, followed by a five-part EP Out of Order in 2021 and an acoustic EP Ghost in 2022.
In 2023, she released “Panic Room,” produced with Walter Flax of Stubbing Westward, which kicked off the band’s U.S. tour. Her work with Flax continued with the EP I am the Fire and the album DRAMA, both released in 2024, in which she toured the US with Orgy and Cold, as well as her first European tour supporting Front Line Assembly. Side-Line covered her 2024 video “Fraud.” After “FEELINGS,” which was released in May 2026, “Apology” will be their consecutive single releases in 2026.
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