Photay Hybrid DJ Set + Custom Earplug Pop-up from Crystal Guardian

From the perspective of people who categorize music by genres and types, Evan Shornstein, better-known under his production moniker Photay, has created lots of different kinds of sounds over the past decade. There’s the Hudson Valley-raised, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist composer’s quasi-IDM and electronic almost-pop tracks with the occasional vocal; the improvised organic and and experimental music sessions he participates in alongside new age giants, Laraaji and Carlos Niño; the diaspora electronic folk-jazz he makes with veteran musicians from all over the globe; and the disco and house adjacent records he tag-team DJs with Brooklyn producer Cesar Toribio and engineer Phil Moffa (who also masters all of Photay’s records — and those of dance-music dons around the world). But if you’ve listened closely to Shornstein’s prodigious output, you know that separating and classifying the work is actually contrary to the energy of Photay music. That what on-the-surface may lazily appear as differences, is actually brought together by a shared sonic warmth, a hardware pastoralism at play. Whatever category he engages, Photay makes outdoor music under the spell of the elements, for the purpose of different human movements — some physical, some spiritual, some emotional, some philosophical. Before, during and after Photay’s show at Pastiche, we will be hosting a Custom Ear Plug Pop Up with Crystal Guardian Crystal Guardian is a Brooklyn-based custom earplug lab with an emphasis on hearing health, affordability, accessibility and glitter madness for musicians, DJs, club/concert-goers and nightlife workers. Custom silicone earplugs are fit to your anatomy and house the highest musician-quality filters which lower volume without muffling the sound. Interchangeable filters come in five different decibel reductions: -10dB, -15dB, -20dB, -25dB and -27dB. Protect your passion, practice safe sound! More info here. GQ has credited Crystal Guardian for bringing "glitter-filled custom silicone creations into the heart of New York’s nightlife community” and is “making wearing earplugs to the club, dare we say it, cool.”