Michal Menert just released his new full length release, Even If It Isn’t Right, today on Pretty Lights Music for FREE. If you’re a fan of Michal Menert or the sound that Pretty Lights represents I highly recommend grabbing this right NOW!

I had the pleasure of meeting Michal over WMC this year and got to kick it with him and take a glimpse into what the future holds on his side of things. This album defies a lot of the norm for most releases and tells his story in this long composition. Spending a few days with him and his manager I knew that I had to help them out. It’s not very often you come across such a talented artist with the ideals and vision that Michal has.

He’s your regular guy who likes to play video games, chill, make music, and eat tons of sushi. His story is quite a unique one and he’s the only person who could say that early Pretty Lights music was composed of Derek and Michal. It’s something that I believe isn’t noted enough.

I had the pleasure of being in Denver for Menert’s debut of his new fancy projection mapped stage. The moment I walked into Cervantes I was totally blown away. The team that put together is the same team that has put together Pretty Lights past stages but this one has been taken to a whole new level. The dedication and effort put behind Michal Menert is second to none. It’s a honor to have been brought in to take part of it. There’s much ahead and can’t even describe to you how incredible the experience was that night except by showing you a video of how wild it all came out below. The video was done by the Swaager team/website and is only a small glimpse into this magical stage represented by mountain like structures with a sun/moon center where Michal performs in front of.  The lasers, video clips, and seamless combination of music and visuals are some of the best I’ve ever seen in my life.

Dear promoters of all locations. This show and stage will be touring in the Fall. I HIGHLY recommend picking this up. It’s one of the most amazing stages I’ve seen. The production levels is on par if not higher than Pretty Lights and other projection mapping stages out there. Cervantes was completely slammed and no one had any idea that the stage was being showcased for the most part.

Now go grab the album for FREE and download Dreaming of a Bigger Life if you haven’t already!
Michal Menert – Pretty Lights Profile

Also the new website has had a soft launch and ready to check out if you haven’t seen it. Check it out and watch it grow as I work my magic on it.

Michal Menert Official Website

]]> http://afromonk.com/2012/04/michal-menert-even-if-it-isnt-right/feed/ 1 http://afromonk.com/2011/05/grassroots-california-hats/ http://afromonk.com/2011/05/grassroots-california-hats/#comments Fri, 20 May 2011 11:50:45 +0000 Afro Monk http://afromonk.com/?p=2652

Grassroots California is a small indie company that sells custom hats. They have been gaining popularity in the underground bass community as they have a strong presence at music festivals. If you’re into festivals such as Wakarusa, Nocturnal, Emissions, SXSW, WMC, etc… you’ve probably seen quite a few of these hats.

I’m a huge supporter of the company as they help bring light to many artist and sports teams. They are well known for spoof hats for many popular teams. They have a special music line that features big names like Pretty Lights, Lotus, Big Gigantic, Fresh2Death, and many more. I personally sport the Miami Dubphins hat. I’ll be adding quite a few to my collection in the near future and have even been in talks with them for special Afro Monk hat for 2012.

Be sure to check out their website that features not only hats but accessories, t-shirts, pins, and more. Also if you’re out at any of the music festivals you’ll probably see a vending booth. Be sure to know your hat size before you head over there. I promise you that you’ll be wanting to buy at least a few and chances are they might be limited to a certain size since they’ve been gaining such popularity.

Also be on the look out for the possibility of a Grassroots record label…
Much respect and love goes out to the Grassroots California crew!

BUY: Grassroots California

The other day, I came across some tracks by Fractal Sky and was really impressed.  I couldn’t stop listening to his latest track “Not Quite December” which sort of has a “Pretty Lights” feel to it.  It’s def a nice tune to throw the headphones on for and chill but still wanna move.  He uses hip hop samples nicely in his tracks too.  I reached out to him to find out a little more about him so I could share it with you……

Fractal Sky is the latest project of producer/dj Aaron Spence out of Arkansas. In 2003, Aaron began experimenting with early 2000 breakbeat/trance production. He slowly started to grasp the raw low ends of analog synthesizers and super tight breaks and cuts. By 2006 He released his first track under the name “dj FL!P.”  By 2009 his sounds evolved into the slower(bpm), super groovey, tight, emotional, and uplifting sound that he calls “Fractal Sky”.

Beginning in 2010 Fractal Sky moved his production to the LIVE stage. His goal is to create an art that touches people’s hearts and souls. He tries to blend many genres w/ a hiphop base, which he says is reflective of his life, so.. it’s all from the heart! He plans to release another CD this year, but isn’t sure when just yet. He’s currently working on plenty of fresh original beats and is booking some shows in his hometown Ft. Smith, Arkansas and is planning big shows and festivals and will have them booked as confirmations roll through. A current bigger show in the works is Feb 4th, 2011 @ Georges Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville arkansas w/ Vibesquad and Eliot Lipp.

He plans to compete in this year’s “Wakarusa Winter DJ Classic” where djs turn in mixes and production to be voted on in hopes of gaining a spot @ Wakarusa 2011. A huge goal for him in 2011 is to open up his live production more and book shows out of the midwest.  Some of his musical influences include the many things going on in his life, friends, family, technology, festivals, art, and nature.

Make sure to follow him on facebook to stay in the loop about upcoming shows and releases: Fractal Sky

For booking, email: thisisaar0n@hotmail.com.

Here’s a few of his hot tracks i pulled from soundcloud.com/fractal-sky.  Grab the free downloads!

Fractal Sky – Not Quite December

Fractal Sky – Trash Talk

Fractal Sky – Laser99

-EA

EA@afromonk.com

soundcloud.com/Ericluvsmusic2

The Glitch Mob are coming back to Miami! You have no idea how excited I am to announce that The Glitch Mob is coming back for a solo show!!!

I’ve spent months trying to bring the Glitch Hop sound to Miami and show people something different. The Mob is one of my main influences and loves. I got to see them live not long ago at Lightning in a Bottle. They clearly have a new sound. I wouldn’t say it’s a good or bad things but I do believe it will appeal to a broader audience.

Def Owl is behind this glorious event. It’s great to know that there are people out there who know about The Glitch Mob and invested in booking such a big act. It’s extremely risky to bring these guys in this hood. I hate to say it but people here need to go witness more live music.  Boreta, edIT, and Ooah are truly talented musicians who pour their soul into the music and rock out hard. They’ve recently incorporated drums, keyboards, and guitars into their shows along with their Lemurs.

I promise you Miami/Fort Lauderdale you haven’t seen anything like this. Def Owl were behind bringing Pretty Lights and I was blown away by how well it was received. They’ve taken it to another level in my eyes with booking The Mob. They are doing amazing things for South Florida with their bookings. Pretty Lights, Orchard Lounge, Black Violin, and now THE GLITCH MOB!

Keep up to date with all the Def Owl events =)

I’ll be raging in the front so come out August 30th to Revolution!
Buy Tickets / Facebook Event Page

Doors open 8:30pm
18+ Tickets: $14.00

Instead of Fire Friday Mix… Here is a Fire Friday EP!
Hott damn why did I sleep so much on this EP and not post it. The man himself, Derek Smith, has put out a new release that is absolutely stunning. Pretty Lights is truly something special if you haven’t heard them.

It’s a perfect fuse of hip-hop, glitch, dubstep, and funk! Not to mention this guy is a preformer using a Monome & MPD! Lets not forget Cory who plays drums live during some preformances.

Probably one of the best things about Pretty Lights is that he releases all his music for FREE!!! How amazing is that. You can tell he does it for the love and makes up for it while getting HUGE bookings.

This new EP is the first of a trilogy he plans to release. He has obviously put some serious thought into this. Making Up A Changing Mind is well thought out EP from each beat to every little sample.

I applaud everything this dou does. Fortunately had the oppertunity to see them a few months back. Hopefully if things go well I’ll get to catch his set at Ultra.

You can get all of their releases on their website.

I’m not a fan of Ultra to be honest. Right now tickets are $140 and thats without service charges I imagine. The reason why it doesn’t go down well with me is because most of the talent I enjoy you can catch a smaller more personal parties throughout the week. Not to mention as a Miami native I’ve done Ultra 3x already back in the day when FL Breaks and Electro was alive. Now the festival has acts like Will.I.Am and even some bands I’m sure will be added. It was never like this. Quite surprised to see guys like Skream and Rusko on the line up. Considering last year I saw Rusko for free with FREE redstripes and bacardi at WMC. Also saw Skream about 3x last year and dont think I paid once except for ViRam event.

What I’m very happy to see is Glitch Mob in town for once! Thats big! Not to mention Pretty Lights coming back. I’m praying someone books Glitch Mob for a smaller party.

Day 1
Tiesto
Swedish House Mafia
Eric Prydz
The Crystal Method
The Disco Biscuits
Carl Cox
Dirty South
Rabbit in the Moon
Will.I.Am
Infected Mushroom
Plump DJs
Adam Freeland
Felix Da Housecat
Pretty Lights
Green Velvet
Lotus
Alex Metric
Bassbin Twins vs. Uberzone
Evil Nine
Afrobeta
Kevens

Day 2
Deadmau5
Groove Armada
Carl Cox
Faithless Sound System
Armin Van Buuren
Above & Beyond
Ghostland Observatory
Crookers
Bloody Beetroots
Major Lazer
Bassnectar
Steve Aoki
ATB
The Glitch Mob
Diplo
LTJ Bukem
A-Trak
Rusko
Skream
Eddie Halliwell

I was asked awhile back by my amazing new friend, Adam aka Munkz, if I wanted to DJ a house party. It would have to be a glitch hop funk oriented set similar to Pretty Lights show we had recently been to. I Agreed.

Women are silly creatures and turns out party was a no go at their place. I let Adam know that I have no problem moving the event to my house. I’ve been working on this parties set for awhile and had tons of friends asking if they could attend this event. He said forsure and December 18th is my first small glitch event. I’ve been hard at work and in a matter of less than a month I’ve picked up Ableton and APC40. It’s going to be the start of something BIG!

The party is a few days away now and feel fairly comfortable and ready for this. Instead of recording a live mix for December I plan on recording my set at this party and releasing it as my December mix.

Get ready Miami I’m going to try my best to bring this glitch sound to the mainstream as much as I can. Makes me sad when I see the events that go on the other side of the States. Miami, I believe in you and hope you embrace this.

Expect a more IDM Glitch mix for January. December has been more oriented to the glitch-hop and going to start 2010 with more of a mellow IDM feel of glitch.

After I record this mix on Friday hopefully it’ll be the last piece of my resume for Glitch.FM. This might get me the radioshow I’ve always wanted and goal for 2009 reached.

Big things popping in 2010!

Pretty Lights is a SHOW. When I mean show I mean these guys are one of those few names in the business that do their sets live. He’s not just a DJ he rocks mad hardware and shows off literally pretty lights as he preforms with laptop, MPD, & Monome. Pretty Lights also consist of live drums. The full combo is Derek Smith & Cory Eberhard on drums. These guys go all out and bring a light show if they can.

I’m a huge follower of the Glitch Hop scene and these guys are bringing it hard. I’m so excited to know that they’ll be in Miami this Wednesday at Vagabond hopefully in the main room rocking the Funktion1 Sound System! It’s going to be the first time to experience this style on a BIG BIG system.

Check out Derek rocking the Monome and showing how it’s done when doing LIVE work!

Expect pure energy! This tour has already sold out some venues. Hopefully Vagabond will be popping and people will come show their respects by getting down! This event is big and can’t wait to see and hopefully meet people who are actually into these guys. It’s been a hella crazy week for Miami with event after event! Glad to be in this city and Thank you for whoever booked these guys!

This is what happens when Pretty Lights goes on Tour!

One of the biggest things I have to give them credit for is that they release all their music for FREE. That’s right FREE! You can download their latest album that came out early October at their website. Passing By Behind Your Eyes, is such a great album that most people will enjoy as long as you got groove and feel that bass. Their two other albums are also available for download there as well.

Get ready Miami because PRETTY LIGHTS is almost here. Get ready for some serious bass and grooving! Miami time for visual and audio journey brought to you by pretty lights.