Primal Baby: "I hope that people will try to unravel the mystery that is our work"

Mila: I’d already been making music for a couple of years and at a certain moment it became kind of a negative experience. I had lost my self-confidence and the fun in making music. Everything had become heavy, and I felt like I needed to be reborn as an artist to get myself to start over again. I needed new energy and wanted to be able to make my own choices. Although I already did that in the past, I used to be less confident and other people’s opinions had a lot of influence on me. It was hard for me to speak up and be myself unapologetically. When Stefan (Parrish Smith) and I started making music together, the idea was initially to do that for my own repertoire. But at a certain moment it began to feel like there was more to it and we asked ourselves: “Shouldn’t this just be an act?”

Stefan: Since before the birth of Primal Baby we had been wanting to work together. My mission with this collaboration has always been to get Mila’s story out there in an open and real way, and also to guide her emotions in a way people would understand them. I mainly focus on what the conceptual idea of Primal Baby entails and give shape to what Mila has already planted. We’re both emotional people and that’s actually a pretty primitive feeling, like you’re being born again into this world as a baby.

Stefan: We’re in a relationship now, but we actually have been working together for a longer period of time. I think Mila always had the feeling that this would happen. She’d been telling me she wanted to work together, but I always declined because I believed in the voice and story of ‘Mila V’ as it was.

Mila: You didn’t decline my request for collaboration, but you always had strong opinions on the fact that it should be my act and not ours.

Stefan: That’s true. And actually, all the signs were there that it would be a good thing for us to work together. It just seemed like it always had to have been that way. We didn’t force anything, maybe because we were almost always on each other’s level already. Even if you’re at the end of your universe, you can still be connected.

Mila: By being honest about your own feelings in the music you make, you can get people to find a connection with their own. As an artist I’m not really thinking about the emotions my music evokes in others. I’m more focused on being as outspoken and honest as I can be, so I can bring that up in others.

Stefan: That’s also what we want to achieve with our Burst City events. ‘Burst City’ stands for different types of people coming together, without having to fight for their space. I hope to wake something within people who are like me, who grew up like I did. Even if you feel weird within your own friend group or small village, there’s always a place where you do fit in.

Mila: I also strongly believe in the invisible layer that’s around us: feelings, frequencies, spirits... I think it’s important that we exude that with Primal Baby. Not only that, but also talk about it in a way that will inspire others to also think about this. I also feel like a lot of stuff is on the surface now. There’s so much going on, in real life and online, it’s so easy to get influenced and not think about who you are and what’s important to you.

Mila: In our bio we’ve written down ‘Industrial Soul Power’ somewhere. Industrial can be seen as aggressive and cold, but we’re trying to find another, different dimension within this genre. Our story as soulmates and the strong, warm emotions that come from our collaboration are heavily incorporated within our sound.

Stefan: I think people will eventually label our music, but what I hope for the most is that people will try to unravel the mystery that is our work. There are a lot of dark topics connected to our music which require you to reflect on the inside. I hope listeners get to open their eyes and try to be a better version of themselves. Genres such as rock and metal have always helped us to express those hidden feelings. Being progressive is also important to us, we don’t want to hide in our past.

Mila: I actually don’t imagine anyone or anything when singing, because the music has to come from within me. If I focus too much on the people who listen to my music, it derives me from my true self and message, which results in me not being able to give a fully authentic performance to the listeners. My story and voice have to come from the inside. I focus on staying true to myself when performing, because then the right people will automatically take something from that. Or maybe not, and they’re just not tuned into the frequency my art resonates on.

Stefan: When I was younger I used to have anger management issues. I never knew how to cope with those feelings. Eventually I found out about nu metal and industrial, which led me to my discovery of noise. A new world opened up for me, because noise is abstract yet meditative, harsh and intense, but also emotional and intentional. Because when you see noise-artists perform, it feels like a very primal and real thing. It’s also very abstract and artsy, you can basically build your own world around the genre. I found a way to channel my aggression within this type of music. Not only with ‘hard’ music, but also with softer and gentle sounds, or even rhythmic, and sometimes none of the above. When conveying an aggressive emotion, people tend to focus on harder and aggressive sounds. I feel like that’s not necessary, because you can also intertwine aggression with emotional vulnerability. Like something dark that can also feel beautiful and light at the same time.

Stefan: I find the dark very inspirational, because you can imagine and dream about everything you’d like to fill that space with. I’m always looking for hope, because that’s pretty much the only thing you need to give you the faith to keep on living. To light up a darkened room you only need one spark.

Mila: In the dark you have room to experiment and develop. In the light, everything is on the forefront. But by embracing the existing darkness, especially within yourself, you’ll be able to step into the light.

Mila: I hope people find a renewed connection with something deeper and most importantly, gain a more accepting view of who they are. It’s okay to be the way you are, even if the world around you doesn’t understand it.

Stefan: Mila curated the whole evening, but for both of us the focus was on creating a new kind of experience.

Mila: And we also see that (renewal) within the artists we’ve booked for this evening, no matter if they just started or have been making music for a longer period of time. They express themselves in a way that hopefully inspires other people and shows them a new world. This is also the first time we’re doing an evening instead of a club night.

Stefan: I feel like it will be a beautiful and inspiring evening music wise, since there are a lot of layers within the music of the artists Mila curated. We hope to renew the way people curate an evening.

Mila: Because it’s also possible to have a build-up within an evening show. Not only with BPMs, but also with certain feelings. In Subject Sue’s music you can find exciting, dark elements, but at the same time she doesn’t shy away from lightness. Ms. Palace and Arda make a heavier kind of noise with opera elements. And we, Primal Baby, are kind of a combination of both of those things. Night in Athens is set to be the final performer of the evening. Their job is to leave the audience in an exhilarating and complete state of being.

More information and tickets for the Burst City: Primal Baby EP Release Special w/ Night In Athens, Subject Sue, Ms. Palace & Arda (io) can be found here.

Interview and text by Ambia Zijlstra