Primitive Painter

"Armadillo In The Snow" CDEP

Dead Digital

Genres: industrial techno, electronica

Dead Digital
PO Box 94
Manchester, England M19 3WY

Feb 24 - Mar 2 2003

This neat electronic EP reached me by way of the new Dead Digital label, who are also responsible for the wicked Pulby / Primitive Painter split seven-inch that came out recently.  Primitive Painter creates dark, beat-based industrial techno that calls to mind some of Throbbing Gristle's work.

The first of the four tracks is "Armadillo In The Snow," a dark tune based on a metallic beat and a neat piano melody, with some neat choral atmospherics in the background. 

"Mantra," then, is a driving track that starts off with a strong beat and a mixture of experimental sounds.  Eventually a synth pattern is introduced, and a  brooding ambiance holds the piece together in a dark mood.

"People's Parasite," the third track, harks the introduction of a more upbeat melody and a pretty funky bassline.  It's still dark and industrial, except a bit more uplifting.  The weird vocal sample adds a certain feel to it - something mysterious and mechanical.  The synth chord pattern that is used in parts of the track sounds a bit video game-y.

The final track is "Foetal Attraction," a dark, very electronic track with an alien vocal sample and some interesting synths driving the rhythm sample.  The beat is enjoyable, and the bassline is very mechanical, except with a hunt of machine funkiness.  After a few minutes, the track calms down a bit to allow the synths to take over, only to bring everything back again in full power - an overused effect, sure, but it really gets ya every time.

Altogether, this is a very enjoyable techno release that harkens back to early industrial music like that of Throbbing Gristle.  Though the songs' strong similarities can get a bit repetitive, the relative brevity of the EP means it isn't that noticeable.  Hopefully by the time the debut album's due out, Primitive Painter will have introduced a bit more variety into their music.  This EP on its own, however, is quite promising.

78%

Fun Fact: Very little is known about Primitive Painter, although it may be linked to techno duo Alter Ego's recent alter ego, also called Primitive Painter.

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 4 songs, distributed by the label, released 2002]