Pretty Lights

M:

You guys run an interesting improv angle with your music, you always have an evolving sound. How do you work to create an evolving musical journey throughout your set?

PL:

That’s a cool question. A lot of people look at me behind a table and think that I’m a DJ, and to be honest, I’ve never spun a record in my life. I could probably match beats with records, but I’ve never even tried it. All the music is original, using original productions I should say. I’m using software and different devices to trigger different parts and arrange it on the fly and to affect it and manipulate it and play some of the layers live on top, like melodies and samples and stuff like that. But back to your question, how do I look at it as a set, as a whole, I try to think of it more as how a DJ would as far as tempos. I really try to bring the energy up and back down smoothly. Even if it’s a real hype hip-hop speed track, I don’t like to play it after some more up-tempo electric track because it just doesn’t feel right.

M:

Don’t want to burn people out?

PL:

Yeah. Also I like to produce a lot of different styles of music, of a lot of electronic kind of music, but they also vary in energy a lot. But rather than just have my live shows be all high energy dance music, I like to bring in some of the more organic down-tempo, more emotional kind of tracks. It does take some consideration of where to bring that in and where to play it or not to play it. Honestly, as I play more and more, I’m getting better at being able to do that. Because I never have a set list, the songs have a level of improvisation, but the sets are always improvised as far as the order. Like last night, these people had grabbed a set list off the stage and I could see people were kinda arguing over it and I went down and said, ‘That’s not even my set list! That’s the set list for the band that hasn’t played yet. You better put that back up there, they’re not gonna know what songs to play.’

M:

Well you and Corey worked together in another band before this, so I guess you guys have a good chemistry going.

PL:

Yeah, we worked together before Pretty Lights in a band and actually when that broke up, when that kinda ceased to exist, that’s when I started writing the first Pretty Lights album. There was really a period of time for about two years between when that band ended and when the first Pretty Lights show that I actually invited the drummer up to play with me. I wanted that element live and I feel like it brings a certain kind of hands-on, live energy to the show. Also, I like to be able to play off another individual. So that’s when I collaborated with him and started doing the shows with a live kit.

M:

You basically formed a sort of sign language on stage, sort of tipping each other off on what’s going on?

PL:

Yeah. When we first started playing it pretty much was only two hand signals, like ‘cut out’and ‘come back in’. But as we played together more and I’ve written more music in a way that it can be performed differently each time, utilizing the different technology like Abelton Live with the different kind of features…

M:

Is that what you use?

PL:

That’s what I use live, yeah, in conjunction of a device called a monomer. We use signals like, I have different hand signals to switch drum beats, or switch high-hat speeds, or switch to ride signals, or we’ve got one for switching to an off-beat snare pattern, or losing the snare and keeping the kick and high-hat, or different things for bringing the energy up or bringing the energy back down, and things like that. It’s definitely evolved, the way in which we communicate on-stage.

M:

So how do you think the live performance brings your audience a different experience than what’s on your albums?

PL:

It’s all about the energy, about hearing the music in a different sort of setting. It’s good car music, I think it’s good bedroom music but a lot of…

M:

Bedroom music, huh! Getting the beds rockin’?

PL:

That’s what I’m saying, man! People have told me that I’ve gotten them laid.

M:

There you go, to your credit… Put that on your resume, ‘Getting People Laid!’

PL:

(Laughing) Back to that question, what I was trying to say was that it’s not all me, or us, the people on-stage, creating that live experience. It has so much to do with everyone coming together and experiencing the difference of the live show energy but also within a congregation of people. And it also has a lot to do with, nowadays, the light show and bringing the visual medium. Which has evolved, but I’m looking to take it a lot further.

M:

Just an all encompassing experience.

PL:

Exactly, a multi-media experience. A lot of people think that when I named it Pretty Lights that I named it exactly for that, some crazy laser light show, but that definitely wasn’t in my mind at all when that name kinda came to be. It was more about personal experiences of pretty lights, I’m always on the look at for that kind of thing. But I’m definitely trying to bring the whole live light/video aspect of the show to a whole ‘nother level, and just keep pushing that, keep pushing the production so that people can really have a cool experience that’s far different than listening to the record.