Electro | Elephante – Pretty Lights (NYLA) EP

Posted by on November 18, 2013

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My friend put me on to Elephante’s debut EP “Pretty Lights” and it’s one of the most refreshing sounds I’ve heard in a minute. “Pretty Lights” is high energy electro-music complete with dope melodies, and chopped up glitchy vocals for the ultimate sensation. The EP is currently up for free download, and you’re not going to want to miss out on this. Elephante graduated from Harvard in 2011 and has been selling out shows ever since, working on his music, and is now ready to take the music world by storm. This is a must listen for sure!

Free Download: Elephante – Pretty Lights (NYLA) EP

Progressive House | Elephante – Pretty Lights (ft. Rohan Kymal)

Posted by on October 3, 2013

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Today, I introduce you to Elephante. Hailing from sunny California, Elephate is an EDM producer, specializing in a big room sound. His latest dance floor hit, “Pretty Lights” comes complete with a stomach-thumping bass-line and jabbing synths. The deep vocals from Rohan Kymal really round off the track and make for a fantastic piece of art. Enjoy, “Pretty Lights” and hold on tight for the intense buildups and breakdowns that are sure to have you on the edge of your seat.

Also, go give it some love on Hype Machine, and snag the free download!

Contests, House | Verve Remixed: The First Ladies (Incl. Kaskade, Pretty Lights, Flume & More) Vinyl Giveaway

Posted by on August 26, 2013

Verve Remixed VinylVerve recently released a ridiculous remix package for their illustrious roster of female vocalists they have had over the years. The remixes include a wide variety of styles and genres, from deep house to progressive to dubstep, really giving these classics a modern dance music twist. The remix roster reads like an all-star festival lineup, with the likes of Flume, Kaskade, Pretty Lights, Bassnectar, Maya Jane Coles, RAC, Carnage & more, all taking their turns at these songs. If you did not grab this remix package, or want an upgrade in quality and style, we are giving away one red and black vinyl double LP, as you can see above. Even if you don’t have a record player, having records is the hip thing to do now, so you will want this.

To enter, you can either go to our Facebook page and “like” the post about this giveaway, or go to our twitter page and retweet our post. This is only available to those who live in the United States, sorry. Winner will be chosen this Thursday at 5pm. After the jump is the video for the Zed’s Dead remix.

If you aren’t a betting person, and I recommend you become one for this (it looks so cool), you can always buy it from Amazon, Beatport or iTunes.

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Albums, Review | Pretty Lights – A Color Map of the Sun

Posted by on July 3, 2013

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There’s no beating around the block here that Pretty Lights’ latest album, A Color Map of the Sun falls nothing short of a masterpiece. This album is less about unveiling new music than it is showcasing years of hard work and artistic innovation atop the highest, most deserving pedestal. I am firm believer in the theory that if you apply yourself beyond all measures, then you will be rewarded in double the amount. Derek Vincent Smith has turned a vision he had in 2011 into a reality and even without the prior fame or promotions, or limited designed t-shirts and vinyl records, the craft that went into this album can stand alone and is almost as astounding as the actual songs produced. I could sit here and rave about it for a while, although many already have (and in a much more poetic manner), so I’m going to jump straight to the music.

 

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Remember the first time you heard Pretty Lights? Remember how blown away you were, and then how intrigued you were, and then how you fell in love with every single one of his songs right after that? Well this album is like that. Every time you play it. Seriously. ACMOTS is the epitome of everything you ever loved about Pretty Lights and more. There’s the dark, twisted songs that strike a deep, artistic and angst-y chord deep down (“So Bright”), the happy songs that sound the way watching moving clouds feels (“Yellow Bird”), and then the bangers that knock you on your ass when you hear them live (“Let’s Get Busy” and “Prophet”).

Most importantly, there’s the standout track that brings music lovers of all types together with an inspirational line we can all sing along to, with enough instrumental breaks to give us a chance to dance along and appreciate the track before the next chorus arises: step down, “Finally Moving,” and allow me to introduce to you, “Around the Block (feat. Talib Kweli).”

Lastly, there’s what separates good artists from great ones and that’s experimentation. Songs like “Vibe Vendetta” and “One Day They’ll Know” offer curious electronic sounds and stylistic choices that aren’t textbook Pretty Lights tracks and are successful for that reason. Look, Pretty Lights made a niche in the music world and with tracks like these, he proves this niche has no boundaries and infinite possibilities.

 

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I don’t want to take away from Smith’s spotlight about he produced, recorded, and then remixed every track on the album (creating some sort of mind bending Pretty Lights inception-collage), but I think this gives way to a much greater issue at hand: the direction of EDM. Electronic music was headed to a questionable place to which we were all wondering: will we ever be able to bring it back? There has since been a pivot, seen most notably with the return of Daft Punk, that is slowly weeding out the producers, subgenres, and other manipulative players in the game that wanted the right things for all the wrong reasons. Smith’s creative process is commendable, artistically speaking, but also for the reason of being a role model and demonstrating to the infinitely ranging (in size and age) audience of EDM that success is built upon passion, perseverance, and inner confidence. Music, namely electronic, is no longer a trend, a song you rip from YouTube because your friend told you it was cool. It is returning to its roots a respectable art, and the most delectable art at that.

I encourage you to download (but really, if you can, purchase) and appreciate ACMOTS for the thousands of reasons that it’s worth.

At times I feel, like a literal color map of the sun, Pretty Lights has the power to see things in life that us mere mortals cannot. Listen, you’ll see what I mean.

Download A Color Map of the Sun

Click here to see tour dates to experience Pretty Lights for yourself

 

Albums, Electronic | Pretty Lights – Full Album Preview – A Color Map of the Sun

Posted by on June 26, 2013

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I get the feeling Pretty Lights is very excited about his latest album, A Color Map of the Sun, and everything that comes along with it, including the vinyl, the apparel, and the documentary about the making of the album. Quite frankly I’m stoked on it as well, which is why I’m providing you eager listeners with the the full album stream to keep you at bay until the album drops July 2nd. Pre-order it and you can get it a day early along with 3 bonus tracks, because you really can never get enough Pretty Lights.

Pre-order the album here.

[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=true”]https://soundcloud.com/prettylights/acolormapofthesun-preview[/soundcloud]

 

Albums, Videos | The Making Of Pretty Lights Color Map Of The Sun

Posted by on June 19, 2013

pretty-lights-a-color-map-of-the-sunThump followed around Pretty Lights over the past 2 years during the process in which he has been crafted and developed his upcoming artist album “Color Map Of The Sun”. It goes through his progression of working in two studios in Brooklyn and New Orleans, working with countless musicians and singers trying to capture the most organic, raw, soulful sound he could for his album. This time he did not want to go out and sample records, but rather he wanted to create the samples himself and it took over a year to do so, working with all analog machinery to distort and cut, giving it that sound of a past generation. As I finish this video, I have not been this excited for an album since RAM, and though that was only a month ago, this has the possibility to to inspire dance music in a similar way, going back to the roots of blues, hip hop, folk and rock, imbuing them with an electronic sound. Just take it from the man himself as he talked about his own album,

“I think something beautiful and timeless was created”

Does it seem like he is either always high, or just goofy like that? Those dance moves are a bit much at times, but you can see his passion. Also that kitty may just be cutest DJ cat around, sorry Mr Meowingtons and Mittens Francis.

Dubstep, Electro, Hip-Hop | SuperVision – Telekinetic EP

Posted by on June 4, 2013

SuperVision - Telekinetic EPAh, another treat from the good old Pretty Lights Music label. SuperVision has always been a favorite of mine from the label, maybe even slightly more so than Pretty Lights himself. This new EP from SuperVision played better than I anticipated, the opening track “Super Like Vision” was the coolest way to kick off. It is definitely my favorite track from the EP. The rest of “Telekinetic” is just as tasteful, providing a little bit of Hip-Hop and soulful vibes throughout. Definitely a great download.

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Free Download: SuperVision – Telekinetic EP