My first introduction to electronic music came when I started listening to a man named Derek Vincent Smith better known as Pretty Lights. This was when the Etta James sample was not synonymous with Avicii. His music is the kind of sound you get completely lost in. Someone even said to me you can "relax to it, party to it, even fuck to it" and boy, is that true. I don't think out of his 100 + songs, there is a single one I don't genuinely enjoy for the creative and feel-good aspect. His sampling is top notch and he even pioneered his own sound and style. His music I like to call "music of the future" and regarding digital freedom, he was a pioneer in the coming of age of music that was for free download.
A couple of days ago Pretty Lights released a New Years Eve recap video from his show at the historic Roseland Ballroom in New York City. I was lucky to attend the first night, but while I was celebrating with Dada Life in Brooklyn he was dropping this new track “The Day Is Gone” and I am bummed that I missed it. Lucky for those of us that couldn't attend that night, he left us this video. This song is soulful and melodic. The bass hits and the glitchy synths come at just the right time and hit all the right places. Champagne showers, confetti, and a head thrashing lighting director perfectly show the kind of party Pretty Lights puts on.
Comments
….his arrangement of melodic tones and samples breathe raw emotion into rhythmic scenes crafted so ingeniously they effortlessly wisp you away on a soul fueled electronically infused journey through space, and time, to a future …thats all his own. a rare gem,