Beat barrage

>> Vancouver’s Primes leave crumpled,
sweaty piles of human flesh in their wake

BLOOD AND SWEAT: Primes

by LORRAINE CARPENTER

“No Vancouver bands have any sperm left in their balls,” says Erik West of Primes. His statement could not be verified by presstime, but if virility is responsible for Primes’s barrage of throb and gristle, then it is indeed possible that they’re in a class of their own. Though Tanya Pea, one third of the band, may have a different opinion about the source of musical creativity.

In the ’90s, Pea was better known as IDM specialist DJ Isis, a staple at underground warehouse parties. She’s half of the Wax Museum, a graphic design/new media company she operates with Jack Duckworth, who’s also her partner in Primes.

Duckworth was a member of Radio Berlin and A Luna Red at the top of the decade, but turned his attention to Primes (then a duo with co-founder Michelle Synnot) in 2005. They released a self-titled album that loudly and messily forged a link between IDM and industrial, an electropunk Molotov cocktail.

“When the line-up switched to me and Tanya, the whole writing, production and stylistic process totally changed. We spent a lot more time working and a lot more blood and sweat went into this recording,” says Duckworth, referring to Facades and Pink Forms, recently released by Postfact Records. Though less overtly aggro than its predecessor, the album retains enough flammable force to melt your eardrums and singe your dancing shoes. Add West, formerly of techno acts Phaedra and Hemisphere, as well as visuals, and it’s a full-on assault from the stage.

“We like the idea of overloading the eyes and ears with graphics and pounding beats that just go on and on from the start to the end of the set so all that’s left are crumpled, sweaty piles of human flesh,” says Duckworth. “We still play right in front of our audience, rocking out like any other band does. However, it looks more like a conjoined group when the players are united in front of lights or a video screen.”

“We design images, sounds, environments,” adds Pea. “One idea spirals into the next. And we don’t stop.”

With Ghettonuns, Paul Keeleyand DJ Kozz at
Zoobizarre tonight, Thursday, Nov. 22, 9 p.m.