Tired, I had reached the stands and took a seat. The cookie slowly wearing off and the alcohol long gone, I now was overlooking the area were I had been dancing just before. The massive crowd of people pulsated like a giant dark blob which had entrapped dozens of glow sticks and now was showing them off. And for everyone making up this blob, the bass was going over all of their heads, literally. Sitting in my seat I felt like the bass was an invisible entity floating in front of me, yelling. At least it was in sync with the pretty lights. Not long after I had sat down, the main stage emitted a thick cloud of fog, followed by lasers of quickly alternating color to illuminate it, creating probably the most memorable image of the night. As if an album cover had found its place in real life, this was literally a rainbow cloud.
This past Thursday, the electronic Musician named Pretty Lights came to Binghamton. The resulting concert was probably one of the best live events I have ever been to. He DJ’d all his music in amazing fashion, while his sound and lights guys made sure that the show was absolutely spectacular. Also, there was a ton of people and the venue was amazing.
Pretty Lights made sure to stress during the show something which I already knew. All of his music is Free. You can find it all on his beautifully designed website. That’s very generous of him considering its quality. I guess he is in it for the shows. Let me show you some of his music. He describes it as Electronic, hip-hop, soul. I’d say that’s pretty accurate, but you can be the judge too.
“Finally Moving” starts out with a guitar riff, but it is quickly evident that the song is electronic. Piano and even violin are accompanied by synths, sampled vocals, and electronic drums. The vocals definitely put the soul into the genre. The song is slow and relaxing, yet all the different parts of it create a wonderful atmosphere which easily transports you into some sort of imagination. The song is long and rightly justified in being so.
“Total Fascination” is the first song of Pretty Light’s which I was exposed to, and let me tell that not only was I hooked but completely fascinated. The song is definitely a single of sorts as it stands out heavily from the rest of his music. Again the gospel-esque vocals build an interesting beat up until synths are introduced and the song takes on an intense change for the better.
Dance music which makes you completely rock out is rare nowadays, but this would definitely be it. It is not repetitive like trance or techno and it is not over encumbered by lyrics like hip-hop. Pretty Lights’ music is the perfect mix of sounds and samples which has created a niche of its very own which no one expected. It is nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary, but rather perfect execution to the full extent of the saying. Also it is very good music to do your homework to.
&)
-oko
P.S. The picture at the top is from the show I was at. And here is a video.
The Music Court 
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