''Tonky'' is a studio album by American musician

Lonnie Holley Lonnie Bradley Holley (born February 10, 1950), sometimes known as the Sand Man, is an American artist, art educator, and musician. He is best known for his assemblages and immersive environments made of found materials. In 1981, after he brought ...

. It was released on March 21, 2025, by

Jagjaguwar Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. History In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public resear ...

. Produced by Irish multi-instrumentalist

Jacknife Lee Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including the Cars, U2, R.E.M., the Killers, Robbie Williams, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club, AFI, the Hives, Weezer, One Direc ...

, the album consists of fourteen songs and features collaborators such as Alabaster DePlume, Angel Bat Dawid and

Jesca Hoop Jessica "Jesca" Ada Hoop (born April 21, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, who writes and performs in diverse musical styles. She has released six studio albums of her own, as well as live, acoustic and dual albums with other ...

Background

The second collaboration by Holley and Lee, the album focuses on the reflection of abuse and suffering faced by Holley in his early years. The title is reflective of his nickname from his childhood, derived from a

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

owned by his caretakers. The album's lead single, "Protest with Love", incorporating elements of electronic pop and rock, was released on March 21, 2025.

Reception

Paul Simpson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

summarized the album in his review of the album, stating "In general, ''Tonky'' covers much of the same lyrical and musical ground as ''Oh Me Oh My''...reflects on his tumultuous life as well as other people's reactions to his art and music, while offering messages of peace and hope, urging the audience to never give up." Describing it as "an album whose big heart matches its lush palette, which emphasizes rumbling rhythms, layered beats, and familiar instruments abraded to sound almost but not quite unrecognizable," ''Pitchfork'' assigned it a rating of 7.5 out of ten. ''Paste'' gave the album a rating of 8.6 out of ten, describing it as "poetry set in motion through fluid, emotional and inventive music." ''Uncut Magazine'' remarked "Holley's personal story is gripping enough. But a big part of what makes ''Tonky'' compelling is how he stitches his tales into a wider fabric of African-American experience," rating the album four stars. ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' noted "This makes it all the more astounding that Holley leads new record ''Tonky'' with a straightforward directive of love; not boundless love, not unconditional love, but a pointed, militant caress of the hope our species can't shake," giving it a rating of nine out of ten. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described the album as "hypnotic, soulful, and genre-bending, which incorporates jazz, blues, hip-hop and electronic music."

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals *

– computer

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

, synthesizer,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, mixing, recording (all tracks); keyboards (tracks 1–8, 10–14), percussion (1–8, 10–12, 14), drums (1–4, 6–8, 10, 14), bass (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10), vocals (1, 3, 12), guitar (2, 12),

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

(3, 4, 6),

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

(5, 12),

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

(5) *

Davide Rossi Davide Rossi (born 7 August 1970) is an Italian violinist, string arranger, orchestrator, songwriter, composer and conductor, perhaps best known for having been the electric violinist and multi-instrumentalist for the British electronic music d ...

– bass,

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

, violin (tracks 1, 5, 7, 10, 11) *

Jenn Wasner Jennifer Lynn Wasner (born April 16, 1986) is an American musician from Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore. Wasner is best known as one of the founding members of the band Wye Oak (band), Wye Oak, along with Andy Stack (Musician), Andy Stack. Wasner ...

– vocals (track 1) *

Mary Lattimore Mary Lattimore (born September 11, 1980) is an American classically trained harpist based in Los Angeles, California. In addition to her solo work and collaborations with fellow Philadelphia musician Jeff Zeigler, she has performed with indie mu ...

–

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

(track 2) *

Jordan Katz Common Rotation is an American indie folk rock band consisting of Eric Kufs (vocals, guitar), Adam Busch (vocals, saxophone, harmonica, glockenspiel), and Jordan Katz (vocals, trumpet, banjo). The three are childhood friends from New York City ...

– horn (tracks 3, 6, 8, 12), trumpet (14) * Kelly Pratt – horn (tracks 3, 6, 12),

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

(3, 12) * The Legendary Ingramettes – vocals (tracks 3, 6, 8, 12) * Angel Bat Dawid –

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

(track 4) * Joe Minter – vocals (track 5) *

Open Mike Eagle Michael W. Eagle II (born November 14, 1980), better known by his stage name Open Mike Eagle, is an American hip hop artist and comedian. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he is now based in Los Angeles, California, where he is a member of the h ...

– vocals (track 5) * Mikel Patrick Avery – drums (track 6) * Fidel Harris – vocals (track 6) * Marchael Harris Jr. – vocals (track 6) * Marley Turner – vocals (track 6) * Tommy de Bourbon – guitar (track 7) * Alabaster DePlume – saxophone (track 7) * Budgie – drums (tracks 8, 12), marimba (12) * Matt Bishop – drums (track 8) *

Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. He is best remembered for his victory at the Siege of Detroit and his death at the Battle of Quee ...

– vocals (track 8) * Billy Woods – vocals (track 10) * Marlon Patton – drums (tracks 11, 14) *

– vocals (track 11) *

Saul Williams Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film ''Slam ( ...

– vocals (track 13) * Steve Dress – bass (track 14) * Miles Johnson – art direction

References

{{reflist 2025 albums Lonnie Holley albums Jagjaguwar albums Albums produced by Jacknife Lee