Phutureprimitive, Pumpkin, Brede slideshow / The Parish (Austin, TX) /

Published: January 29, 2014

Story by: Jacki Horne
Photos by: Mario Villeda

Rain Phutureprimitive is a breathe of fresh air in an oversaturated EDM scene; his show in Austin, Texas last week with Pumpkin and Brede, was a reminder of why he’s acquired a fitting reputation as a euphonious shaman for extraterrestrial dance parties. Along with its reputation as the “Live Music Capital of The World,” the ATX is known for utterly shutting down at the slightest trace of ice or snow, and the fact that The Parish was packed on a below-freezing Thursday night is telling of Phutureprimitive’s sheer kinetic talent.

Rain eloquently laid down organic and otherworldly tracks from his latest EP, Finding Beauty in The Darkest Places: Part 1, along with some previously produced stuff and original remixes. Just as the title of his EP reflects, a Phutureprimtive show guides the crowd from dark depths of consciousness into the beautiful, transcendent layers of the soul in an integrated journey of soundscapes and danced out demons. It’s obvious that Rain enjoys producing and playing his music as much as his fans love dancing to it; throughout his set he rejoiced along with the crowd, and at the end of the show he introduced himself to the people next to the stage while wearing a genuine smile on his face.

Nicholas “Pumpkin” Alvarado tore up the stage with his remixtastic steeze prior to Phutureprimitive’s set. Pumpkin is like a personal time machine acting as the listener’s tour guide to different generations through his medium of smoothly remixed tracks. In all seriousness, the man utilizes music from just about every era during his set to create a time-warp. Pumpkin opened his set with his remix to Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man” from the 1960’s, and seamlessly transitioned to other generations through remixed tracks like Modest Mouse’s “Float On," as well as a delicious mashup of Nine Inch Nail’s “Closer” with The Beatles “Come Together.” I was left genuinely impressed by how flawlessly Pumpkin pulled off bringing all the remixed tracks together.

Local favorite Jesse Brede, who also happens to own Gravitas Recordings, started the night off right with his set. It’s rare enough to see a venue full before 11pm, but the place was already pretty packed and dancing along with Brede’s set by that time, despite the night’s inclement weather. Jesse is a staple in the Austin music scene, and he knows exactly what the people want to hear.

It was definitely worth braving the “treacherous” Texas weather to partake in the sublimely exotic music of Phutureprimitive, as well as the glorious time-machine remixes of Pumpkin and to jam out with local favorite Brede at the show.