Primitive Technology
In short, Craig and Beau are two tall, lanky, visually-challenged guys in their mid-twenties. It’s been said that they look enough alike to be related, though they definitely aren’t (something they’re quite thankful for). Besides;any similiarity-induced illusions really start breaking down once you get them into the proper work environment.
Craig will almost immediately sit down at their studio computer, boot up Ableton Live, and start right in on a track. “I don’t necessarily write music so much as I formulate and sequence a groove that I’ve had in my head.” He starts by jotting down the MIDI data for the initial drum track (usually BD SN BD BD SN), punches out a bassline, and drops the “groove” in on top of things once he’s satisfied with the foundation. “It’s really all very clever,” he jokes, “and while it may sound different from anything else I’ve written, it’s still one of my grooves, which automatically finds a place for itself in the collected work and keeps the overall feel of PrimTech consistent.” When asked how he likes PrimTech’s material to sound, his answer is very simple: “Pulsing, hard, dirty, and original. Something you’d expect to hear played live by us, rather than spun by the average DJ.”
Beau’s work in the studio begins with an entirely different approach: he’ll take apart instrument cables to check for signs of wear-and-tear, he’ll dust things off, and finally, he’ll check their studio computer to make sure it’s performing optimally. “People always ask why we don’t use a laptop in our live setup, and the simple answer is that we don’t trust non-dedicated hardware. Having to deal with computers 24/7 (he works in IT) gave me a really skewed opinion in terms of how reliable one would be in a live setup. The cost of a laptop that I’d entirely trust not to crash on stage is equivalent to 3 Akai MPC units, which we already use in our live gig.”
The full-on advent of CD disc jockeying is what brought PrimTech full-circle, at least in terms of getting their music sequenced and polished to point they can be satisfied with.
Beau: “We loved mixing vinyl because it was unique, special, and (for me, at least) a very technically superior medium. It was a true standard of talent. But mixing discs, apart from being so much easier, proved to be the more available medium for our output”. Craig adds, “I’ve never met a DJ who wanted to get into mixing so that they could fulfill their secret desire to play Top-40’s at weddings and frat parties. They all got into it so that they could share the sound of a (dance music) genre with others. We’ve always met the crowd halfway by essentially saying, ‘Here’s rock music played at a party by two people who know how to beatmatch’, and it’s gone over really well. It’s not what anyone was expecting to want, but it’s something they feel they can’t say ‘no’ to, either.”
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