Love is a verb. It is an action taken, one that must be renewed within the self. It is a process of learning, evolution, and the very nature of what it means to nurture ourselves and others. And few artists know this as intimately as Joy Guidry, the Texas-bred, California-based bassoonist. The fruits of her efforts can be heard through Guidry’s latest album, Amen. “I hear other artists say, ‘I put my life and soul into this.’ And I could never relate because I have never been in an emotional place where I can just let go and not be afraid of vulnerability,” says Guidry. “But now, I’ve finally made a project that resonates with me so deeply from beginning to end. I’m so happy where I am in life, and “Amen” truly represents that there was no bullshit as I went into this.”

Born and raised in Houston Texas, Guidry first found music through the church. Growing up, if r&b was for cleaning on Saturdays, then gospel, says Guidry, was the standard for Sundays. Guidry is a visionary. Her keen understanding of how different genres of music can speak to and meld into one another mimics the intricacies and interwoven elements of life. Her releases include commissioned works as well as her debut full-length Radical Acceptance released in 2022. Recognizing her trans identity and embracing the need to make difficult decisions with the people in her life brought forth the heart of Radical Acceptance. “There’s nothing wrong with us. There’s nothing wrong with any of us, when we look in the mirror, and we see something wrong, that was purely taught,” Guidry says. “I felt like I could never walk into my life. So after releasing Radical Acceptance, it was time for me to truly practice radical acceptance and understanding and practicing radical self love.”

Amen is the next step forward, one that calls in the power of community when embodying our true selves. “I wanted to give a voice and give power and provide community to the people I love and truly care for on this record by tackling songs and challenging myself,” Guidry says. “I knew I got the right people, the right community to drive it home, to take my ideas and really bring it together.” Sometimes, we think of change as a settled process, one that marks a beginning, a middle, and an end. But Guidry knows the truth, one that requires each of us to keep digging, keep pushing ourselves beyond the limitations of our comfort zones. And Amen tells the story—in playful genre experimentations and heady ruminations of richly embodied instrumentation.

In part, this can be heard in Guidry’s sources of inspiration. Her musical origins begin in the South, in the springy rhythms of zydeco and the liberating voices of gospel. Other influences find a home in her work, too. If Jazmine Sullivan were to make a bassoon record, it would be this. Piercing and purposeful, raw and real, Guidry’s past and present music permeates with intelligence and openness. Sonically, the meditative pulses of ambient music blended with elements of jazz and soul, forming something new and true.

But the most impactful moments were born within Guidry herself. Art manifests in all of life’s stages and circumstances, but the most powerful and piercing forms of art—of music—are a manifestation of the creator’s greatest truths. “How do you survive? How do I survive? How do my friends survive?” asks Guidry. “The writing process is kind of like therapy in a way. And I really feel like a different person now.”