Primate: "Inspiration comes from seeing how the past and the future touch each other"

Primate is a supergroup led by drummer Matteo Marchese (Ghemon, Viva Viva, Malagiunta) and produced by DJ/producer FILÒQ (Istituto Italiano di Cumbia, Almamegretta, Capossela). Their sound traverses the many souls of Black culture, moving from Berber Africa to funk, from afrobeat to hip-hop and soul, always keeping groove at the center of an electronic and contemporary approach. The project goes back to the origins of rhythm, to its most primordial form, placing it at the heart of the musical matrix. Primate aims to reach the gut, favoring a physical approach and restoring music to its function as a collective ritual act. Each track features some of the best musicians on the Italian scene, creating unexpected and innovative musical textures. The debut album, Primate, tells a story of a scratch left on stone and the footprints of an ancient tribe—footprints in the sand before an old larch tree, traces of a distant past rich in meaning, the legacy of beings who once sat in silence watching the moon. The music flowing from that scratch spreads outward, carrying this ancestral memory forward.

Your project was born with the idea of bringing rhythm back to the center as a primordial and collective act. When did you first start conceiving this vision, and what were the main sonic or ritual sources that inspired you?

Filo and I are both strongly inspired by African music. In those sounds there are spaces and visions that stimulate us greatly. One of the fundamental topics of the album is the ability to stay. Staying still, with yourself, is becoming increasingly difficult today in such a frenetic world. In my opinion, the groove of Africa is precisely this. It gives you a way to sit still and listen to the world.

In addition to the ancestral rite, the tribe moving around the fire. It's something that the human race is slowly losing, locked in a house that is increasingly distant from itself.

Each track involves different musicians from the Italian scene to create "unexpected textures". How do you choose your collaborators, and how do you manage the creative process when so many different musical personalities come together?

The guests on the album are first and foremost friends with whom we shared listens and stages. Given this, our goal was to have strong personalities and unique voices to give each piece a particular soundscape. In the development of the album the musicians have entered the final phase. The songs were already well underway when we decided who to give what to. The thing I always like about sending my music to guests and leaving them free to act is that the result is always unexpected and surprising.

Your sound traverses the "black soul" – from Berber Africa to Afrobeat, funk, hip-hop, and soul – while remaining anchored in contemporary electronic groove. How do you balance roots and innovation, and how do you decide for each track how much “origin” and how much “future” to include?

I think the past moves us towards the future. In the same way, inspiration occurs by observing how past and future always have a very strong point of contact. An example are our graphics. The rock carvings of Val Camonica. The line on the stone is very similar to the track on the vinyl for me. A cut in the material that conveys stories. Likewise in music the past and the future enter into the same groove. On an aesthetic level, in the songs the past is transported onto a base that speaks of the future.

How does the live performance aspect fit into the Primate project? How do you translate your concepts ("primordial rhythm", "collective ritual") into a live experience for the audience?

Live our focus and keep the groove steady. Like a mantra that envelops you while you sing it and stops you in a bubble. The beat and every element of our music tends to create a similar effect to that of Block Party. Perhaps in a more jazz and ritual key.  I think our show offers the possibility of moving around with a smile. Sometimes even with your eyes closed.

Looking ahead, where do you want to take Primate in the coming years? Are there genres, musical territories, or collaborations that you feel remain “unexplored” but that attract you?

Our album just came out. nevertheless the thoughts and the hunger to do are still very present. I believe that the next work will maintain the characteristics of sonorous and spiritual research that also pushed us into this adventure. perhaps this time the scents of North Africa and cumbia could be a good start.

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