Pretty Lights Returns
April 16th, 2010 at 12:52 am
Derek Vincent Smith is Pretty Lights
I didn’t expect him to be so eloquent. Especially considering that he had just woken up from a nap and was occasionally talking around bites of a tortilla, prepping for a concert that night in St. Louis.
But Derek Vincent Smith, mastermind behind the electronic-soul music group Pretty Lights, was perfectly coherent and borderline inspirational.
Smith has been developing his style of music for about 10 years, experimenting first with hip-hop beats and progressing to electronic. “It has more feeling and the ability to channel emotion more than typical electronic dance music,” he said of what Pretty Lights does/is. And he’s spent years championing it to those who might otherwise write off electronic jams, doggedly searching for new people to “just give it a try!”
Which is why it’s especially satisfying that Pretty Lights’ music is taking off, rapidly growing in popularity among dance-ready crowds looking for something “super-fresh.”
Two years ago, Pretty Lights didn’t play outside of its home state of Colorado. This year, Smith’s touring will take him to Europe four times.
It will also bring him to Fayetteville on April 23.
At his concerts, which are characterized by an extensive lightshow (though the name Pretty Lights came far before the techno-dazzle), Smith uses three different devices — a modified keyboard, a mini-controller and a 128-button grid thingamajig called a monome 
— to control two laptops in order to make his music. “A lot of people already sort of confuse me for a DJ,” Smith said. “I’m actually up there performing my own compositions.”
He’s joined by drummer Cory Eberhard, who “adds another organic dynamic” to the concerts, visually and sonically melding electronic music and the live band scene.
Pretty Lights sold out George’s Majestic Lounge in November, as Kevin Kinder reported in an earlier Tuned In entry, and has moved on to the bigger Fayetteville Town Center. The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets cost $20 in advance and $25 the day of the show — that is, if there are any left. Tickets can be purchased at George’s in Fayetteville or online at www.georgesmajesticlounge.com.
Check out Pretty Lights and download some free tunes at www.prettylightsmusic.com.
Blog entry by Sara Sullivan