Almost Familiar – Details, episodes & analysis

Way up high in Sierra Nevada, Pretty Lights channeled the unique flavor of California Soul and expressed the spectrum of the human experience over two mystifying nights of music near the shores of South Lake Tahoe.  The project has exceeded its potential-with an onslaught of deep cuts that hadn’t seen the light of day in 10+ years, nostalgic covers tastefully swirled with modern electronica, and a touching tribute to Mac Miller and CharlestheFirst on the anniversary of Mac's passing in the place that inspired Charles' signature/timeless sound. 

As the band heads into another sure-to-be-iconic weekend full of surprises in Las Vegas, we revisit what it was about Tahoe that has us utterly transfixed six weeks later.

Get familiar with the 5am Trio, composed of Sam Andrus (5am), Aaron Harel (ZONE DRUMS) & Keith W (½ of Wax Future). They are incredibly talented musicians on their own, but together form a group that have occupied a distinct place within the scene, bridging the gap between high fidelity sound design and live instrumentation/improvisation. 

We caught up with them ahead of their second 5amily and Friends event in Denver back in the Summer from within the Meow Wolf Green Room. Since then, they’ve had festival appearances, a recently-announced single, “Technology”, and announced their third 5amily and Friends event in NYC along with a debut performance at Red Rocks alongside Boogie T on March 29th, 2025!

Even the sky is not the limit for the Soundship Spacesystem crew. Using it as their palette, the crew engaged Sky Lites to coordinate a light show with 75 drones, on top of having special guests in the VJ booth. This was just one of many unique elements that passengers on the Soundship Spacesystem were treated to during the crew’s mission at The Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee. 

The Caverns felt reminiscent of episodic festival runs at Telluride and The Gorge between its remote location, a secret set, and special guests both on stage (Adam Deitch) and in the VJ booth (Glass Crane, Psybernautics) creating a truly unique live music experience with a country flair that stands entirely apart from any other stops on tour that left us all saying, “Let's go back to Tennessee”

**All music from this episode along with the rest of the Spaceship Soundsystem tour dates are available for listening at prettylightslive.com 

Photos provided by Raymond Angelo

Famous San Francisco promoter Bill Graham’s marquee on The Warfield theater for The Grateful Dead’s concert on September 25, 1980 said it all: "THEY'RE NOT THE BEST AT WHAT THEY DO, THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES THAT DO WHAT THEY DO"

Almost Familiar invites prolific live music journalist, Upful Life Podcast host, and friend, B.Getz, to return to the show to muse on whether the same can be said of this iteration of Pretty Lights. We reflect specifically on Derek & Company’s three-night run at The House that Garcia built in San Francisco. We can think of no better guest to help us draw parallels between the Grateful Dead’s legacy, playing, culture and experience, to what is currently happening with Pretty Lights as we continue to explore our podcast’s foundational hypothesis: Is Pretty Lights “almost familiar” to The Grateful Dead?  

**All music from this episode along with the rest of the Spaceship Soundsystem tour dates are available for listening at prettylightslive.com 

The best Pretty Lights show of all time? The echo chamber was swirling in the aftermath of the Soundship Spacesystem’s leveling of one of its most-visited destinations, Chicago.

Almost Familiar welcomes PLF Chicago representatives, Charlie Charles Char and Kris Wilhelmsen to reflect on the three-night tear, celebrating the influential legacies of House music and Pretty Lights’ inaugural album.

In addition to the band constantly outdoing themselves, the visual production took immeasurable strides forward as the lazershark tested the waters with brand new lasers, feasting on all those in their wake. 

**All music from this episode along with the rest of the Spaceship Soudnsystem tour dates are available for listening at prettylightslive.com 

Not even biblical flooding could stop the Soundship Spacesystem tour from docking for an iconic three-day run at the infamous Brooklyn Mirage, whose larger than life production showcased the tantalizing abilities of the entire Pretty Lights team as both band and crew continue to fire on all cylinders: delivering new bust outs, continuously reinterpreting fan-favorites, and inspiring the masses in the city that never sleeps. While the Pretty Lights renaissance tour has been solid all the way through, it can be argued that nothing’s equivalent, to the New York state of mind.

**All music from this episode along with the rest of the Mission, Dillon and Atlanta shows is available for listening at prettylightslive.com

The Soundship Spacesystem touched down in Philadelphia for three nights of swirling samples from different eras and tasteful tributes to the city of brotherly love. With the successful execution of the band’s first “set sandwich,” the menu is full of limitless potential with a secret sauce that continues to be refined for a one-of-a-kind sensory experience.

**All music from this episode along with the rest of the Philadelphia shows are available for listening at prettylightslive.com. 

The Swirl Bridge made its way down to the South East as Pretty Lights and the Soundship Spacesystem tour touched down for three awe-inspiring nights in Atlanta’s The Eastern as the band picked up right where they left off in Colorado. 

While Atlanta experienced bust-outs, re-imaginations of repeated songs, several new songs that were debuted, the same unmistakable swagger and unstoppable tenacity were fully present as members of the band on stage and production crew off-stage continue to impress after nine remarkable shows. 

**All music from this episode along with the rest of the Atlanta shows are available for listening at prettylightslive.com

The electronic music scene has been in a constant state of reflection and reinvention since its inception, yet one of its most influential pioneers of the new millenia has been dormant over the last five years. Earlier this month, balance was restored as Pretty Lights made a triumphant return across six unforgettable shows as the Soundship Spacesystem tour took flight in Colorado. Elizabeth and Wesley recall several standout moments from the Mission Ballroom and Dillon Amphitheater runs, which included the debut of new music, spell-binding reinterpretations of fan favorites and first looks of the newly-imagined and highly-immersive Swirl Bridge. 

**All music from this episode along with the rest of the Mission and Dillon shows is available for listening at prettylightslive.com

Get familiar with Borahm Lee, a pianist and key member of Denver’s music community, known mostly as a member of the formerly Brooklyn-based duo, Break Science and multiple live iterations of the Pretty Lights project. He could have been a doctor or a lawyer, but his love for the piano and jazz derailed those plans at an early age and sent him on the course of becoming a masterful musician who has since performed with the likes of Kanye West, The Fugees, reggae/dub pioneer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, members of Lettuce, The Disco Biscuits, Big Gigantic, Manic Focus, and many more. 

We chat with Borahm about his life long love affair with music and how it has evolved throughout his career including the recent release of his first solo studio album, Echoic Memory.  We reflect on the last decade of electronic music and how some of his collaborative projects have pushed the genre beyond the limitations of one-dimensional performances and where it can be experienced.

We also look towards the future in a mutual excitement with the upcoming Soundship Space System Tour where Borahm will take his rightful place in the Swirl Bridge alongside longtime friend and collaborator, Derek Vincent Smith and his band of vibrational architects, including the return of the Pretty Lights project’s original collaborator, Michal Menert. 

Follow Almost Familiar on Social Media: 

Instagram: @almostfamiliarpod

Facebook: Almost Familiar

Email us: almostfamiliarpodcast@gmail.com

Follow Borahm Lee & his associated projects on Social Media: 

Instagram: @borahmkeys

@breakscience

@prettylights

@bttrflyquintet

Music Featured in this Episode: 

Almost Familiar - Pretty Lights

Loopa - Borahm Lee 

starship ANNOUNCE - Pretty Lights