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On Hold

by Photay

supported by
majhium
majhium thumbnail
majhium A unique and completely engaging music piece. Taking the mundane and often annoying turning it in something much better. Digital "recycling"... This music is great to fall a sleep. Favorite track: Traversing Frequency Bands.
stevethrelfall
stevethrelfall thumbnail
stevethrelfall this has fast become one of my all time favourite albums - a real work of beauty - I get lost in it very time. This is all aside from the knowledge that Photay is using the proceeds to look after their community. Phenomenal musician and clearly a damn fine neighbour!
Maxwell Par Avion
Maxwell Par Avion thumbnail
Maxwell Par Avion What a stunning piece of work! A thing of beauty that reminds me why I love ambient and experimental music. March 10th, 1876 just turns the feels to 11. Favorite track: March 10th, 1876.
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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9.99 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Limited edition of 500 on blue vinyl, comes housed in a printed inner sleeve. Download code included.

    Includes unlimited streaming of On Hold via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $25.99 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Black vinyl, comes housed in a printed inner sleeve. Download code included.

    Includes unlimited streaming of On Hold via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $24.99 USD or more 

     

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Please Hold 04:49
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Roaming 04:50 video
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Hold On 04:58
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about

Originally released as a digital only download on Bandcamp in March 2020 to raise funds for New York City Food Bank at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, On Hold is a series of 10 pieces derived entirely from call waiting music. Recorded through the phone and manipulated to achieve a wider enveloping soundscape to both ease and inspire, to be placed on hold is to lose a sense of power and control. To become forcefully idle until silence is broken by an unknown voice at the other end of a seemingly infinite telecommunication system.

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 its 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."

March 15th - June 1st, 2020:
$4,000 raised and donated to Food Bank for New York City (www.foodbanknyc.org) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

credits

released March 16, 2020

Mastered by Phil Moffa at Butcha Sound Studios, NYC
Artwork & Photography by Evan Shornstein

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all rights reserved

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about

Photay New York, New York

Inquires: photaymgmt@gmail.com

Booking: karl@arrivalartists.com

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