Primal Sound first appeared last year, exploding onto the scene just in time for the end of term. Their Primal Jungle was set in one of the coolest and most unique venues in Leeds, The Musiquarium.
International DJ The Reflex headlined their first event, giving us a taste of what was to come, bringing a wave of disco remixes with soul and pop. Their success here led them to be a part of Fools Paradise Festival at the beginning of this year, where their love for the disco underworld enhanced the atmosphere of the wilderness forest party. Since then they have hosted two sold out events at Freedom Mills and Church, most recently booking no less than The Shapeshifters for their Forgotten Church event.
We spoke to the guys about their journey up to now.
You say you want to ‘create a disco underworld like no other’, can you tell us a bit more about Primal Sound’s ethos?
We wanted to create a disco underworld that not only showcased the very best disco music, but had more to it in terms of overall production. We want our nights to be entertaining in more ways than one and different to any other night out there at the moment. By combining some of the best DJs from across the globe with this immersive experience, we think we have created a disco underworld like no other. The night is all about having fun, we love throwing these parties and hope that the amount of fun we have creating them is reflected in the parties.
What was your inspiration for creating a dominantly disco scene?
It all stemmed from our love of disco bangers. We felt that the disco scene was underrepresented here in Leeds, and across the country for that matter, and wanted to showcase the talent that is on offer, be it local talent or international artists. People often think of disco as being 80s only, but there are frequently new disco releases and to be able to represent and showcase both old and new was something we felt was important.
You don’t seem to have a permanent home at the moment; do you see yourself having one in the future? Maybe Church after holding your last and your upcoming event there?
We’ve enjoyed exploring new and relatively unused venues in Leeds and have selected venues that fit both our budget and size. People seem to have enjoyed exploring these new venues with us too. We started at the relatively small Musiquarium, which provided a great starting block before moving onto Freedom Mills, a really cool arts space down in Kirkstall. We then moved to Church, which hosted our ‘Forgotten Church’ party and will host our upcoming ‘Discoasis’. We really like the space and the guys have worked really hard to create a world-class venue, with a sound-system fit for the very best. So who knows what the future may hold?
Your resident DJs seem to be a big part of Primal Sound’s appeal; what’s their story?
We feel our residents play a crucial role in our parties and help to represent our style & brand. We aim to support local talent and have given club debuts to many of our DJs. They all have the ability but often just needed an opportunity to showcase that, which we think we have helped them do! Zac Beevers (Kontra) has been with us from the start alongside Jed 104 – our parties wouldn’t have been the same without them. As we have grown we have expanded our residents roster to include Douglas, Starlight Steve and Croc Lyf. We also have a close working relationship with Reuben who has closed all of our parties so far – delivering a top set every time!
After an electric performance from the Shapeshifters at the last event, what can we expect from the 1st Birthday party coming up in April?
We’ve coined our 1st Birthday ‘The Discoasis’, which sees the Primal explorers arrive at a tropical oasis filled with the very best disco and house. We’re flying in one of our favourite DJ’s – Purple Disco Machine – from Berlin just for our birthday celebrations as well as bringing a Primal favourite, Moscrop, down from Newcastle to join our biggest line up yet! In terms of production, expect more animals & confetti than ever before! You won’t want to miss it…
Caris Dollard
https://soundcloud.com/zaccos/primal-sound-promo-mix