Pretty Lights
Encyclopedia
Pretty Lights, real name Derek Vincent Smith(born 11/25/1983), is an American electronic music
artist from Fort Collins, Colorado
.
while attending high school, but the music of such artists as Aphrodite
attracted him to American rave
s. After graduating from high school, he attended University of Colorado at Boulder
, but dropped out
during his freshman year to focus instead on his music. In 2007 & 2008 Derek & Cory began playing late nights for large acts such as STS9, The Disco Biscuits & Widespread Panic. Euphonic Conceptions Productions (CO based) is largely responsible for Pretty Lights early success in booking him around the USA. In the summer of 2009, under the moniker Pretty Lights, Derek Smith and Cory Eberhard played at several major American music festival
s, such as Bonnaroo
, Rothbury, the Electric Daisy Carnival
,Wakarusa
, Camp Bisco, and the 10KLF
. The following autumn, they succeeded their festival circuit with a multi-city tour of the United States.
In 2010, Pretty Lights played at the 2010 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
, the Ultra Music Festival
in Miami, the 2010 Marchone Music Productions Illumination Show in Nashville, the 2010 Evolve Festival
in Nova Scotia, Movement 2010 (the Detroit Electronic Music Festival
), the 2010 Starscape Festival, Camp Bisco 9, Nocturnal Festival at Apache Pass, Texas, the 2010 Electric Zoo at Randall's Island
in New York City, New York, the North Coast Music Festival in Chicago, Illinois, and the Outsidelands Festival in San Francisco, California. More recently, they headlined the Snow Ball in Avon Colorado along with Bassnectar and the Flaming Lips. In June 2011 Pretty Lights had a late-night set at BonTheGamenaroo, the first show with his state-of-the-art light show. The song "I know the Truth" also had its debut at Bonnaroo, where it opened the set. Most recently in July 2011, he headlined at the Electric Forest in Rothbury, Michigan, at Camp Bisco's 10th anniversary in Mariaville, NY, and at All Good 2011 in Masontown, WV. At All Good 2011 Pretty Lights released what Derek described onstage as a special "one in a lifetime" track, a remix of John Denver's "Take me Home Country Roads".
In 2010, Smith replaced Eberhard with Adam Deitch as drummer, debuting at Red Rocks on August 7, 2010 On January 25, 2011, Smith released two albums on his newly formed record label, Pretty Lights Music. The record label offers free downloads for any of Pretty Lights' albums plus Michal Menert, Paper Diamond and Break Science, all currently on Pretty Lights Music. Gramatik is the latest addition to the Pretty Lights Music record label with his first album, Beatz & Pieces Vol. 1, which was released on July 12, 2011. A donation option is available, much as In Rainbows
by Radiohead
was released for its first month. Due to the free distribution of Pretty Lights' music, they have been gaining heavy popularity within festivals in the past years across the country.
and crosses many genres, forming a combination of "glitchy
hip-hop beats, buzzing synth lines, and vintage funk and soul samples, sometimes grime." . Pretty Lights' sound is generated by synthesizing samples and organic beats using the Novation X-Station
, monome
and the Akai MPD32
. Smith uses these digital controllers to program the music production software Ableton Live 8. Due to the sample-based nature of his music, Smith releases all his music for free with a recommended donation, so as to avoid having to clear samples. When performing live, Smith uses two Macbook Pros running Ableton Live 8 and two Akai MPD32s.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
artist from Fort Collins, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
History
Derek Smith wrote and produced hip hop musicHip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
while attending high school, but the music of such artists as Aphrodite
Aphrodite (artist)
Aphrodite also known as A Zone or DJ Aphro, is a UK jungle and drum and bass DJ/producer commonly referred to as the "Godfather of Jungle", who works along with Micky Finn on their joint Urban Takeover label...
attracted him to American rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
s. After graduating from high school, he attended University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, but dropped out
Dropping out
Dropping out means leaving a group for either practical reasons, necessities or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves....
during his freshman year to focus instead on his music. In 2007 & 2008 Derek & Cory began playing late nights for large acts such as STS9, The Disco Biscuits & Widespread Panic. Euphonic Conceptions Productions (CO based) is largely responsible for Pretty Lights early success in booking him around the USA. In the summer of 2009, under the moniker Pretty Lights, Derek Smith and Cory Eberhard played at several major American music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
s, such as Bonnaroo
Bonnaroo Music Festival
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual four day music festival created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, held at Great Stage Park on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. It hosted its tenth annual event June 9–12, 2011...
, Rothbury, the Electric Daisy Carnival
Electric Daisy Carnival
Electric Daisy Carnival is an annual electronic dance music festival held in the South West United States on the last weekend of June. The event was held in Southern California from 1997 to 2010, and was moved to Las Vegas in 2011....
,Wakarusa
Wakarusa
Wakarusa can refer to several things in the United States:* Wakarusa, Indiana* Wakarusa, Kansas* The Wakarusa River, a tributary of the Kansas River* The Wakarusa War, part of the Bleeding Kansas violence before the American Civil War...
, Camp Bisco, and the 10KLF
10,000 Lakes Festival
The 10,000 Lakes Festival was an annual four-day music festival in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, at the Soo Pass Ranch that was held since 2003. 10KLF is currently on hiatus due to financial losses and was not held in 2010. Its name refers to Minnesota's nickname, "The Land of 10,000 Lakes"...
. The following autumn, they succeeded their festival circuit with a multi-city tour of the United States.
In 2010, Pretty Lights played at the 2010 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...
, the Ultra Music Festival
Ultra Music Festival
Ultra Music Festival is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that occurs in March in the city of Miami usually during the annual Winter Music Conference. It is held in Downtown Miami in Bicentennial Park. It was a 1-day festival from 1999-2006, a 2-day festival from 2007-2010, and was a...
in Miami, the 2010 Marchone Music Productions Illumination Show in Nashville, the 2010 Evolve Festival
Evolve Festival
Evolve Festival is an annual music and cultural festival near Antigonish, dedicated to the promotion of sustainable living and environmental awareness. The festival uses renewable energy sources, recycled and biodegradable products and endeavours to limit solid waste...
in Nova Scotia, Movement 2010 (the Detroit Electronic Music Festival
Detroit Electronic Music Festival
The Detroit Electronic Music Festival , and its successors comprise an annual series of electronic dance music showcases held in Detroit each Memorial Day weekend since 2000...
), the 2010 Starscape Festival, Camp Bisco 9, Nocturnal Festival at Apache Pass, Texas, the 2010 Electric Zoo at Randall's Island
Randall's Island
Randall's Island is situated in the East River in New York City, part of the borough of Manhattan. It is separated from Manhattan island on the west by the river's main channel, from Queens on the east by the Hell Gate, and from the Bronx on the north by the Bronx Kill. It is joined to Wards...
in New York City, New York, the North Coast Music Festival in Chicago, Illinois, and the Outsidelands Festival in San Francisco, California. More recently, they headlined the Snow Ball in Avon Colorado along with Bassnectar and the Flaming Lips. In June 2011 Pretty Lights had a late-night set at BonTheGamenaroo, the first show with his state-of-the-art light show. The song "I know the Truth" also had its debut at Bonnaroo, where it opened the set. Most recently in July 2011, he headlined at the Electric Forest in Rothbury, Michigan, at Camp Bisco's 10th anniversary in Mariaville, NY, and at All Good 2011 in Masontown, WV. At All Good 2011 Pretty Lights released what Derek described onstage as a special "one in a lifetime" track, a remix of John Denver's "Take me Home Country Roads".
In 2010, Smith replaced Eberhard with Adam Deitch as drummer, debuting at Red Rocks on August 7, 2010 On January 25, 2011, Smith released two albums on his newly formed record label, Pretty Lights Music. The record label offers free downloads for any of Pretty Lights' albums plus Michal Menert, Paper Diamond and Break Science, all currently on Pretty Lights Music. Gramatik is the latest addition to the Pretty Lights Music record label with his first album, Beatz & Pieces Vol. 1, which was released on July 12, 2011. A donation option is available, much as In Rainbows
In Rainbows
In Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was first released on 10 October 2007 as a digital download self-released, that customers could order for whatever price they saw fit, followed by a standard CD release in most countries during the last week of 2007. The...
by Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
was released for its first month. Due to the free distribution of Pretty Lights' music, they have been gaining heavy popularity within festivals in the past years across the country.
Style
Smith's music relies heavily on digital samplingSampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
and crosses many genres, forming a combination of "glitchy
Glitch (music)
Glitch is a term used to describe a genre of electronic music that emerged in the mid to late 1990s. The glitch aesthetic is characterized by a deliberate use of glitch based sonic artifacts that would normally be viewed as unwanted disturbances reducing the overall sound quality and are thus...
hip-hop beats, buzzing synth lines, and vintage funk and soul samples, sometimes grime." . Pretty Lights' sound is generated by synthesizing samples and organic beats using the Novation X-Station
X-Station
The Novation X-Station is a virtual analog synthesizer, audio interface and MIDI controller made by the British company Novation. It is the end-result of adding an audio interface, a KS-class synthesiser and an effects section to the company's ReMOTE controllers. The product was sold for a short...
, monome
Monome
Monome is a family of interface devices for computers made by a Pennsylvania company of the same name. Despite being produced irregularly in small quantities since its introduction in 2006, the Monome button-grid controller has had a significant impact on electronic music...
and the Akai MPD32
Akai
Akai is a consumer electronics brand, founded by Saburo Akai as , a Japanese manufacturer in 1929. It is now headquartered in Singapore as a subsidiary of Grande Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, which also owns the formerly Japanese brands Nakamichi and Sansui. The Akai brand is now used...
. Smith uses these digital controllers to program the music production software Ableton Live 8. Due to the sample-based nature of his music, Smith releases all his music for free with a recommended donation, so as to avoid having to clear samples. When performing live, Smith uses two Macbook Pros running Ableton Live 8 and two Akai MPD32s.
Albums
- 2006: Taking Up Your Precious TimeTaking Up Your Precious TimeTaking Up Your Precious Time is the first full-length album by American electronic music artist Pretty Lights, released October 23, 2006 on Pretty Lights Music. It is known for including the song "Finally Moving," which is popular among fans, and is a favorite at live performances.-Track listing:...
(Co-Produced by Michal Menert) - 2008: Filling Up The City SkiesFilling Up The City SkiesFilling Up The City Skies is a double-disc album and second full-length release by American electronic music artist Pretty Lights, released October 30, 2008 on Pretty Lights Music.-Track listing:Filling Up The City Skies...
- 2009: Passing By Behind Your Eyes
EPs
- 2006: Electro City (Unreleased)
- 2010: Making Up A Changing Mind
- 2010: Spilling Over Every Side
- 2010: Glowing In The Darkest Night
Singles
- 2011: PL vs Radiohead vs Nirvana vs NIN
- 2011: I Know The Truth
- 2011: Pretty Lights vs Summertime
- 2011: Country Roads (Pretty Lights Remix)
- 2011: Pretty Lights vs Led Zeppelin
- 2011: Pretty Lights "It's Tricky" (Run DMC) Remix