Derek Vincent Smith, the electro-soul pioneer best known as Pretty Lights, is back with a free download of his latest track, "Only Yesterday." Additionally, the Colorado-based producer has launched a new Spotify playlist series called "The Hot Sh*t," which features cuts from Bonobo, DJ Shadow, A$AP Rocky, Run The Jewels, Nina Simone, Atmosphere and Ryan Hemsworth among others.
"Only Yesterday" also features on the first edition of "The Hot Sh*t" playlist alongside a number of other Pretty Lights classics including "I Can See It In Your Face," "Something's Wrong," "Still Night," "A Million Tomorrows," "Let The World Hurry By" and "High School Art Class," as well as his remix of Daft Punk's "Solar Sailer." Smith also includes the ODESZA remix of A Color Map Of The Sun track "One Day They'll Know," and "Ethereal," his collaboration with Nosaj Thing and League of Legends.
According to a statement, the producer will update the playlist every week with tracks from a variety of artists he's been digging, including releases from the Pretty Lights Music imprint. Check out the producer's curated picks here.
"Only Yesterday" follows Smith's announcement to social media followers that he would be pursuing a new direction when releasing music, which, as Thump points out, led many to believe he was planning to step away from making music. Fortunately, the cryptic messages had nothing to do with a retirement but referred to releasing music outside the LP format.
The uplifting ambient track marks Smith's first original production in three years, and picks up right where 2013's A Color Map Of The Sun left off. His signature hip-hop groove is back, but the soulful track relies more on vocal samples than on electronic beats. Download the new track here, and stream it below.
"Only Yesterday" first appeared as the soundtrack to a Ryan Berena-directed recap video for last year's inaugural Pretty Lights camping festival alongside the announcement that Smith and his live band, Analog Future, would be returning to Telluride, Colorado, for round two this coming August. Check out that video below.
