Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
Pretty Lights has officially announced A Trip Thru Time Fantastic, his first new album in 13 years. The expansive release marks the producer’s fifth studio album and his first full length project since A Color Map of the Sun, which arrived in 2013.
The ambitious collection features 45 songs divided into nine separate chapters that Pretty Lights, whose real name is Derek Vincent Smith, refers to as “constellations.” The first three constellations, made up of 15 tracks, are not currently available on digital streaming platforms but can be streamed and downloaded for free through the Pretty Lights website.
While unveiling the album on social media on July 1, Smith reflected on why he stepped away from making traditional albums after A Color Map of the Sun. “I said i didn’t want to focus on albums after ACMOTS over 10 years ago & shifted my energy towards living creative systems & conscious cohesion via the soundship space system and the swirlbridge,” he wrote. “So much music was made over those years with my bestest friends, for the purpose of swirling and experimenting with journeys into expressive flow state transmissions & reaching new depths of connection with our beloved cosmic caravan, the PLF [Pretty Lights Family].”
He continued by sharing some of the personal milestones that shaped the past several years. “In the last 9 years of timeline weavery,” the statement continues. “I built a home with the love of my life, found a spiritual path, reunited with my eternal soul brother Michal Menert, formed an AV ensemble to power a traveling laboratory, and been blessed with the most beautiful experience of my life… meeting my son Ayahn. The time has come to release our musical swirl fodder in the form of the next PL album. A galaxy of 45 songs in 9 constellations before my 45th birthday.”
The album announcement also arrives alongside plans for a seven city summer and fall tour. The run includes performances at Secret Dreams Music Festival in Ohio, the second edition of Yahn Dawn, Pretty Lights’ own festival in Buena Vista, Colorado, this September, and an appearance at Hulaween in Florida this October.
Share
Advertisement
Hayley Williams paid tribute to Sinéad O’Connor by performing a cover of “Mandinka” during her recent concert in Dublin. Watch footage of the performance below.
The Paramore frontwoman included the song in her set during the second of two performances at Dublin’s National Stadium on Tuesday, June 30, bringing the European leg of her “Hayley Williams At A Bachelorette Party” tour to a close.
Before beginning the cover, as the audience chanted “Free, free Palestine,” Williams addressed the crowd, saying: “This goes out to all the Irish artists who use their voice, they’re so inspiring. And of course, Queen Sinéad O’Connor.”
“Mandinka” originally appeared on O’Connor’s 1987 debut album, “The Lion And The Cobra,” and became one of the songs that introduced her to a wider audience. The track drew inspiration from Alex Haley’s Roots, the groundbreaking novel and television miniseries that follows the story of an African American family back to Kunta Kinte, a Mandinka man who was captured and forced into slavery.
Watch footage of the performance here:
O’Connor passed away in July 2023 at the age of 56. Since then, she has continued to be remembered as one of Ireland’s most influential and uncompromising artists, celebrated not only for her music but also for her outspoken views on political, religious and social issues.
More recently, several artists have honored O’Connor by recording their own interpretations of her songs. Fontaines D.C. contributed a version of “Black Boys On Mopeds” to the War Child charity album “Help(2)” earlier this year, while Kate Nash released her take on “Famine” in April.
NME attended Williams’ recent performance at Manchester Academy, awarding the show five stars and describing it as an intimate concert that balanced “joy and rage,” adding that it “felt like an old school reunion with family you only see once every five years.”
During the UK and Ireland tour, Williams also welcomed special guests to the stage. Wet Leg’s Rhian Teasdale joined her at London’s Roundhouse for a performance of “Parachute,” while The xx’s Romy appeared at an earlier London show to perform a duet of Prefab Sprout’s “Wild Horses.”
Williams officially released “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party” last August after first surprising fans by making 17 songs available through her website. In a five star review, NME praised the album, saying it saw her “fearlessly stepping between familiar and fresh influences.”
Alongside her solo work, Williams has also been releasing music with Daniel James under the name Power Snatch. Last week, the duo unveiled two new singles, “Great” and “Training,” following the earlier releases “Copy,” “Rub” and “Love Plus One.”
Williams is next scheduled to appear at the Newport Folk Festival later this month before heading back to North America and Latin America in September for “The Hayley Williams Show” tour.
Share
Advertisement
