Photay is the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

of Evan Shornstein, an American musician and DJ. He is from

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...

. While a student at

Purchase College Purchasing is the procurement process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary gre ...

, Shornstein took a trip to

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

to study drumming, and the influence of this exposure led to the creation of an EP, released as ''Photay'' in 2014 on the label Astro Nautico.Photay
at

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 ...

He released several remixes for the

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an independent record label based in London, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1990 by musicians Matt Black and Jonathan More, known collectively as Coldcut. The label was established as an outlet for Col ...

label soon after. A full-length album, ''Onism'', followed in 2017 on Astro Nautico. In 2020, a sophomore full-length, ''Waking Hours'', arrived on the label

Mexican Summer Mexican Summer is an independent record label founded in 2009 by Keith Abrahamsson and Andres Santo Domingo. Based in Brooklyn, the label has released recordings from artists including Best Coast, Kurt Vile, Ariel Pink, Allah-Las, Weyes Blood, ...

,''Waking Hours'' review

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

, June 12, 2020. and in 2022, he released ''On Hold'', a record stitched together from samples of telephone hold music. In 2024, Photay released a new album, ''Windswept,'' on Mexican Summer. ''Windswept'' explores natural phenomena, notably ‘

wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

’.

Discography

;Albums *''Onism'' (Astro Nautico, 2017) *''Waking Hours'' (

, 2020) *''On Hold'' (Mexican Summer, 2021) *''An Offering'' with

Carlos Niño Carlos Gabriel Niño (born February 16, 1977) is an American record producer, DJ, and music consultant. In 2023, he co-produced André 3000's debut studio album, '' New Blue Sun'' (2023). Radio Niño started his first radio show "All At One P ...

(Self-released, 2022) *''Windswept'' (Mexican Summer, 2024) ;EPs *''Photay'' (Astro Nautico, 2014) *''Sadie'' (Astro Nautico, 2016)

References

{{Authority control American electronic musicians Musicians from New York (state) Record producers from New York (state) State University of New York at Purchase alumni