The New Jazz
5
By Ghan Man
Pretty Lights debut album Filling Up the City Skies is a bangin addition to the expanding electronic music horizon. His sound ranges from upbeat electronic music to downtempo and hip-hop, supported in a live setting by a drummer that makes these already crunchy beats explode with fullness and fury. Mastermind Derek Vincent Smith pays uncanny attention to detail with his samples, often cutting bits of sound to make rhythms seem cut yet still whole. He brings a solid repertoire of relatively unknown jazz rifts to life in a big way, with great downtempo breaks, hip hop samples, and a fair bit of frequency bending in the mix. Certain voices samples like those of At Last I am Free, when chopped precisely by Smith, bring a texture rarely felt in music aside from the rave scene. "Time Has Come" is an almost epic synth oriented jam whose magic can truly be felt in the live setting. Some of the synth lines in this one are sure to mesmerize any open minded listener. The end of this song in particular bridges a sort of electronic-organic gap in my opinion, where the synth line almost sounds like a whale's call.
Smith's tracks also have a great sense of beat repeat, facilitated in the live arena by his use of a "monome", cutting edge sequencing technology in the electro scene. His frequency warping and womps connect sounds throughout all these songs that tap into a certain side of music, taking you up and down to orient you in the new world of the rhythm. At a show it isn’t uncommon to look around and see everyone in the crowd moving, back and forth, up and down as a result of these mind and body bending sounds. On a song like Solamente one sees the more downtempo feel of the duo, with a very well proposed array of jazz samples backing. This track is more like a laid back driving jam but still as listenable as any of the heavier jams on the album. The most positive thing I can say for this album is that every song goes some where, and whether you’re listening in your car or getting down at a party, you’re bound to want to move your feet. The blend of smooth jazz and electronic has been done before, and will certainly be done again, but this CD is worth your time, whether you’re new to the electronic sound or you’re a DJ looking for some new straight up bangers to throw down in your next set. His subsequent albums are equally hooked up with crazy sounds and samples to please any audiophile, but some of these first tracks will remain favorites of mine for years to come. Some personal favorites include: Aimin At Ya Head, Who Loves Me, More Important than Michael Jordan, Electrocali, If I Gave You My Love, well hell, really all of ‘em. Give him a listen, or go see him live. Even if you’re not into to this type of music already, you’ll most likely be impressed.
