Almost Familiar

Get familiar with pheel., a Denver-based producer and co-founder of the increasingly popular All:Lo record label who specializes in all things low end. Known for his signature Morning Coffee series in collaboration with Parkbreezy, Phil shares how these mixes evolved from beats to drink coffee to as requested by The Black Box’s talent buyer to opening up for Tipper himself at the most recent Tippe...

Get familiar with Jack Hurley, better known as  Anti Alias, whose career as a multimedia designer has taken him from working a corporate job to collaborating with Tipper at his most recent return to Red Rocks in 2021. Jack talks about his experience collaborating with Datagram Visuals for the second night of the run, appropriately titled Bangers Night.   Jack reflects on how the emphasis on VJ cul...

Get familiar with Phyphyr, whose project is as much of a product of Nick’s experiences with the scene as our podcast. After being inspired by the hybrid electronic/instrumental acts he witnessed at Hulaween,  Nick began his journey in creating music which has transplanted him from North Carolina to Denver’s hub of creativity and collaboration. Nick shares how he drew inspiration from artists not o...

Welcome back to season two of Almost Familiar! Sharing space with harmony, rhythm and eternity, Wes and Elizabeth had the opportunity to record in-person for the first time after attending their first concert together since the last Pretty Lights performance at Red Rocks in 2018. Sound Tribe, San Francisco, and Sex & the City. Need we say more?  Heard in this episode:  This is Us, New Dawn, New Da...

Get familiar with The Rust Music, a collective that curates some of our favorite gatherings on the East Coast. From the events, to the artists they represent, to their blog, the crew at The Rust Music does everything with the intent of authenticity to push the boundaries of how we experience electronic music. We chatted with Talent Buyer/Manager/Event Curator Jezze Boya and Editor of The Rust publ...

Get familiar with Stacey Forrester’s Sanctuary Radio, a weekly podcast about safer nightlife with a focus on consent and harm reduction. Stacey runs the harm reduction program at British Columbia’s boutique Bass Coast festival, co-founded the Vancouver chapter of Good Night Out, and creates beautiful harm reduction graphics that you may recognize from G Jones and CharlesTheFirst events.  On this s...

Get familiar with DB Montana, who used social media to create a safe space for the victims and survivors of Bassnectar’s disturbing and pathological abuse to anonymously share their stories that shattered his public image built on meticulous manipulation. Montana tells this story from the beginning, taking us back to the controversial reputation he developed for his criticism of Bassnectar as an a...

Get Familiar with Father Figure , an East Coast-based producer and fellow Mudson Project survivor with whom we exchange horror stories from the trial-by-fire that was Camp Bisco. From a profound Amon Tobin ISAM set, to playing the renegade stage, Matt’s seasoned perspective allows him to reflect on why some of the staples of today’s scene such as the Philos crew and CloZee feel more intimate than...

Get Familiar with Midicinal (Scott Rhatigan), an Arizona-born producer currently residing in Denver whose music is imbued with themes of travel- pulling from his own experiences of moving frequently. As his name suggests, Scott fully understands music’s healing properties and shares his experiences of both performing and internalizing “midicinal” music. Scott shares the epic story behind his memor...

Get familiar with Jesska Cvijanovic whose pins, photography ( 214 ), and merch are foundational to the Pretty Lights Family that she helped create. Jesska shares how her photography passion changed her experience and perspective of shows, the history of the Illuminator and Vibe Adjuster programs, and the significance of some of the early Pretty Lights Family gatherings at festivals. She tells an u...

Get Familiar with 5AM, an innovative electronic music producer who is pushing the boundaries on what improvisation can look like in the abstract corner of electronica. 5AM went from asking “What’s a Tipper?” when first encountering his name on a festival lineup  to kicking off Uptempo night for his “Tippsgiving” event at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn, cementing himself as a staple in a scene whose...

Get familiar with Sam Ackels, whose first show was Pretty Lights’ last - the second night of Red Rocks 2018. Wes and Elizabeth learn that context was not required to experience the profundity of that singular show. Sam shares the moments that hooked him and how it influenced his journey and taste through electronic music. We discuss the slippery slope of the Pretty Lights merch game, Goose’s magne...

Get familiar with Shuj Roswell , a Denver born-and-bred producer who specializes in what he calls “Funktronadelic.”  Mark A. Cooley (Shuj Roswell) takes us on a journey of his distinct travels through sound and the paths of rhythm: from seeing Pretty Lights at Boulder’s Trilogy Wine Bar, to watching him outgrow Cervantes, to linking up with Michal Menert and Super Best Records, to collaborating wi...

Get Familiar with Vincent Antone, the man behind the “All the Pretty Lights” tribute that recently reverberated some much-needed positive vibes in the Pretty Lights Family. Vincent shares which Pretty Lights interviews he sampled in the tribute, his creative process on making music that Makes You Feel, and how a Pretty Lights performance video on YouTube inspired him to get on the waitlist for a m...

Get Familiar with the No Simple Road Podcast, one of the major inspirations for Almost Familiar that’s hosted by a Deadhead family of charismatic cosmic wanderers. Wes and Elizabeth share how they met, what it took to get the podcast off the ground, and how they got “turned on” to Pretty Lights - and it doesn’t take long for the No Simple Road family to understand that there’s something about our...

“Red Rocks ‘18, bitch!” We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves. Get familiar with Brett Shredmunds, an admin for the Pretty Lights Family group on Facebook, who was one of the group’s first 10 members and has named his fair share of songs. Brett takes us through listening to reggae as a fetus, learning about Utah’s rave scene in the ‘90’s, attending Emancipator’s first show in Portland, to...

Get familiar with Whit Hawkins, who has worn many hats behind the scenes for some of our culture’s most iconic artists, including Pretty Lights, Bassnectar, STS9, and Daily Bread. From sneaking out of his bedroom in his parents’ house to see STS9 perform in backyards in Atlanta to becoming their production manager, Whit experienced firsthand the cross pollination of the music, ideas, and fanbases...

Get familiar with Andrew Frost, the stage manager who pulled off the Pretty Lights surprise at ReVibe Wellness Festival in Myrtle Beach - the first COVID-compliant festival of its kind. Currently Sunsquabi’s tour manager, Andrew shares stories about how he cut his teeth in this trade - from volunteering at The Aggie Theater in Colorado, to chasing down the thief who stole a guitar from The Floozie...

Get familiar with Thought Process. This prolific producer specializes in what he has coined, (and we fully support) high fidelity sound design. This conversation took us through his journey loyal street teamer to promoter, to performer at Denver's iconic bass mecca, The Blackbox. We talk about his undertaking and inception the first annual Beat-Tober where he created a unique beat for every day in...

Get familiar with Kaptain, a producer currently based in Denver whose music pulls from electro-soul, electro hip hop, future funk, and glitch hop to create a sound that is as hybrid as the culture itself. Stephen shares his perspective on why the Denver scene is so magnetic and conspicuous compared to other places, and we use Lightning in a Bottle as a case study to explore what makes West Coast f...

Get Familiar with JD Vanderwiel, who has likely been the first person in and last person out at some of the shows and festivals you have attended within the electro soul scene. Such is the life of this tour manager/production manager/lighting designer extraordinaire. You have probably seen his stage designs or visuals if you’ve seen Ganja White Night, Adventure Club, Late Night Radio or Flamingosi...

Get familiar with Mr. Bill, a staple of the bass music scene and an Ableton wizard whose techno side project Electrocado was released on Deadmau5 label mau5trap. We talk to Bill about Australian wooks, why psytrance never took off in America, what makes a DJ set “live,” and the evolution of American bass music culture and what its legacy might be. Listen to The Mr. Bill Podcast Learn Ableton with...

Get familiar with one of the music scenes most active and knowledgeable journalists, our friend, B. Getz.  B. started working in the music industry dating back to the 90's. Throughout his career he has been to countless historic concerts/festivals, transcribing them in his incredibly captivating style of writing. Today he is still as active as ever as a journalist as well as the host for his own p...

Get familiar with how the Pretty Lights community was intentionally built from one of the guys who has been there from the beginning. Greg Ellis, known for making the lights pretty, has an approach to lighting that is almost as improvisational as the music it complements. As a huge Phish fan himself, Greg helps us draw parallels between the Phish and Pretty Lights communities. We discuss growing u...

Get familiar with why people move to Colorado and what makes them stay. Shelby shares her story about the impulsive decision that brought her to Colorado and the transformative experience that inspired her to stay. Thomas ( @saintsnacks ) shares stories about live painting and creating visuals for bands like Papadosio and Lettuce. From FARM Fest, to Rootwire, to Sonic Bloom, and even Burning Man,...