Do glowing Himalayan salt crystals purify the air and pacify the mind? Is what’s missing from yoga a beer in hand and a goat in the background? Are people really slicing themselves open shelling avocados? Without answering any of these questions, Woodstock, NY-based Photay (a.k.a. Evan Shornstein) offers up a few more on his debut album, Onism. For instance, what does it mean to be a single body in a single place in a single moment in time? How does the natural world intersect with the digital one? With his retro-naturalist compositions, Photay takes the world head on, using polyrhythms, non-Western tones, and other worldly influences.
Wrapping a “warning of the reckless advancement of technology” in a funky package is a great way to ward off the demons of pseudoscience and silicon dystopia, opening the mind to the seemingly limitless possibilities for exploration on Earth. The video for “Inharmonious Slog” was shot in one day using a skeletal crew. The single character, a telekinetic girl “inspired by ’80s sci-fi films,” explores the limits of her abilities as the beat builds. Ignoring the tropes that orbit around sci-fi synth music like angry satellites, Photay’s music is as airy as a conifer forest, delivering innovative melodies and intense bass crescendos.
Photay’s Onism is out today (August 11) on Astro Nautico. To get a taste, watch the video for “Inharmonious Slog” below, which is directed by Amanda Rizzuto and stars Lucie Parker as a postmodern girl scout ballerina.
More about: Phoray
