Michal Menert

     The last week of November, I went to two Michal Menert shows, camera in hand. The first show was at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver. 

     Michal Menert has easily become one of my favorite musicians. He was born in Poland but began his music career in Fort Collins, CO. He worked side-by-side with Derek Vincent Smith in the production of the debut Pretty Lights album, "Taking Up Your Precious Time", which has been very well received by fans and critics. Menert has since moved on to release a solo album titled "Dreaming of a Bigger Life", which can be downloaded for free. Because of Menert's upbringing and years of experimentation with music, he has a particularly unique sound. It would be a mistake to label Menert as dubstep based solely on his incorporation of low-end sounds. As a genre, dubstep has largely moved to an unemotional clamor of deep bass and teenagers on drugs. Menert successfully rises above the overindulgent genre, by weaving together obscure samples of various music styles from all over the world, giving his sound a more layered and emotive quality. Overall, Menert's original sound sets him apart, and has enabled him to rise quickly in the electronic music ranks.