Those who happened to catch glitch-hop’s up-and-coming dubstep king Derek Vincent Smith’s, aka Pretty Lights‘, Bonnaroo set this year were treated to a special surprise by way of a new song, “I Know The Truth”. After its warm reception there, Smith has apparently decided to make it canon by releasing it as a single you can download for free off of his official website.
The single is exactly what you’d expect from a glitch artist of Smith’s caliber at the top of his game. Beginning with an easily digestible piano harmony that warmly embraces you in the comfort of its familiar arms, then completely pulls out the rug with an assault of frenetic synth-laden beats meticulous crafted to juxtapose a chaotic, yet surprisingly ordered experience.
Of course, seeing as it’s Pretty Lights we’re talking about, just making a terrific single isn’t enough. Smith has also applied a very unique recording method to bring his fruition to life. All the instruments were recording onto tape, pressed on vinyl, then finally sampled for the single. In combining 40 year old recording methods with his uniquely modern style, Smith wanted “a warm organic timbre” to evoke “the emotion of dark 60’s soul music with the energy of raw bass heavy dubstep.”
Below you can find the dates for Pretty Lights’ extensive fall tour as well as a video for Led Zeppelin as seen through Smith’s eyes. This guy is truly on a whole other plane from us mere mortals.
Pretty Lights 2011 Fall Tour:
09/15 – Austin, TX @ Austin Music Hall ^
09/16 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Music Festival
09/17 – New Orleans, LA @ The Sugar Mill
09/20 – Asheville, NC @ Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
09/21 – Charlottesville, VA @ Telos Wireless Pavilion
09/22 – Binghamton, NY @ Events Center
09/23 – Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion
09/24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Popped! Music Festival
09/25 – Lewiston, ME @ The Colisee
09/27 – Burlington, VT @ Burlington Memorial Auditorium
09/28 – Wallingford, CT @ The Dome at Oakdale
09/29 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore D.C.
09/30 – Columbus, OH @ The LC Pavilion
10/01 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
10/04 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
10/05 – South Bend, IN @ Morris Center
10/06 - DeKalb, IL @ NIU Convocation Center
10/07 – Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
10/08 – St. Paul, MN @ Myth
10/09 – Des Moines, IA @ Val Air Ballroom
10/11 – Oxford, MS @ Lyric Theatre
10/12 – Oxford, MS @ Lyric Theatre
10/13 – Tuscaloosa, AL @ Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
10/14 – Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre #
10/15 – Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre #
10/27 – Lincoln, NE @ Pershing Center
10/28 – Tulsa, OK @ The Brady Theater
10/29 – Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena
10/31 – Nashville, TN @ Nashville Municipal Auditorium
^ = w/ Nas
# = w/ Bassnectar
