For those of that you that don't know... PRETTY LIGHTS!

Just caught this display in San Francisco a few nights back for the Treasure Island Musical Festival night sets & let me just say that this was probably one of the LIVEST show's I have ever been to! It was out of control. The place was sold out, stacked with people from front to back, everybody was partying/dancing and having a blast. There was this HUGE wall full of LED's right behind Derek & Cory that was BLOWING UP with light throughout the entire show. It was a spectacle... For those of you that aren't familiar, Pretty Lights consists of Derek Vincent Smith out of Fort Collins, CO. He handles all of the production, using an MPD & Monome with Ableton & Molar software. And then there is Cory Eberhard, he is the man on the Drums when they do live shows, keeping it mainly acoustic except for a digi-snare mixed in. The live drumming is a little something extra that really adds to the show.

Here is a vid from the show, I didn't film this, but Thanks to whoever it was that did.


The music is what I could describe only as a perfect mix of old & new. Derek knows his shit, you can tell he's got a deep history in the culture, using samples that range from recent to decades ago. He blends these samples flawlessly with the new electronic sound that is becoming more apparent in Hip Hop, and the result is something entirely new. He has to release his albums for free due to the fact that he uses all of these samples, but I believe that he is starting a niche that will soon become more popular with artists. RELEASE ALBUMS FREE, TOUR THE COUNTRY DOING LIVE SHOWS. Every single show of his sells out almost every time, & you should go check his myspace to see the tour line-up. They pretty much have a stop in almost every state for the next two months. This is the way things need to go, make money on tour doing shows & partying in every state, bringing people together for a great time. Release an occasional album for free to generate enough hype, then make your money doing shows. Honestly, for independent artists on the rise, I really think this is the way to make money. I'd say the hardest thing about that endeavor is getting your name out there enough so people across the country know who you are, and actually want to see your show. Releasing albums for free is a good way to get the ball rolling with that, in my opinion...

Anyway, this is just a little hype for all of his albums, which are all available on the site, for FREE. So, I'm going to drop a link to the DL page of the Pretty Lights site, where you can get all of them. Here it is:

Pretty Lights - Download Page

They recently updated it & the site looks super dope, really smooth and easy to navigate. While you are there you should check their schedule and if there are any shows coming to your area, DO NOT MISS OUT! It was a REALLY, really live show & a great time, I highly recommend that if any of you have the chance to see them, you should go. It's an epic show, you'll be dancing all night having an awesome time. Alright, here's all of the albums, from oldest to newest. I really like the new disc at the bottom "Passing By Behind Your Eyes", it came out on Oct. 6th & it's great. Hope you enjoy.

PS: I'm hoping to get started on the interview idea VERY, very soon... I have just been extremely busy over the past few months, running all over the country for shows & whatnot. But, I will be back home in the next week or so and from then on I have nothing on the schedule, so I should have plenty of time to get things moving on the Strictly Beats Interview/Artist Insight Digi-Mag. I got some big ideas & I think things will turn out DOPE.

Stay Tuned...

<< check out "Summer's Thirst" from this one...

<< "The Time Has Come" from this album has become one of my all-time favorites...

<< "If I Could Feel Again" is a definite banger on this one...

And here is another vid I tossed together from the Treasure Island Festival of the crowd @ MSTRKRFT's performance that night. I was perched up in a tree & the view from this angle was pretty insane. I hope you enjoy...



PEACE!