We caught up with Prymativ, the duo who won the Electric Forest mixcloud competition. They will be rewarded with the 4.45-5.15pm spot on the Forest Stage. You won’t want to miss out on an awesome opportunity to check out these up-and-comers on a massive festival stage.
How’s it going? For our readers, please state your name, music project and where you are from? It’s going amazing, these past few weeks have been really good to us. We’ve been preparing for Electric Forest and we’re getting really excited. We go by Prymativ but our names are Mike and Colby. Mike is from Berkley, Michigan originally and Colby is from Indianapolis, IN, but we both live in Denver, CO now.
How does hailing from Denver, Colorado influence your sound?
M: I think the fact that you can see any type of music, any night of the week is the biggest influence for me. I have a very eclectic taste in music and I love that I can be at a bluegrass show on Friday and an electronic show on Saturday, all within the city limits. Obviously the Electronic Music scene in Denver right now is HUGE and growing all the time. The sheer amount of new producers to listen to and observe definitely helps me in my creative process. I always am taking notes at shows, like I’m attending class. C: Being exposed to so much live music on a weekly basis definitely keeps the creativity flowing and provides motivation.
How do you guys perform live?
C: I cue the tracks and do the mixing during the set M: and I do a lot of the effects and filtering. We work together for the transitions.
What influences Prymativ’s sound?
M: I have been making electronic music for a long time, that no one was ever intended to hear, so I’ve gone through a lot of different phases in making music. I grew up in Detroit, so obviously house was always an influence for me, but I love glitch and bass. I also think a lot of the music outside of electronic plays a part for me. The peaks and valleys of the tension and release jamming you hear in a lot of jam band’s like Phish translates well to producing electronic music. C: I grew up on hip-hop when I was younger and shortly there after found out about Phish, SCI, and the jam band scene. These genres and bands all have influences on our sound.
You guys won the Electric Forest mixcloud competition, how did that happen and how does it feel?
C: It happened because of the amazing and wonderful fans we have behind us. We have a crew that has been behind us since the beginning that has been relentless with spreading our music and mixes. It feels absolutely amazing to have friends that believe in what you’re doing and will do anything to help you achieve your goals. M: I agree with everything Colby said. I’m also pretty active in social media and using that to our advantage definitely helped. The hardest part was trying to promote the link to the mix without being annoying and getting disregarded as spam. It’s a fine line.
What can we expect from Prymativ at Electric Forest?
C: We have a 30 min set and we are going to pack as much energy and emotion into that set as possible. M: Confetti, Donkeys, Dry Ice, Fireworks, Lazers, Trapeze artists, Skydivers and Free Stickers. Alright, I can only guarantee the stickers right now, but we’re working out the other details.
What are you looking forward to at Electric Forest as music fans?
C: String Cheese Incident, STS9, Conspirator, Big Gigantic, and Bassnectar. M: I’m really looking forward to seeing all my friends that all come together from around the country for this amazing weekend. Musically I’m really excited for Nadis Warriors, Richie Hawtin, SCI and the TBA set in the forest on saturday night, I have my guesses at what it may be and the secret sets are what make the festival special.
What is the best concert you have ever attended?
C: I don’t think I can pin down a definitive best concert I have attended. I will say that the String Cheese Incident set at Rothbury 2009 was absolutely mind blowing. M: This is possibly one of the hardest questions someone could ask me. I’ve been witness to so many amazing concerts in my life that I can’t narrow it to just one. Daft Punk at Red Rocks and Sigur Ros at Red Rocks are two that instantly come to mind, but that’s not to take away from LCD SoundSystem’s final concert at Madison Square Garden. I’ve been lucky to see a lot of amazing shows.
What are you currently listening to a lot of?
C: String Cheese Incident, Papadosio, Emancipator, and all different types of trap and bass music. M: Lots of old school funk and soul, it goes great with the summer here in Denver. The Weeknd, Phish, Minnesota and I’m always looking for new artists on the internet. It’s one of my hobbies.