Summertime and the musical living is easy—well, most of the time on Summer Cycle, the dynamic full length follow-up to Winter Cycle, the 2010 solo piano EP by My Shadow and I, an electronic new age project created by multi-talented Philadelphia based musician Brad Podray.
Melodic, richly textured and film score lush, Summer Cycle is an eclectic ten track chronicle of the powerful transitions and emotional breakthroughs that come months after the heartbreaking but necessary end of a relationship. A natural extension of “Bliss (End of the Winter Cycle),” the final track of the otherwise stark earlier album, the new album is released on Podray’s independent label Nonexistent Recordings.
Summer Cycle’s overriding theme of emergence matches that of Podray’s increasing presence as a force in contemporary instrumental music after years of eclectic performing and recording experiences in numerous other genres—among them, industrial metal, “Pirate rap,” alt rock and down tempo trip hop. While the Florida born musician’s rock influences range from Meat Loaf to Nine Inch Nails, his chief inspirations for his solo piano and electronic/symphonic works are Brian Eno, Danny Elfman and famed new age pianist David Lanz, whose encouraging words about the Eno-influenced self titled My Shadow and I debut led Podray to further develop his vision in this genre.
Podray had his hands full academically and creatively when sat down at his keyboard in 2009 to create the first My Shadow and I project. Having just graduated from dental school at the University of Pennsylvania, his days were consumed with his orthodontic residency at Temple University in his adopted home town of Philadelphia. At night, he let loose in two very unique bands, the pirate rap group Captain Dan and the Scurvy Crew and the down tempo trip-hop ensemble Echo Slightly—both with his best friend from high school and longtime musical collaborator Daniel Dolan. Podray had recorded numerous albums with those and other groups over the past few years (18 in all!), and even released three projects by the indie band Finding Jupiter on his label. But looking ahead, he spent his rare down time creating music he could one day use to soothe patients when he launched his own practice as an orthodontist—which he did in late 2010.
By that time, he had independently released Winter Cycle, most of whose pieces were composed about the impending end and then the aftermath of a relationship. Its piano-heavy focus reflects what he calls a sad time in his life. While the piano is still a dominant melodic voice of Summer Cycle, the project’s deeper, more evolved production textures are one of the ways Podray creates a healing, optimistic counterpoint to the stark heartbreak of winter.
Even as Summer Cycle begins rolling out, Podray is working on another ambitious project under the name Maximalism - a concept he calls the more aggressive version of My Shadow and I, with high energy distorted guitars and even more synthesizers. His is a constantly flowing creative musical mind that has no boundaries or simple genres to get entangled in for long. “My Shadow and I and Maximalism are solo projects that show a different side of my personality,” he says. “One is calm yoga-type music while the other finds me going as crazy as I can get. With both projects, I love being able to fill a sonic space without having to figure out where to fit the words in.”
Official Website: http://www.myshadowandi.com
Contact:
Chip Schutzman
Miles High Productions
P.O. Box 93157
Hollywood, CA 90093
323-806-0400
