Label Spotlight: Primitive UK

Hi! Who are you? 

Will: Hello, my name is Will Anderson and I’m the owner and founder of Primitive 

Jacob: I’m Jacob Eloquin, Co-director of Primitive alongside Will. Just the two of us at the moment but we hope to expand the team as we grow.  

What’s your ethos?

Will: Our ethos has always been to create a multi genre brand that represents underground music. A platform for upcoming artists to express their individuality. 

Tell us your origin story…

I started Primitive while at college studying music production and DJ technology. One of my final assignments was to either create an EP or put together a low budget event. Realising that I wasn’t actually very good at producing, I opted to put on an event. I ended up hiring the Horsham rugby club, booked some artists and hosted their first ever drum and bass event. I think we went over capacity by about 100 people- all thanks to my mum being on the door! This was the first project involving the Primitive name. I chose it because it means the character of an early stage in the evolutionary/historical development of something. I carried on hosting events and then a year later decided to turn it into a label as well. 

From the age of 15 I began DJing and played the majority of parties around Horsham, some of the parties were incredible, even the painfully awful ones have left jokes memories. It was during this time that I first met Jacob. 

Jacob: I knew Will in Horsham but as he was a few years above me, when he threw his first events I wasn’t old enough to get in as I was under 18! I had just started college but had the same ambition of pursuing music as a career, mainly in music production. I reached out to Will and bought my first pair of Numark controllers from him, he then ended up teaching me how to mix on CDJs. 

From around 2018 we started DJing parties together. We built a fairly solid reputation in Horsham and are notorious for playing the best events in Sussex, including a literal Project X party which attracted thousands of people and resulted in a disowned son after the parents found out the state of the house… Since then we’ve had a few years of travel, uni, then Covid and dealing with being in two separate cities which was hard. However in the last year alone, we have garnered multiple Radio 1 plays and some serious recognition from DJs around the world.

Tell us about your local scene…

We are based in Horsham, bang in between Brighton and London. I’d love to say we have great nightlife but the only club we had shut down a few years ago, it played cheesy pop music and it was terrible, but somehow you’d always end up there. Then when you were in, it would take you hours to leave as it had the stickiest floor known to man!

Jacob: Our town doesn’t really cater for nightlife at all, there are two bars open till 2am but the music is awful. The best memories are when we did a mini festival on our mate’s farm called ‘Edgalfest’, we set up a stage, lasers and sound system and got Freddie Martin and Bushbaby to come and play which was such a fun night. We have had a fair few artists break through out of Horsham though: Sota, Degs, Hologram, Low:r and even the label Overview. 

Will: It is unreal to see, we hosted a charity event with all of those acts two years ago. Obviously those artists are within the drum and bass world, but there’s also a wicked rapper called JAEBO we work with closely, and also an upcoming UKG artist called Nuffsedd to keep tabs on. 

Do you have a specific sound or vibe?

Jacob: We’ve always been a multi-genre label but started off within bass house and drum and bass as that’s mainly what I started out producing, along with all the other artists we knew. As we’ve grown up and since mid 2023 especially, we’ve moved into UKG, bass and breaks. We felt these genres coincide with each other a lot better when mixing.

Will: It was hard to really nail down what we wanted to release, it was all so messy when we first started, we had no structure or any idea what we were doing. We loved all electronic music, which is great, but yeah we weren’t really getting anywhere and that meant we didn’t really fit in or have an aesthetic locked down. After a few years with personal mental health issues, I think we both looked at Primitive in a new way and realised the sounds we wanted to push. Not saying we are big and successful by any means but I personally think it’s a lot clearer now with a set branding in place. We will always release what we love first and foremost, the adaptability between genres as well is unreal, I don’t think we could ever stick to one sound.

Do you have a regular artist roster- who can we see releasing with you?

Will: We definitely have some artists we will always release with now. Acts like After Hours, Charlie Shell, PRESTi, Nicche and Eloquin have become an integral part of our recent successes this year. Of course we are always on the hunt for new talent but it also comes down to how well you work with the artist and their level of commitment and communication. We want the best for our acts and their releases, we know we’ve done our job when their releases are being played out, charting on Beatport and streaming well. 

Jacob: Having started releasing music in 2018, we’ve watched a few artists break into the scene, most notably MPH and Silk, both acts who have released with us in the past. We are hoping to continue to help elevate artists. 

Tell us about your A&R process…

Jacob: Releasing music under Eloquin has allowed me to be involved in the scene from the ground up by attending events and networking. Whether it is through collaboration, connecting online or in person, I just speak to them and share music and then if something really stands out I would ask if they would be keen to release it on Primitive. 

Will: We still have a submission email as well at [email protected], we’ve honestly found some absolute gems. Jacob being an artist as well and naturally networking with other acts has really helped. We will also directly message some acts as well to see if they’d like to work on anything for us.

What makes you different from other labels?

Will: There are so many incredible labels out there but for us, on a more personal level, we’ve luckily known from early on that being involved in music is all we’ve wanted. I never conformed well to the education system, I failed school with basically no GCSE’s, I dropped out of college twice and then inevitably dropped out of uni. Being creative is all I wanted and I could never see myself trapped doing something I didn’t love. I think this is where Primitive stemmed from, pushing something that we have control over, it allows us to express ourselves as well as helping others. 

At twenty-five I was diagnosed with ADHD and it all kind of aligned for me then. It was like the biggest weight off my shoulders and I could finally breathe. Putting myself first and battling through depression allowed my creativity to then blossom. Since we’ve grown up and both faced issues, Primitive has gone from strength to strength. 

Jacob: What truly sets Primitive apart is that we know we aren’t the biggest label, we like being the underdog that finds unknown artists and gives them a platform to shine and often go on to achieve bigger things. At its core, it is just two mates who love music working towards their shared vision. These relationships naturally evolve beyond that release often resulting in long lasting friendships while maintaining the professionalism essential for growth. We have had our fair share of challenges, lost so much money, made many stupid mistakes. But, we’ve kept going and learned from everything. We are building a community that encompasses all from those who love listening, to those who want to learn to produce, to those who want to DJ their first event. We aim to help anyone with the ambition to achieve their goals. 

Will: We understand how hard this industry can be and we are still very new to it all. We are nowhere near where we want to be but this is something we love and we are very happy with the progression this label has made in the past year. We are just two lads who have a passion for music, who also want to see other people succeed and be happy. Got a bit deep there, but I think that shows the difference in who we are running this brand. We understand the type of issues that can occur from pursuing this type of career. 

What does it take to run a bass music label in 2024?

Will: Everything changes so fast that you have to be adaptable and get humbled every now and again, we are still figuring that out. If you’re starting anything out, whether you’re a label, promoter or artist etc, be prepared to fail over and over. I actually started Primitive in 2016 but it never really got rolling until last year. I do however feel bass music has been the best it’s ever been, despite the general struggle with nightlife and venues sadly shutting down, the output of music has been incredible. 

Jacob: It’s definitely hard to run a small independent label when the input of funds has come solely from us. It takes a lot of grit, determination and passion to weather the music industry, especially when relying on algorithms to be able to reach new audiences which sometimes feels like nothing is working. You need to be consistent and try different techniques to find what works for you. It’s not easy, but fundamentally I believe that the music speaks volumes and if that is solid then the rest will fall into place.

 What have you got coming up we should look out for?

Will: Consistent releases and more events next year, limited run of dubpacks and merch, we will see where that takes us. 
Jacob: We are working on a huge charity USB project with tons of perks for members who are in our community. I would also love to start a podcast talking about mental health in the industry as well as I don’t think that is touched on enough.

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