A Comprehensive Analysis of Taking up Your Precious Time
- Nick Bitzis
- Nov 17, 2017
- 40 min read
Today, Pretty Lights is one of the biggest names in electronic music, fueled by the mastermind Derek Vincent Smith. Eight time Grammy-winning hip-hop producer Rick Rubin called Smith “the face and voice of the new American electronic music scene.” Smith’s critical acclaim has grown from his electronic production and live performances over the past few years, but the origins of Pretty Lights are often overlooked. Pretty Lights’ first album, containing the smash hit “Finally Moving”, was actually produced by both Derek Vincent Smith and his best friend Michal Menert, who has worked as a live engineer for the Grateful Dead and Dead & Company. The pair had been rapping and producing hip-hop music for years under the name Listen, when in 2004 they decided to undertake the Pretty Lights project turning to instrumental music. Taking Up Your Precious Time was the only album completed under the name Pretty Lights with both Menert and Smith producing; Michal took a hiatus after the release and never returned to the project, pursuing his own solo career a few years later. The 15-track masterwork was released on October 23, 2006, and has since been regarded as one of the finest instrumental hip-hop albums of the past decade. With their roots in hip-hop and heavy influence from soul, blues and folk, the duo pioneered a sound that has inspired countless successors and gave the listener an opportunity to embark on a remarkable journey of digital sampling and auditory transformations, crossing countless genres [Dicker]. I would like to analyze and critique the album Taking up Your Precious Time with regards to its overall composition and the conditions that were related to its production. In doing so, I will consider the careers of the two artists involved, consider the importance of sampling in relation to certain genre influences and critically consider specific excerpts from the album to better understand the work as a whole.
“The reason we started Pretty Lights was because we weren’t trying to make money off this we were just trying to make music.”
- Michal Menert [My Story: Michal Menert]
In order to understand the album Taking Up Your Precious Time it is important to understand its origins and the inception of Pretty Lights. In 2004, Usher topped the Billboard charts with “Yeah!” and “Burn”, but in the relatively small world of electronic music, experimental hip-hop (often referred to at the time as trip-hop or glitch-hop) was flourishing with classics like Aphilas’ Instrumentally Ill, Bassnectar’s Diverse Systems of Throb and edIT’s Crying Over Pros For No Reason. In the same year, Derek Vincent Smith, Michal Menert, Ken Daley, Ben Shroer and Corey Eberhard released a rap and hip-hop album named One Piece Puzzle, their third album under the group name Listen. At this point Smith and Menert were producing the majority of the beats for the group and decided to take a new direction, working on their own project.
This time, they set out to develop instrumental music, supposedly after Smith’s production of “Windchimes & Love Songs,” which he claims was the first time his work made him believe he could have a future in instrumental music [Zamudio]. “I always saw [my beats] as a background for hip-hop and then all of a sudden...we're playing them for a few thousand people,” Menert explains in an interview [Uraibi]. For various reasons, neither Smith nor Menert have heavily discussed the making of Taking Up Your Precious Time (which for all intensive purposes I will refer to as TUYPT), perhaps due to the splitting of the group after the album, but Smith has been the most vocal about the project since its inception and has continued the Pretty Lights vision. Though the name “Pretty Lights” is often misperceived as a reference to Smith’s extravagant visual production, the name actually was inspired by a Pink Floyd poster that Smith saw as a child and the ideas it invoked, saying, “People go through life always on the lookout for things that are beautiful and inspirational. We experience the world through light, and as an artist I’m always on the lookout for different forms of beauty; ways to capture and recreate it…Pretty Lights is about trying to capture the beautiful moments in life that catch our eyes and make us think twice.” [Dicker]
Under their new name, Pretty Lights spent two years developing a unique sound, employing old-school sampling techniques and pioneering music making techniques of their own. “I grew up with the school of thought in hip hop where it was like you dug for samples. You found things that were really obscure and you used them in interesting ways and manipulated it,” explains Menert [My Story: Michal Menert]. Having experience and inspiration in hip-hop, the duo utilized classic hip-hop making techniques of resampling rare and unique vinyl to repurpose for their music, while adding their own instrumentation. Smith says, “The way I shop for records is very different depending on the type of record…See…I’m lookin’ for hidden gems that no one has heard before…The formula is: a record label ya never heard of, a matte design that is late 60’s, and a sad song name.” [What’s In My Bag] By utilizing unfamiliar vinyl, the producers are able to avoid preconceived notions about the sampled song, or simply the “sample”, and can develop a unique emotional landscape out of the new track. The art of sampling is actually how hip-hop got its start when in 1977 DJ Kool Herc started spinning twin turntables at parties to play just the breakdown of classic funk and soul songs, thereby creating his own sound [DJ Kool Herc]. Duke scholar Mariam Sulakian, writes that “Because of the widespread nature of sampling within the hip-hop industry, the ethical basis of an artist’s originality lies within his or her creative nature—to what degree is the new track an artistically modified supplement of the original?” [Sulakian] In the modern era, artists are perpetually inspired by other artists work, and with the rise of technology, it has become easy to repurpose parts of an old track into something new. In the case of Pretty Lights, artistic originality was clearly of the utmost importance when developing TUYPT, leading to creative exploration and sample manipulation that has been a model for countless producers more than a decade later [Leight]. A testament to both their originality and commitment to rare vinyl is the fact that samples have only been identified for half the tracks on the album even with Pretty Lights’ extensive fact-hunting network of fans. The other eight tracks utilize samples that are either so obscure or so well manipulated that no one seems to have recognized them over a decade later.
Sampling was so very integral to the producer duo that it became the focus of their sound. Both Smith and Menert have referred to their work as “sample collages,” with the philosophy that by capturing dozens of small moments in time, “perhaps the best part of a musician’s entire career,” they can amalgamate something new with the poignancy of each piece intact. Smith has claimed to use as many as 30 samples in a single song of his own, stating “70's rock and funk...ethnic and world music, and classical and soundtracks, and jazz, and soul...I'm trying to pull from all these genres and different decades and styles and fuse them into a new style.” [Bunzl] Sampling has offered these musicians a massive backlog of instrumentation that they could never have achieved on their own. The advent of sampling in hip-hop allowed a single artists or a small group to express the musical vision of hundreds of instruments and thousands of musicians. Menert articulates this idea saying that, “I started using samples... because I didn't have the access to, you know, string sections and female vocals from the 1960’s.” [Uraibi] Menert also explains how he feels vinyl sampling is the best way to stay true to the original track as well as a method that allows for the most unique analog manipulation. He also went on to highlight the fact that hunting for vinyl or “crate digging” is the best way to find the rare and unfamiliar sampling opportunities. Standing strongly by his stance on the importance of sampling, he stated, “Most of my samples are from vinyl...I've been justifying paying 80 or 90 bucks for a 45 with a 10 second drum loop I wanna use.” [Cubbage] It is obvious that Pretty Lights’ identity has fed off of sampling while the purist hip-hop mentality has been an attribution to their unique style.
Yet another caveat of Pretty Lights’ heavy sample usage is related the licensure and distribution of their music: it is entirely available for free. And it always has been. From day one to Grammy nominations and beyond headlining at the largest venues in the United States, Pretty Lights and the Pretty Lights Music label has always offered all of their music for no charge. Now solo, Smith offers his recent album available to purchase but also offers it for free on his website. Few artists can sustain themselves and put on a multi-million dollar lightshow, while offering all of their music for free, but the model Smith has chosen to adopt has changed a great deal about the music industry. Forbes magazine wrote negatively about the business model saying, “A slew of other artists have disrupted the market with free give aways as well, including, Pretty Lights.” [Grateful To The Dead] Smith makes his profits from touring and merchandising, a testament to Pretty Lights’ massive “Family” following, but that could not have been foreseen when Menert and he released TUYPT in October of 2006. The thought behind releasing the music for free was in two parts: distributing the music for free overcame most copyright restrictions avoiding costly royalties; and the fact that free music was easier to convince people to experience something new. Menert tells of the early decision saying, “It was so hard to market yourself as an independent artist, it was like trying to sell [your music] on top of that was just another obstacle...and when you take that away people are like oh well I'll at least try it.” [Uraibi] Smith has also spoken about the decision to release the music for free, explaining the ease of distribution, but he is also an active advocate for the redrafting of music copyright laws. In 2010 he spoke about the outdated laws saying, “Copyright and sampling laws were passed in the 70’s and since then technology and culture have evolved to a point where [those laws] are out of sync.” [Bunzl] Since then, countless changes have been made to those laws, but there is still a great deal of progress to be made.
Finally, before diving into the album, it is important to consider how the implications of genre have influenced Pretty Lights and the composition of TUYPT. As mentioned, both initial members of Pretty Lights got their start in hip-hop and were majorly influenced by it. Today, on the other hand, many would mistakenly classify Pretty Lights as “EDM” or “Electronic Dance Music.” That term, however, is a farce and considered a mockery by many producers who recognize that most music produced in the last few decades has at least some electronic element at play. “I always looked at them as hip-hop beats on steroids though,” says former label mate Gramatik. “They are still raw, sample-based beats, but with evolved arrangements, and wrapped in a fine layer of live instrumentation.” [C-Ville Weekly] While Smith and Menert utilize advanced electronic production techniques in making TUYPT, they both still adamantly categorize their music as hip-hop in some form or another. Whether they’re sampling soul, folk, rock or country, the methods in which they produce their final product is both electronic and hip-hop. “[Hip hop] is a genre but its not defined by a genre because you can use any other genre and incorporate it and all of a sudden you have something new,” says Menert [My Story: Michal Menert]. Smith added to this idea stating, “The beauty of hip-hop to me is that anything can be manipulated and massaged and collaged together to make fresh hip hop production.” [Darden] Smith, also, is known for his outlandish descriptions of his music and the genre it lives in. Hearing him describe Pretty Lights’ music is nearly as entertaining as the music itself. He has hailed his sound in countless ways: “I call my music electro hip-hop soul...It's hip-hop, it's always been hip-hop, but it's evolved...I try to keep that soul in my music…and then I try to infuse the cutting edge futuristic elements of production into that style” [Rosenberg] In another interview Smith suggests, “You can call it a hundred different things...I'm really just trying to make an original sound...Trying to fuse an organic sound with a futuristic electronic sound.” [Rodriguez] But perhaps the fan favorite is his description from a 2013 interview at Bonnaroo where he called his music “that old school, new school, analog electronic, futuristic vintage freshness, keeping it classy, fucking hiphop, dubstep, soul, disco shiiiit.” [Cambio] Bearing this in mind, one can begin to understand the eclectic genre-bending journey that is TUYPT and begin to appreciate how samples from 70’s funk to 60’s gospel can work together in a musical survey that surpasses time.
“But at the end of the day its not how you made it...Its about the music.”
- Derek Vincent Smith [Cambio]
When you look at the cover of TUYPT, it can be hard to recognize what you’re looking at initially. The album’s front cover looks like a broken collage of indistinguishable decay and dilapidation with tones of grey and washed out green and red. Upon closer inspection, you come to realize the gridded layout of the cover features several pictures of run down scenery – rusty machinery, broken glass, broken instruments and more – that looks almost like a photography series from Chernobyl. The two distinct fonts seem disjointed yet they work on what is clearly a disjointed art cover. Knowing the contents of the album and the production styles of Smith and Menert, allows us to draw comparison between the foreshadowing collage of old indistinguishable photos and the music collaged from old samples, manipulated to seem relatively unrecognizable. Smith tells that the photos are from a trip through Europe that he and Menert took during the making of the album; that trip is also vital to the narrative of the album. “It's real subtle...but all the tracks on my first record have to do with traveling by trains,” explains Smith. When looking at the track listing, the 15 tracks tell a loose story about the duo’s travels by train. It is important to note that I will regard the album as 16 tracks from here on out, however, to account for the secret track at the end of the album that comes after 60 seconds of silence following “Try To Remember”.
Taking Up Your Precious Time Track List |
Short Line |
Until Tomorrow |
Wrong Platform |
Finally Moving |
Stay |
Summer’s Thirst |
An Empty Station |
Switch Up |
Waiting For Her |
Samso |
Down The Line |
Happiness (Troubled Faces) |
Almost Familiar |
The Last Passenger |
Try To Remember |
There I Am |
Beginning on the Short Line, the adventure ensues. The album takes us across several examples of train references (Wrong Platform, An Empty Station, Down the Line, etc.) and allusions to relative movement (Finally Moving, Stay, etc). The track titles and contents also help depict moments in time, such as Waiting For Her, Almost Familiar and Happiness (Troubled Faces), but perhaps the greatest treat that can be appreciated from this narrative is the aforementioned secret track. After all the traveling across musical boundaries and vivid soundscapes, the patient listener is rewarded at the end with the conclusive track “There I Am” and the final sample whispering out, “I appreciate your time thank you very much.” Some of the greatest concept albums of all time feature loose narrative such as that of TUYPT, for example Pink Floyd’s 1982 release of The Wall and David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars released a decade before. Because Pretty Lights’ music features few lyrics, the narrative can seem far subtler, but can be that much more rewarding to the listener who manages to make the connection to Smith’s and Menert’s real life travels.
Thematically, the album offers a rollercoaster of styles and emotional moments. About half of the album is downtempo, being under 100 bpm, in a traditional “90’s boom-bap” hip-hop style, while the other eight songs range from 100-153bpm, granting some more unique stylistic rhythms. The downtempo selections can often be very cinematic due to the light and precise drum work and beautifully leading melodies and sound design. Aiding the hip-hop style is the fact that the whole album is written in 4/4, unless you note the accents of songs that feature unique signatures like 9/8 and even 17/8. The next notable detail of the album holistically is the pattern of key signatures. When listening through TUYPT, you get a sense of somber intimacy. Few of the tracks can be described as lighthearted and in my opinion, they warrant the descriptions serious and purposeful, at times, and even deep and dark. The reason behind this is obvious when you notice that 13 of the 16 tracks are written in minor keys.
Short Line | 135 bpm | Am |
Until Tomorrow | 153 bpm | Fm |
Wrong Platform | 110 bpm | Dm |
Finally Moving | 100 bpm | C#m |
Stay | 116 bpm | A |
Summer’s Thirst | 95 bpm | D#m |
An Empty Station | 152 bpm | Am |
Switch Up | 95 bpm | Bm |
Waiting For Her | 79 bpm | Dm |
Samso | 98 bpm | A#m |
Down The Line | 98 bpm | F#m |
Happiness (Troubled Faces) | 93 bpm | A#/Bb |
Almost Familiar | 96 bpm | Cm |
The Last Passenger | 110 bpm | B |
Try To Remember | 109 bpm | Gm |
There I Am | 88 bpm | Dm |
When we look at the fact that the majority of the album is in a minor key, we can see countless implications. First of which is the fact that utilizing minor keys make the music stand out significantly from most other music. The majority of popular music is written in major keys, the reasons being very simple. For starters, you must consider that in the United States the most commonly used instruments for song writing are the piano and the guitar. On piano, most musicians more commonly prefer to use the white keys (unless of course you are Stevie Wonder), whereas on guitar more musicians prefer certain chords to others. The easiest key to play on piano is C major, but that can be more difficult on guitar. On the other hand, guitar is most convenient in E major, but that is not the case on piano. However, G major has proven to be the most common key across modern music because it is convenient for both [Buskirk]. In the case of Pretty Lights, the key signatures chosen were more commonly influenced by the samples chosen and the fact that both Smith and Menert are able to play several instruments beyond the guitar and piano. “I’m no virtuoso, but I can play about a dozen instruments,” says Smith [Darden]. This is obvious in the fact that Pretty Lights utilizes some of the most uncommon key signatures in all of music, opting for the unique signatures of the rare and unusual samples they employ.
Also of note is the fact that three of the songs are in the key of D minor, what was once believed to be the saddest of all keys. Cellist Mstislav Rostopovich cherished it for its “sorrow and intensity” and even a “tragic feeling” [Neely] while Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart once wrote in his Ideas Toward An Aesthetic of Music that D minor evoked “feeling's of anxiety from all the soul's deepest distress from being lost in daydreaming despair, of blackest melancholy, of the soul's gloomiest condition. Every fear, every hesitation of the shuddering heart breathes from the shocking [D minor]*. If ghosts could speak they would no doubt speak in this key.” [Schubart] It is no surprise that this key is relatively uncommon throughout music in general, comprising only 2.6% of the music on Spotify, and it is no less shocking that minor keys are far less prevalent across hip-hop. The most common keys for hip-hop are Db (C#), D, C, and G [Ning].
Pretty Lights defiantly strays from these trends with their music selections on TUYPT. Perhaps this is due to the fact that many of their samples were from unique and suspenseful pieces. It is more common in EDM than in any other genre to utilize minor keys because of the potentially repetitive nature of certain bars that must maintain suspense and listener interest [Ning]. Certainly, by creating a sound the listener is unfamiliar with, Pretty Lights is able to draw the careful listener in deeper.
Yet another monumental detail, to the sui generis soundscapes of the album comes down to the tuning of A. It is a topic of debate in certain circle whether or not the accepted standard tuning of A to 440Hz should actually be tuned to 432Hz. Reasons include reference to the electromagnetic phenomenon of the Schuman Resonance, which suggests lightning resonates in the atmosphere with a strong fundamental at 8Hz and the fact that A = 432Hz, which is a multiple of 8Hz, is more harmonious with sacred geometric relationships. Of course, pitch is relative and therefore relationships of A = 432Hz are fuzzy at best [Neely]. However, the benefits of utilizing the lower frequency can result in a warmer more emotional sounding piece at times due to something called the Levitin Effect which suggests that humans are able to recall notes in the proper key without any musical training and suggests that a variation from what we seem to feel is the normal frequency may yield “new and exciting results” to the listener [Frieler]. This is undoubtedly the case with Pretty Lights, whose members have both adamantly spoken about their affinity to mathematical relationships and sacred geometry, and whose members tune A down from 440Hz on nearly every piece in TUYPT. Yet another drastic break from the norm yields an unusual listening experience with pieces warranting a warmer experience even in both minor and major keys.
All of these examples of veering off from modern trends explain why the album has been regarded as such a groundbreaking journey though classic and modern sound. The cinematic tones of the album are so rewarding to the careful listener, from the subtleties to the penetrating focal points. One can’t help but close their eyes and visualize the colorful masterpieces that every second creates. I cannot stress enough that this is an album that, in order to appreciate fully, you have to pay the utmost attention.
And now, I will continue in analyzing the album’s flow from track to track, citing specific excerpts. I have not included the audio samples to save space when sharing the file, but because all of Pretty Lights’ music is available for free, I highly recommend downloading the album so you may experience for yourself. I will consider the entire album chronologically.
“Anyone can rock a party...but it takes a lot more to rock my imagination”
- Michal Menert [Cubbage]
Taking Up Your Precious Time commences with its opening track “Short Line”. Short Line begins with the same opening chord as the sample it uses, The Moments’ “What’s Your Name,” except it repeats over a pounding bass drum for the first 4 bars before sliding into the same opening melody as the sample [WhoSampled]. It’s obvious that Pretty Lights did meticulous remastering of the sample as it comes in far richer and more harmoniously, but very little warping is evident as the tempo remains the same at 135 bpm and the key is unchanged in A minor. In this sample, the starting notes are drastically different than the rest of the song; the regal introduction meshes right into a smooth soul song. Smith has spoken on how utilizing such a small piece of a track has been his choice on much of his work, “This is a good example of how the intro is so fresh…And the track is good but it totally switches the feel when you get into the track. And its like that intro, that short little piece…I just feel like it needs to…it deserves to live again and for longer.” [What’s In My Bag] You realize the diversion from the original sample when the intro melody and drums fade out into nothing but echoes and light feedback – so stark a change that it almost seems as though the track is starting anew. The soft, echoing feedback begins at 25 seconds, as a gentle harmony creeps in just before a bright, rich lead synth rings out at the 43-second mark. 4 bars later, a sudden clamoring of static, vinyl scratching and effects suddenly break the dreamy pace like a whirring of machinery starting up to initiate the beat, a 4/4 rhythm with simple kicks, punchy snares and 16th high hats that accentuate the uplifting pace. As the beat comes in we see a repetitive manipulation of the sample, chopped up and rearranged, set against a subtle sub bass synth and synth accent notes. But the driving movement of the piece clearly comes from the sample paired with the fast paced high hats. No doubt this section of the piece comes across as upbeat and happy, yet the rich strings of the sample and minor key give it a regal and cinematic feel that veers it away from being too lighthearted. The pairing of synth accents and the strings with their new remastering, all under a subtle reverb reminiscent of a large concert hall makes the segment sound like a full string section is performing a very symphonic piece. After 8 bars of the new break, either Smith or Menert show off their adept scratching of vinyl giving a kinetic analog sensation, just before the bright harmonic synth melody is brought back in, pairing the sample with original instrumentation. At 2:24 there is an excellent break in the rhythm featuring static and vinyl sound to create a building suspense that breaks down into a lighter rhythm with powerful scratching, a more faded sample and new kinetic instrumentation details that whiz past your ear almost too subtle to catch. Perhaps my favorite element of this particular album is the depth of layering present in sections like this where Pretty Lights has so many subtle sounds that are each so unique to the point that suddenly you feel each note flitting across your brain. In listening to this album over 50 times, there are still subtle production elements that I find new to this day. It is miraculous how such subtleties in the sound design can work so well and come across, as I said, so kinetically. In this section for example there are manipulated percussion elements like open high hats that barely skim into existence like scraping of a tin can, and arppegiated synths so soft they’re almost an illusion. Together, however, they work tremendously well to immerse you in a world that can only be found here.
Our next step along this journey is the song “Until Tomorrow”. Perhaps one of the dreamiest tracks on the album, Until Tomorrow features three identified samples that you might never think to put together, partly because they’re all in different keys. The song manages to use Monty Norman’s 1962 rendition of the “007 Bond Theme” in G major, McCoy Tyner’s 1967 song “Search For Peace” in C major and Roy Ayers “Holiday” which was unreleased until 2005. “Holiday” makes up the majority of the new Pretty Lights track; it remains in the same key but is warped to double-time its original 76 bpm [WhoSampled]. Staying in F minor, the song plays out in a key that Marc-Antoine Charpentier described as “obscure and plaintive” in his 1682 thesis Regles de Composition, a statement that I wholeheartedly agree with in this case [Music & Audio Envato Tuts]. Until Tomorrow is memorable for its repetitive piano riff from “Holiday” that seems to twinkle throughout the piece and the longing, distorted hums and moans of McCoy Tynes that float over the piece breaking in a vocal gently wailing out “Tomorrow”. Again in this track we hear countless kinetic sounds that can only be made from analog manipulation of vinyl and other instruments, which give the entire piece this rich, full depth of sound that you could almost paint. The somber tones of the entire song ring out with complete vigor through the deep and carefully selected vocal and the eerie piano.
“Wrong Platform” is next up – one of the 3 songs written in D minor and the longest track on the album. The primary sample that comprises the major movements in the song is one that has yet to be identified, however, interestingly enough the song sample a few of the vocals from Usher’s “Yeah” featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris [WhoSampled]. Though the song is written in D minor, it hardly warrants the “serious and pious” feelings the key often invokes [Music & Audio Envato Tuts]. Rather, the track utilizes a joyous string sample and a fast-moving funky worm synth, as well as a tempo of 110, which is right in the “sweet spot” for uptempo hip-hop [Ning]. The effect of these elements is actually a rather beautiful minor keyed head-nod/dance track. The song is also the longest on the album because it features several repeated sequences characteristic of many longer EDM tracks of similar tempos. The makeup of most of the song is the repeated string sample, the funky synth that almost seems to talk at times, and a hip-hop beat with a heavy bass kick, repeating snare shuffles on flawlessly executed delays, frequent tom breakdowns and a series of high hats that switch up mid-song to give a hefty shift in motion. Perhaps the highlight of the track, and the fan favorite, however, comes in the last 30 seconds when the beat gets bumped up and the hip-hop vocal samples are brought in, in a classic display of turntable skill. The only vocals of the track say, “I taught myself keep keepin’…pocket full of dreams…dreams of life and death…gimme the rhythm and imma spit the truth.” These vocals are brought in on vinyl and manipulated in a style most similar to archetypal 90’s hip-hop, breaking in and out through scratching and rearrangement. This section of the song offers an incredibly unique shift to the pace of the track and brings about a sense of raw emotion. This small section has been such a fan favorite, that in July of 2017 Derek Vincent Smith released his own remix that builds off that short section into a full track that is more of a crowd pleaser with heavy 808 drums and a bass line that reverberates through your spine. As a whole, this song offers a range of emotions, rhythms and production techniques that result in a delightful multi-genre trip.
The next track on the album, “Finally Moving”, has been Pretty Light’s biggest hit, perhaps because of the feel good nature of the track and the fact that it utilizes one of the clearest vocal samples on the album as a memorable chorus. The track helped Pretty Lights gain commercial success a few years after the duo split, being featured in a Buick ad and receiving a great deal of radio play on stations with a variety of genres. The song has also been sampled without any credit to Pretty Lights on even more commercially successful tracks. Avicii’s “Levels” which charted at number 1 on the Billboard US Dance Club Chart has been certified 5x Platinum and Flo Rida’s “Good Feeling” which peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 has reached 6x Platinum. Both songs claim to use the same samples as Pretty Lights – Sonny Stitt’s “Private Number” from 1969 and Etta James’ “Something’s Got A Hold On Me” from 1962 – but a trained ear can clearly tell that the mastering featured in both Flo Rida and Avicii’s tracks are a version that did not exist before Pretty Lights released Finally Moving. This calls into question a matter of ethics, because, after all, Smith and Menert do not own the original samples and have developed their style off of sampling artists just the same. However, the difference in licensing; Pretty Lights was unable to sell the album for licensing issues, but Flo Rida and Avicii made massive amounts of money off of the creative property that Pretty Lights created. Of course, Smith has spoken about it, suggesting there is nothing he can do, but in this context we can clearly see how important Pretty Light’s influence has been, even in the mainstream pop media. Some of the other identified samples utilized in Finally Moving are “Change The Beat (Female Version)” by Beside and “Playaz Club” by Rappin’ 4 Tay, which features a very similar beat and utilizes the same Sonny Stitt sample. Pretty Lights rendition begins much the same as Playaz Club with additional frequency modulations until the scratched sample of Etta James breaks in calling out “I get a good feeling, yeah”. These words are the focal point of the entire song presenting this warm, inviting emotion. A simple 4/4 beat gives a traditional head-nod hip-hop tempo at 100 bpm. A tender, longing string sample creeps across the guitar driven melody. At about the 1-minute mark, they show off their turntable scratching skills, sounding traditionally hip-hop, yet innovatively skillful. The kinetic scratching draws the listener in to the polyrhythmic pandemonium beyond the beat. At 1:37 the vocal sample has its first opportunity to fully shine as the beat drops out and Etta James’ remastered voice calls out, “O-o-oh sometimes…I get a good feeling yeah…I get a feeling that I never never never never had before, no, no, I get a good feeling yeah.” Just then those kinetic sounds of scratching, static and analog mechanical experimentation build suspense for the beat to drop into a climatic movement of the samples all pairing together between the powerful analog snares of the beat. As the song progresses, the main samples are looped for the most part, while the scratching display expands into numerous variations of rhythm and pitch modulation causing the looped break to feel free of any repetition. At about the 3-minute mark Smith and Menert employ a brassy synth that matches the early horn sample perfectly and a simple repetitive wurly riff to add their own unique instrumentation atop the samples and scratching. The song eventually fades out of the exciting bedlam to close out with a softer beat under the sample and an echoed fade to silence.
Now we’ve finished the first quarter of the album and at this point we encounter “Stay”. Stay is one of the only 3 tracks written in a major key, A major, which has been described as “joyful and pastoral”, two descriptors that are accurately characteristic of the track [Music & Audio Envato Tuts]. As well as joyful, I would consider the melody to come across as deep and thoughtful, almost dreamlike. No sample has been identified for Stay, demonstrating its originality and use of unique sampling. One key point of the track is the masterful use of static and white noise to generate full, rich sounding sections with simple instrumentation over the top. This static is evident as soon as the track begins, while a twinkling wind chime is warped and repeated throughout. This twinkling and jingling effect is yet another example of the kinetic ambience of the album that you can visualize when you close your eyes. Aside from these aural elements the main component of the song is a lush jazzy horn sample paired with Smith on the bass guitar and very minimal synth work reminiscent of a distorted music box, which Smith has been known to use. Strong synthetic electrical noise and trashed delays on certain drums build suspense during breakdowns and the only vocal, a chorus chanting “staaayy”, aid the dreamlike statement of the piece. Because the vocal only appears twice and for a few seconds during the song, the instrumentation, eclectic drum work and groovy sample do the work in capturing the listener’s attention.
The next track is perhaps one of the most tender and emotional pieces. Written in D# minor, the most uncommon key on Spotify, “Summer’s Thirst” is an interpretive love song [Music & Audio Envato Tuts]. Summer’s Thirst features a sample that was no doubt discovered on the trip through Europe from Menert’s home country of Poland called “Powiedzmy To” by Breakout, which translates to “Say It” [WhoSampled]. The opening guitar chords of the sample are tuned down an octave to make up a bass sound for the piece, while an unidentified vocal sings “Your kiss…is a drink…when I am thirsty…and I am thirsty…with all my heart” toward the end of the song. Menert has spoken about the emotional connections he has tried to develop through his music and in particular with this love song he says, “Before I ever knew what love was...I knew what a love song felt like...and it made my heart feel heavy.” [Cubbage] The tender, emotional connection is evident in another dreamy, longing piece that features some of the best drum work on the album through masterfully delayed snare shuffles that make the rhythm feel deeply layered. In tracks like this, it is impossible to tell whether the drums were played on a kit or simply resampled and well executed in arrangement. This song features a rich polyphonic bass synth that peaks in and out from the melody giving it a more electronic feel at parts than some other tracks on the album. My only complaint about this track is that the movements feature very little progression and the middle third can feel a bit repetitive if you don’t enjoy getting into the groove. Of course, as is the case with all the album’s tracks, the subtle details are perhaps the most rewarding part of the song, with delays and feedback, and static and sound effects that resonate through the rich soundscape and fill the spectrum of sound thoroughly.
“An Empty Station” is not one of my favorites on the album, but it does feature its own unique qualities that make it a beautiful piece. It comes in at a similar tempo to Short Line, at 152 bpm, but the pace is one of the most unique on the album. The rhythm is in 4/4 but features a swing in the high hat accents that alternates from 7/8 to 9/8, giving an unusual emphasis that falls heavily on the snares and melodically interesting between them. The samples remain unidentified but a vocal sample chants a simple “oooh”, while Smith plays an enthralling upright bass and a xylophone makes up the melody. Electronic experimentation is as evident here as ever, with unique warping and mechanical noises offering that tangible feel. High-pass filters bring resonant waves across the middle section that offers a downtempo pattern to appreciate alongside the upbeat drums. A horn sample is sparingly placed as one of the most beautiful accents of the entire piece breaking in and out at the end of four bar loops. Static and vinyl sounds are of course placed throughout, once more, to give the rich spectrum of sound. The upright bass is perhaps the most enthralling part of the piece, physically vibrating your mind through each hypnotic note, and making a very plaintive yet transcendent aural soundscape.
At roughly the half way point of the album, comes “Switch Up”, a piece that Smith once said Menert had a major hand in producing and that he “didn’t like it at first” because he felt it was “too chaotic…and all over the place.” [Dicker] The song is probably one of the most experimental tracks, featuring heavy chopping, scratching and sample manipulation. The song sounds very much like it only could have possibly been made through live experimentation. The arrangement is starkly shifting and illogical, utilizing unidentified string, sitar, horn, and vocal samples thrown in and out so rapidly, that it is a wonder how they work so well together. Even the 95 bpm beat fails to remain steady, switching up rapidly as the sample manipulation goes wild. It’s obvious that this track was created using multiple MPC’s (devices to control samples and/or Midi clips) along with a vinyl sampler and an assortment of other experimental tech that accentuates what sets Pretty Lights apart from so many imitating artists. It is possibly the most unusual track on the album and most electronic due to a fattened and saturated bass synth that controls the movement of some of the more chaotic sections.
Starting at track 9 begins my favorite section of the album, beginning with “Waiting for Her”, a track that samples Sandy Denny’s “Crazy Man Michael”, which released in 1969 [WhoSampled]. The Pretty Lights song starts with the same chords as Crazy Man Michael being repeated twice as a muddled, crunched down Moog synth rises from a low cutoff and drums build in with suspenseful intention. Once the beat drops, the sample pans right and fades to the background almost to create a counterpoint as the synth and two different chopped up vocal (presumably from the same sample) comprise the melody and focal points beneath heavily reverberated and down-sampled brushed drums that invoke imagery of the pumping of a piston or other heavy machinery. Between the open hats and snares that hiss in and out, there is a movement that captivates your body, nodding your head and just nearly adjusting your heart rate to mimic the 79 bpm beat. The kicks are beautifully cinematic and make the rhythm march alongside the distorted vocal. This song features some of the most kinetic sounds on the entire album, warranting deep spatial imagination. Analog modular synth arpeggiation fill the soundscape with piercing electronic sound effects that indistinguishably blend in and out of the drum work and melody, which is played out on the muddled synth. The chopped vocal sample comes in and out repeatedly and simply sounds like a repetitive “ah-ah-ah”, making no lyrics distinguishable. Perhaps the lack of distinguishable lyrics, however, is a good thing because it allows an objective tone to be gleaned from the instrumentation, only being influenced by the tracks name. In this case, another song in D minor presents us with a dark and deep theme, while the name “Waiting For Her” invokes a longing, distant emotion, and even a false sense of empathy for the individual hoping to one day find true love. The dark nature and emotional implications of the song, paired with the most masterful and touching drum work make the song a passionately wistful listen.
The next track is perhaps my favorite on the entire album for a number of reasons. “Samso” is named for a small island in Denmark by the same name that Menert and Smith visited while traveling through Europe, and supposedly all of the mysterious samples featured were found in an old record store on the island [Zamudio]. Samso, in my opinion, is one the most cinematic and narrative pieces on TUYPT, with a tone that can feel tender and winding at times yet stern and deliberate at others. The harmony seems to drift overhead giving the whole piece a sense of passing time or space. I could see this piece as an excellent soundtrack for a montage of travelling by train, because when I close my eyes and can feel time passing by me with no focus but the powerful music. It is interesting that Samso is written in A#/Bb minor, which I find absolutely beautiful and moving, but Charpentier described the key in his treatise as “obscure and terrible” [Music & Audio Envato Tuts]. Perhaps it's the masterful arrangement, but I can’t imagine ever thinking a piece like this was anything close to obscure and terrible. The kicks and snares of the piece are very toned down, allowing the long billowing harmony notes to take hold of you. These lengthy aural high notes float over the amorphous synth melody that pans back and forth ever so slightly, until the feel of the song completely shifts into a worn out trumpet sample with nice reverb and echo notes. The fast paced horn sample that could maybe be in a 50’s jazz or swing song is utilized so differently here and the results are a remarkable progression between movements of piece. Countless subtle percussion elements, like accentuated static, nearly imperceptible shakes and snaps, and the usual indistinguishable analog machine noises fill the air of the piece. As a whole this track, to me, is one of the highlights of the entire album, because it does so much with so little and offers a delightful journey through sample usage and instrumentation.
Next up is “Down The Line”, probably the most emotional, empathetic piece on the album. It uses two identified samples as the primary components. One sample is form Lightnin’ Hopkins 1960 track called “Mama and Papa Hopkins” where the old blues singer pours out his heart about the his childhood and his parents. The other sample is sped up from 66 bpm to 98 bpm to make up the primary melody and is taken from jazz pianist Keith Jarrett’s 1975 release of “Prayer” [WhoSampled]. Though, the track is at 98 bpm, it seems even more downtempo due to the lingering piano melody notes. To me the most interesting aspect of this piece is the imagery it invokes. The deep soulful vocal is worn out and distorted down a half octave and moans out the chilling focal points of the piece, “Oooooooh yeah” and “There little thangs I’ve seen baby will you…please forgive me…that made me feel so good…right, don’tcha know,” while, the drums and sound effects paint a vivid landscape for the narrative to take place. The drums shuffle with a careful delay, as is common in Smith’s work, and in this case they sound like the behemoth motion of pistons and gears as a train chugs along a train track. There are also layers upon layers of sounds that evoke the imagery of a train yard: hissing white noise like the steam of the train engine, rhythmic dings like a rail-crossing sign, and assorted ambient noises that place the listener in a different time at an old train yard. The longing, sorrowful wails of the vocal feel like the words of an old railroad worker, and the entire piece has a breath of pain and deeply felt emotion, that a trained listener can’t help but empathize with. The higher intensity parts come in with the train sounding snares and draw you into the soft, tender middle third where the vocal entirely takes your attention, controlling your breath with suspense just before the melody and beat return. This is one of the most incredible pieces in my opinion because of the evocative emotion and imagery it provides. The track is a staple to the flow of the album, as the darkest and deepest track, just before what may be the happiest track on the album.
I say the “happiest” track on the album when speaking of “Happiness (Troubled Faces)” because of the implications that the name and major key signature suggest, but there is an aura of darkness even in this piece, hence the portion of the name in parentheses. The two samples in the song are rather obvious and feature very little distortion. In fact, both samples sound almost exactly the same the way they are used in Happiness. The two that are at the forefront of the song are “Tidal Wave” by Ronnie Laws released in 1975 and “Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe” by Ella Fitzgerald from 1961. Pretty Lights utilizes the opening 4 bars of Tidal Wave in a simple loop and lays vocals and piano from Ella Fitzgerald on top, tied together by a 4/4 beat of deep kicks, a repeating sub bass and gentle high pitched snares that seem to scratch across the tempo abruptly with almost no reverb. As the song progresses, Smith and Menert take the funky jazz horns of Tidal Wave and arrange them into a far more passive, tranquil accent to the beat. The lyrics that are featured do seem very happy and uplifting: “It seems like happiness everywhere” and “Skies ain’t gonna cloud no more…The crops ain’t gonna fail.” The lyrics offer a heartfelt hopefulness for the future making the track joyful change of pace from “Down The Line” just before it.
“Almost Familiar”, the next track in the order, has such a beautiful name. It can be so thought provoking and leading; in the narrative of the album, it suggest a new place with the beauty of something reminiscent of the past; in the musical context it relates to the principle of Pretty Lights’ music that makes something old seem new again and just barely familiar; and in the over all philosophical context it relates to a vague feeling of déjà vu or other inexplicable familiarity that many of us have experienced at one time or another. The wonderful name also happens to be for one of the most accessible songs on the album behind “Finally Moving”. At 96 bpm and in 4/4, the beat is an absolutely classic boom-bap hip-hop style beat that takes you right into the head-nod groove. The song also does not feature the stark movement shifts present in many songs on the album; it remains high energy throughout. Unfortunately no sample has been identified, but a bright, powerful string section and soulful trumpet sample make up the break with a deep, crunchy bass line to keep the intensity high. There is a ton of chopping and sample manipulation present to break up the pace and add accents to the beat. Of course, the usual mechanical noise, vinyl static and more sound effects keep the sound full, rich and flavorful.
The third to last track on the album is “The Last Passenger”. It is a track with no identified sample but its primary sample component is a deeply worn, cinematic horn sample from what sounds like a trombone, but the sample is so distorted it is hard to tell. At the halfway mark, another sampled section comes in with strings subtly tucked into the main melody. This song features some of the most original instrumentation with multiple synths laying the landscape, from a high piano sound to a funky high-resonance bass sound and many echoed sound effect synths to make the background full. Another highly kinetic track, there is a lot of unique percussion such as bells and distorted open hats which are played forward and in reverse to give strange warping effects. Static and reverb fill the track giving a rich spectrum of frequencies. It is unusual that this track is one of the three written a major key, in this case B major, because the track lacks the bright quality of most major pieces and rather opts for a fairly dark and plaintive sounding track due to the samples and the implied age. The samples sound as if they could come from the 1940s or earlier because of their remastering and distortion, giving an old worn feeling of wistful depth.
The last track that appears on TUYPT is “Try To Remember”, but as I mentioned, it is actually broken up into two tracks, one of which is a “secret track”. I feel it is so appropriate for Try To Remember to fall at the end of the album. It aids the narrative, suggesting that no matter where you go you should try to remember where you came from, but it is also one of the more beautiful tracks on the album. Dreamy and emotional in G minor, we look to Charpentier again for the descriptors of “serious and magnificent” [Music & Audio Envato Tuts]. Magnificent is a perfect word for the track as it reigns an air of confidence and achievement; it feels like a song of arrival and profound meaning. In the years since TUYPT’s release, Smith and Menert have both cherished the song as a symbol of their lasting friendship, playing it only together at special events that are extremely rare. The unidentified guitar sample cries out while Menert plays the high, dreamy melody on keys and a gritty, distorted bass grooves the track along. The song as a whole is very aural and flighty, featuring drums in less than half of it, favoring an intro to draw you in and the instrumentation reminiscent of a warm soundtrack. The electric sounds throughout the piece are some of the best and are achieved through analog experimentation to provide exciting filler: high pitched whines, static drum shuffles and fluttering percussion. The layering of sound effects is so great that in the years I have spent listening to this track, I honestly noticed something new during this exercise: a small phased out snapping sound with an echo that seems to click through the entire track like an unusual reverb. It is remarkable how the countless layers can work together so effectively, keeping in line with traditional melody and harmony but offering a depth of counterpoint and accentuation that takes countless listens to appreciate in its entirety. Try to Remember appears to be 9 minutes and 32 seconds, but actually ends at the 2:50 mark, only to be followed by a full 60 seconds of silence.
The absolute final piece of the album is the secret track that reveals itself to the patient listener, which until recently remained nameless. In 2016, at Euphoria Music Festival, Derek Vincent Smith revealed that the track had always been named “There I Am” – almost ten years after its initial release. This came as a shocking development to the Pretty Lights community because it seemed to cap off album’s narrative finally. “There I Am”… “I have arrived,” you might think. This ending to the TUYPT journey was supposedly the second track that Menert and Smith produced together for the Pretty Lights project, long before any other track on the album, which seems ironic for it to close the work [Zamudio]. Because it was one of the earliest tracks, some minor amateurishness could be argued about for the song, but it is undeniable that it presents one of the more experimental sounds on the album. It is honestly one of the most difficult to describe and analyze as well because its composition is so unusual. Most of the song is relatively tame but through the sixth minute the song appears chaotic and difficult to interpret, screeching out mechanical feedback and unusual frequencies. To anyone unfamiliar with electronic music or experimental hip-hop, the song can sound like a lot of nonsensical noise and even be seen as bad to the ears. However, in other sections, the piece presents a beautifully dark and mournful sounding D minor track that applies unprecedented experimentation with sound design and live instrumentation on multiple synths and the bass guitar. Also notable is the 4/4 beat that seems to switch into absolute irresolvable pandemonium, only to slide back to simple, tender regularity. It is honestly remarkable how such unusual sounds can somehow be paired together into a song that becomes more enjoyable the more you listen and learn to recognize the patterns. The chaos of the track and the fact that it seems impossible to distinguish sample from instrumentation make the song most irregular compared with the rest of the album. Obvious characteristics that do fit with the Pretty Lights sound are the kinetic drum work and sound effects, layered the point of creating a seamless series of chaotic sound. The grand finale of the entire album consists of static sounds that mimic the tuning of a radio until a very quiet sample of a woman with a southern accent says, “Well I appreciate your time…Thank you very much.” No doubt, this is the perfect close to an album that was not intended for commercial success. The nod seems genuinely grateful to the listener, which is a rewarding feeling.
“I want people to feel something emotionally, and I want to inspire people.” [Darden]
- Derek Vincent Smith
Though Smith and Menert have both had flourishing careers of their own, many will always regard Taking Up Your Precious Time as their best work. Maybe someday the two artists will work together again, but for now they will continue to put out their individual work. And we will be blessed with the music of their past that remains a masterwork of hip-hop production and sound design.
To wrap up this writing exercise I would like to conclude by grading TUYPT through a six-point rubric written by music critic Eric Prozwiak who defines an ideal album as “a genre-defying panoply of seminal excursions into sound.” [Prozwiak] Here is the six-point rubric:
Originality: Is it definitive, idiosyncratic or otherwise exceptionally memorable? Does it expand the aural template of its genre—or even transcend it entirely?
I have already discussed how Pretty Lights pioneered unique sampling technique and furthered the boundaries of electronic music and hip-hop alike. The album has had commercial success, imitation, and acceptance from multiple music communities. I think it is easy to say that it passes this criterion.
Dynamism: Does it demand your attention and engage your faculties as a listener? Syncopation, polyrhythm, melodic counterpoint, spirited improvisation and exotic time signatures abound here.
The frequent shifts in pace and movement certainly keep the listener engaged. Syncopation is what makes the beats captivating hip-hop with polyrhythm abound. The time signatures are all 4/4, but the accentuation, as I mentioned shifts frequently like in “An Empty Station” which alternates from 7/8 to 9/8. Spirited improvisation is the entire theme of tracks like “Switch Up” and “There I Am” that are memorable for their outlandish experimentation. The heavy layering of each track also fulfills melodic counterpoint and then some. This criterion is fulfilled.
Mood: Is it redolent of a time, place, idea or emotion? Does it elicit nostalgia, induce euphoria or evoke atmosphere?
Pretty Lights takes us through countless times and places on TUYPT, and the emotional range is everywhere. Tracks like “Down The Line” evoke the atmosphere of a train yard from the past, while “Summer’s Thirst” elicits feeling of longing and love. Other tracks cover a wide variety of emotions that can vary greatly from listener to listener. I would say this criterion is aced.
Progression: Does its structure reveal a coherent inner narrative, or otherwise allude to some overarching aesthetic and artistic purpose? Alternatively, do its rhythmic dimensions exhibit an expertly co-ordinated sense of pace and 'groove'?
As I described, the album loosely describes the narrative of Smith and Menert traveling through Europe by train, a subtle yet deliberate artistic purpose. Most songs on the album exhibit masterful progression, and changing of pace, giving us high intensity to tender captivation. We can check this criterion off.
Presentation: Is it poised, pristine, polished and professional? Have its composition, arrangement and production-values all been engineered to exemplary standards of fidelity and musical craftsmanship?
The mastering of the album allows everything to play clearly and professionally while the sound design is not only professional, but also cutting edge. The musical craftsmanship, from the sample manipulation to the synth mixing, is exemplary, no doubt. The artists achieve a particular sound of wear and tear that is impossible to distinguish new from old. This criterion is achieved.
Lyricism: Is it poignant, poetic, authentic and profound? Do its words resound with conviction, passion and fervour?
Because so few lyrics are featured in the album, the selections come across as especially poignant where they are present. The lyrical samples are authentic representations of emotional plains and the feelings of the both the original artists and Smith and Menert. Certainly the simplicity of certain lyrics in tracks like “Finally Moving”, “Summer’s Thirst”, “Down The Line” and more can be considered profound with elements of conviction and passion. This criterion is also achieved in the album.
So it would appear that Taking Up Your Precious Time achieves all six criteria for “a genre-defying panoply of seminal excursions into sound.” It is no surprise why this album has the acclaim that it does or why Pretty Lights as a solo act and Michal Menert have managed to gain so much success. Based on the analyses I have provided, it is easy to say that TUYPT is one of the most unique hip-hop albums of the early 2000’s because of its genre-defying experimentation, multifaceted employment of a range of samples, and for sound design and arrangement that has inspired many imitations. It is obvious for me to rank the album among my all time favorite albums, and I hope that this essay will provide others with the tools to further appreciate the details and the composition behind what will be remembered as a remarkably influential album for many years.
Works Cited
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* It is important to note that at the time of Schubart, A was frequently tuned to ~420Hz as opposed to the modern day ~440Hz. The featured quote was actually written about D# minor, though considering modern tuning, the A he was hearing is our Bb, and therefore he was actually describing D minor.
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