Pretty Lights Announces 45-Track Album ‘A Trip Thru Time Fantastic’ After 13-Year Hiatus

Electronic music producer Pretty Lights announced on July 1, the release of A Trip Thru Time Fantastic, his first studio album in 13 years. The 45-song project, structured into nine “constellations,” marks the artist’s fifth studio album and follows a hiatus from long-form releases since 2013’s A Color Map of the Sun.

The timing of this release creates a significant logistical surge for the electronic music touring circuit. For fans and event organizers, the sudden return of a high-draw act like Pretty Lights necessitates a rapid scale-up in venue security, specialized audio-visual rentals, and regional hospitality management. When legacy acts return after a decade of silence, the resulting ticket demand often strains local infrastructure, making it essential for promoters to engage vetted [Event Planning & Management Services] to avoid the bottlenecks seen at previous large-scale electronic gatherings.

How the 45-song project is structured

Derrick Vincent Smith, the producer known as Pretty Lights, has organized the massive collection into nine distinct sections he calls “constellations.” This structural choice reflects a shift from traditional album formats toward what Smith describes as “living creative systems.”

The distribution strategy is fragmented by design. The first three constellations, totaling 15 songs, are excluded from digital streaming platforms (DSPs). Instead, Smith is offering these tracks for free via streaming and download directly through the official Pretty Lights website.

“I said i didn’t want to focus on albums after ACMOTS over 10 years ago & shifted my energy towards living creative systems & conscious cohesion via the soundship space system and the swirlbridge,” Smith wrote on social media.

The remaining 30 songs will follow the initial release, culminating in a body of work completed before Smith’s 45th birthday.

Why the 13-year gap occurred

The void between 2013 and the announcement was not a period of inactivity, but a transition in how Smith approached composition and performance. According to his social media announcement, the intervening years were dedicated to experimenting with “expressive flow state transmissions” and developing the “soundship space system.”

Smith credited several personal and professional milestones for the delay and the eventual inspiration for A Trip Thru Time Fantastic. He cited the birth of his son, Ayahn, the establishment of a spiritual path, and a professional reunion with Michal Menert. These elements, combined with the formation of an AV ensemble designed as a “traveling laboratory,” provided the “musical swirl fodder” necessary for the new album.

This return to the studio coincides with a broader trend in the Billboard tracked electronic dance music (EDM) market, where legacy artists are increasingly pivoting away from the “single-drop” streaming model in favor of immersive, conceptual experiences.

Where will the tour take place?

The album release is paired with a seven-city tour spanning the summer and fall. The itinerary targets major festivals and curated events, placing a heavy economic emphasis on specific regional hubs.

• Ohio: The tour includes a performance at the Secret Dreams Music Festival.
• Colorado: The Yahn Dawn festival will return for its second iteration in Buena Vista this September.
• Florida: The tour concludes its primary run at Hulaween in October.

The Yahn Dawn festival in Buena Vista, Colorado, represents a localized economic driver for the Sawatch Range region. Large-scale gatherings in rural Colorado often require stringent adherence to land-use permits and environmental protections. Local municipalities frequently rely on [Environmental Consulting Firms] to ensure that the influx of thousands of attendees does not permanently damage the high-altitude ecosystem.

The impact on the ‘PLF’ community

Smith explicitly dedicated the project to the “cosmic caravan,” known as the PLF (Pretty Lights Family). The release of 45 songs serves as a massive data dump of a decade’s worth of experimentation, effectively bridging the gap between the 2013 era of A Color Map of the Sun and the current “soundship” era.

For the industry, this move tests the viability of “direct-to-fan” distribution over the hegemony of Spotify and Apple Music. By hosting the first 15 songs exclusively on his own site, Smith is reclaiming ownership of his listener data and bypassing the fractional royalties of DSPs.

As these tours move from the digital space into physical venues, the complexity of the “AV ensemble” mentioned by Smith suggests a high-overhead production. The technical requirements for such a “traveling laboratory” often exceed standard venue capabilities, forcing promoters to source specialized [Audio Visual Technical Contractors] to handle the bespoke wiring and projection mapping required for the show.

The return of Pretty Lights is more than a discography update; it is a logistical stress test for the festivals hosting him. From the mountain towns of Colorado to the forests of Florida, the success of this “trip thru time” depends as much on the backend infrastructure as it does on the music. For those managing the fallout of such massive cultural events, finding verified professionals through the World Today News Directory remains the most reliable way to ensure a seamless production.