- Artist
- Photay
- ReleaseProduct
- On Hold
- Label
- Mexican Summer
- Catalogue Number
- MEX3086
- Release Date
- 5 maart 2021
Genres
There’s a unique brand of domestic intensity to being put on hold by a phone operator; you feel a momentary loss of agency at the hands of an unseen other — likely someone for whom you are owed a monetary debt — caught in a finite expanse of time that stretches to eternity. When, if ever, will a voice appear on the other end? Crafted from a collection of audible frequency transmissions broadcast through a band of 300 to 3400 Hz, Evan Shornstein aka Photay’s On Hold captures this small-scale drama in the form of micro-ambient soundscapes.
The noted absences throughout the LP — discernible dialogue, a progressing conversation — makes for a Kafkaesque experience; we the listeners are kept in the dark without meaning or structure, left powerless in the space between query and answer, message and reply. Strangely, the buzzing organ glow of ‘Roaming’ and the bristly drones of ‘Peak Bandwidth’ make for a blissful experience, their decaying tones reminiscent of William Basinski’s The Disintegration Loops. The amniotic plateaus of ‘How May I Help You?’ and the enigmatically titled ‘March 10th, 1876’ offer mild jolts of recognition in their distant, human murmurs, whether organic or automated.
On Hold is an LP of cavernous mystery, and yet ironically, it delivers an aesthetic representation of something universal: the act of waiting.
Photay on the project:
"Initially I was inspired by a friend’s phone call when they were placed on hold for an hour while attempting to report credit card fraud. Unlike most call waiting music, the infinite looping flute was slightly more intriguing, probably as a result of it’s narrow fidelity. I jumped in, recording and manipulating 30 minutes of that frustrating idle time. From this moment onward, I recorded every moment I was placed on hold and each call would yield a new song. I told various friends about this strange new activity and soon enough my cousin was passing me numbers: “this bike shop has the BEST on hold music” or “I was just on hold with my insurance, you should definitely call them". Aside from actual phone calls to the doctor or customer service, I began calling numbers with one purpose — to be placed on hold. The request was strange and although receptionists laughed, they agreed to lend their holding services. I was on my way, reverberating and chopping up the lowest fidelity audio around.
Unlike most of my other projects, these pieces were completed in one sitting. Every track conceived after each phone call, often in the space of 20 minutes in the middle of a busy day. I am surprised by the amount of peace yielded from such an aggravating scenario. The process gave me a newfound appreciation for the mundane. There is infinite depth and magic in everything around us."
Digitale afspeellijst
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1
Prelude in MHz
Photay and Evan Shornstein
0:41
Kopen
Prelude in MHz
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WAV / FLAC
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied. -
MP3
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied.
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2
Peace in the Era of Telecommunication
Photay and Evan Shornstein
4:59
Kopen
Peace in the Era of Telecommunication
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WAV / FLAC
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied. -
MP3
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied.
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3
Please Hold
Photay and Evan Shornstein
4:49
Kopen
Please Hold
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WAV / FLAC
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied. -
MP3
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied.
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4
Traversing Frequency Bands
Photay and Evan Shornstein
4:25
Kopen
Traversing Frequency Bands
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WAV / FLAC
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied. -
MP3
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied.
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5
Holding Pattern
Photay and Evan Shornstein
3:57
Kopen
Holding Pattern
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WAV / FLAC
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied. -
MP3
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied.
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6
The Strength of Our Signals
Photay and Evan Shornstein
2:17
Kopen
The Strength of Our Signals
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WAV / FLAC
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied. -
MP3
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied.
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7
Roaming
Photay and Evan Shornstein
4:50
Kopen
Roaming
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WAV / FLAC
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied. -
MP3
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied.
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8
How May I Help You?
Photay and Evan Shornstein
6:47
Kopen
How May I Help You?
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WAV / FLAC
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied. -
MP3
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied.
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9
Peak Bandwidth
Photay and Evan Shornstein
3:37
Kopen
Peak Bandwidth
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WAV / FLAC
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied. -
MP3
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied.
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10
Hold On
Photay and Evan Shornstein
4:58
Kopen
Hold On
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WAV / FLAC
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied. -
MP3
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied.
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11
March 10th, 1876
Photay and Evan Shornstein
6:13
Kopen
March 10th, 1876
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WAV / FLAC
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied. -
MP3
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied.
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12
Peace in Perpetuity
Photay and Evan Shornstein
3:04
Kopen
Peace in Perpetuity
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WAV / FLAC
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied. -
MP3
Niet beschikbaar in jouw gebied.
-
Photay
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- ReleaseProduct
- Waking Hours: Remixed
- Label
- Mexican Summer
- Catalogue Number
- MEX3074
- Release Date
- 11 december 2020
- Downloaden
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- ReleaseProduct
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- Label
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- Catalogue Number
- MEX263
- Release Date
- 12 juni 2020
- LP
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- ReleaseProduct
- Onism
- Label
- Astro Nautico
- Catalogue Number
- ANR007
- Release Date
- 11 augustus 2017
- LP
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- ReleaseProduct
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- Catalogue Number
- ANR007S3
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- 7 juli 2017
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- ReleaseProduct
- The Everyday Push
- Label
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- Catalogue Number
- ANR007S2
- Release Date
- 23 juni 2017
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- ReleaseProduct
- Outré Lux (feat. Madison McFerrin)
- Label
- Astro Nautico LLC
- Catalogue Number
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- Sadie
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- Catalogue Number
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Mexican Summer
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- ReleaseProduct
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- Catalogue Number
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- Label
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- Catalogue Number
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- Label
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- Catalogue Number
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- Catalogue Number
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- 11 juli 2023
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- Label
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- Catalogue Number
- 184923132632
- Release Date
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Ambient and Modern Classical
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- Catalogue Number
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- Release Date
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- ReleaseProduct
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- Catalogue Number
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- Release Date
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- LP
- CD
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- ReleaseProduct
- Again (Blu-ray Edition)
- Label
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- Catalogue Number
- WARPDD365BR
- Release Date
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- Merch
- Again (Special Edition Blu-ray)
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- Warp Records
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- Catalogue Number
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- ReleaseProduct
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- Catalogue Number
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- Label
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- LP
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