Pretty Lights

So since no one here has brought this guy up yet, I feel for all that is right in the world I must. The guy's Derek Vincet Smith but every body knows him as Pretty Lights. I had the opportunity to see him at Badlands last summer with a handful of great people in some wild weather conditions. (Shout out to those who were there) This man towers in at six foot nine and by himself is quite the sight, but we're not here to see who the biggest man is, we're here for the music, and Pretty Lights has got a fantastic bunch of that.

After first hearing Pretty Lights he quickly pushed his way into my favourite artists and became a staple in my collection. Seeing him perform at Badlands was quite something as well, not just a great mix of music, but also a wild light show. His set, in my opinion, was the best of the weekend and quite probably the best set I've seen of all time, so far.

Of all the tracks that Pretty Lights has put down, I have yet to come across one that I dislike. But in terms of picking favourites, there is one song that I have a particular affinity to. The longest of the 25 tracks from the album Filing Up the City Skies, off the second disc; Take The Sun Away. Give it a go below.


I just want to mention this the size of this album. It comes in over 2 hours and 37 minutes for 25 tracks; the shortest of which is 3:00 minutes and the longest, that you're listening to right now, is over 10 great minutes. That's a 6:30 average track length. How often do you see an album of this length? Also it's probably worth checking out the rest if you haven't done so yet in your life.

But I digress, back to the song that you better be listening to right now, (or you may just be one of the slowest readers ever .) This song is like an adventure, it just keeps on going and keeps on changing . It's a great song to walk somewhere to, it just makes it feel like an epic journey instead of your normal dull trudge. Now I don't want to impose on your opinions of this song too much, but you better not quit out on this track; my favourite part doesn't come in till near the end, and in the middle of the song you can definitely pick up on that Pink Floyd influence as well.

Pretty Lights has a sound that is so unique, and the diversity throughout his tracks keep it from every getting old. As well his 2013 album Color Map of the Sun is definitely worth listening to as it was nominated for the best dance/electronica album in the 2014 Grammys, and rightly so.

I'd love to get into the style and genre of Pretty Lights, but its so much easier for you to listen to than for me to describe, but I'd try as an Electronic Pink Floyd with a bit of funk then a touches of anything else on a track by track basis.

And a last bit to leave you with, early on Pretty Lights had two members, the other was Michal Menert.