Photo: Carson Davis Brown

Photay, the alias of Los Angeles based composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, and producer Evan Shornstein, has announced the release of his fifth solo album. Entitled Windswept, it follows a string of collaborative projects, including improvisation albums with Niño and friends; More Arriving, the album he produced for London-based percussionist, producer and composer Sarathy Korwar, and WEMA, a supergroup of musicians from Tanzania and London. Slated for a September 20th release through Mexican Summer, the upcoming Windswept is an album about wind, sprouted from Photay’s intention to “mimic the ‘wind’”. As the press release describes, “the natural world had always been one of Photay’s calling cards, and now it had invaded the machine, and his writing.”

Alongside the album announcement, Photay has shared the first wondrous single, ‘Derecho’, named after a kind of severe wind storm. Speaking about it, he comments:

 “There are many types of wind. Some ebb and flow while others are so large that if you listen, you may hear a low howling drone that stretches for miles in all directions. A few years ago I started recording music during a period of high springtime winds. I found myself falling under the spell of this deep, unpredictable and often overwhelming force. “Derecho” was the first of many pieces created under the direct influence of these atmospheric conditions. After several gusty seasons, a whole album was created by listening to and reckoning with these larger spirits at play.”

‘Derecho’ comes with a visual accompaniment, watch it now.