Derek Vincent Smith Born November 25 1983 Better Known As Pretty Lights Is An American Electronic Music Artist. Smith's Music Relies Heavily On Digital Sampling And Crosses Many Genres Forming A Combination Of "glitchy Hip-Hop Beats Buzzing Synth Lines And Vintage Funk And Soul Samples Sometimes Grime". Pretty Lights' Sound Is Generated By Synthesizing Samples And Organic Beats Using The Novation X-Station Monome And The Akai MPD32. Smith Uses These Digital Controllers To Program The Music Production Software Ableton Live 8. Due To The Sample-Based Nature Of His Music Smith Releases All His Music For Free With A Recommended Donation So As To Avoid Having To Clear Samples. When Performing Live Smith Uses Two Macbook Pros Running Ableton Live 8 And Two Akai MPD32s.