A Primitive Evolution (often identified using the abbreviation A.P.E.) is an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band based in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada.

History

Formation

Formed in the Fall of 2007 out of band Lye (and before that Aphasia), vocalist Brett Carruthers and bassist Stephany Seki began jamming with drummer Stu Dead, founder of Playdead Cult, a clothing brand and creative lifestyle house located in Toronto. Playdead's involvement in horror culture led to inviting the owner of Darkside horror shop's Dimitri Anastasakis to jam along on guitar. With this line up, they first publicly performed for Toronto's Queen Street Fire fundraiser alongside

Billy Talent Billy Talent is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup change ...

and

The Creepshow The Creepshow is a Canadian rock band from Burlington, Ontario. The band formed in 2005 when the four original members got together with the purpose of starting a psychobilly band. The Creepshow writes the majority of their songs about horror fi ...

. In 2007, the band self-produced the video for "Death on Wheels" alongside Frankenstein cheerleaders as part of the 2007

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, sk ...

Fashion Week, which was voiced by

Martin Streek Martin Streek (June 16, 1964 – July 6, 2009) was a Canadian radio DJ known for his work on CFNY-FM (102.1 the Edge) in Toronto, Ontario. His on-air duties included hosting the Thursday 30, live-to-air from the Phoenix nightclub, and live-to-air ...

. "Death on Wheels" would initiate, The Death Girls, cheerleaders and super-fans that dance and sing at A.P.E events, sometimes by joining the band on stage. Notable Death Girls include models from the adult website

Suicide Girls SuicideGirls is an online community-based website that revolves around pin-up photography sets of models known as the Suicide Girls. The website was founded in 2001 by Selena Mooney ("Missy Suicide") and Sean Suhl ("Spooky"). Most of the site ...

. A Primitive Evolution would later appear on the adult news channel,

Naked News ''Naked News'' is a Canadian news and entertainment program owned by Naked Broadcasting Network. It features nude female news presenters reading news bulletins derived from news wires. The show's production studio is located in Toronto. There a ...

. "Death on Wheels" was also featured on

Alan Cross Alan Cross is a Canadian radio broadcaster and a writer on music.

's "Five Songs You Gotta Hear Today". In 2008, A Primitive Evolution played a

Canadian Music Week Canadian Music Week (or CMW) is an industry conference and music festival held over ten days in Toronto and Ontario, Canada. History Canadian Music Week began in 1981 and has grown to become one of Canada's largest and most influential media a ...

showcase at The Bovine Sex Club. In 2008 the band continued writing and recording their debut album and worked on another music video for the song "Beyond True". In May they posted a demo for the song "Empty Holes", which would later also have a corresponding music video. Brett said in a 2010 interview that during these early years the band worked "just writing and figuring each other out". In the spring of 2009 the group founded the music festival VIVA LOS MUERTOS (2009 line-up featuring

The Birthday Massacre The Birthday Massacre (abbreviated TBM) is a Canadian rock band , formed in 1999 in London, Ontario, and currently based in Toronto, Ontario. The current lineup consists of lead vocalist Sara 'Chibi' Taylor, rhythm guitarist Michael Rainbow, l ...

, for whom Brett had performed live keyboards for during their Fall 2004 tour). The festival included "Major merch sales, dancing Playdead

mascots A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fic ...

and an eclectic long-weekend crowd that collectively offered plenty for the live eye". The festival had an "overwhelmingly good response", according to the band, hoping to further secure the creation and maintenance of a dynamic "

Death Rock Death rock (or deathrock) is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genre ...

" scene in Toronto. Playdead Cult's "Moop", would continue to be the band's mascot and can be seen dancing on stage during the band's live performances. Later on in 2009, the band's self-produced debut video for "Death on Wheels", voiced by veteran Toronto radio DJ Martin Streek, caught the attention of the production crew for the vampire musical movie

Suck Suck may refer to: *Suction, the force exerted by a partial vacuum *.sucks, an Internet top-level domain Arts and entertainment Music * Suck (band), a South African hard rock group * Suck, drummer for the 1990s Japanese punk band Teengenerate * ...

. This film debuted at the 2009

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

featured the likes of

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

and

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rolli ...

The film consequently utilized the band's rehearsal space as a set for several scenes in the film. Finally at the end of 2009 the band would release their self-titled debut album. February 16, 2010, the band released their debut album digitally for worldwide distribution. In the summer of 2010, Adm Shedden, formerly of The Birthday Massacre and currently of Hunter Eves, joined to perform on live violin for acoustic shows. In 2010, the band continued playing shows in Toronto,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

, Kitchener and

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

. On February 15, 2011, the band posted on their

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

profile that Scott Carruthers (Brett's cousin), would replace Dimitri Anastasakis on guitar. Dimitri had announced in the fall of 2010 also on their

profile that he would be leaving the band due to pursue other goals important to his life. In 2011, the band recorded a new acoustic album, co-produced by

John Wozniak John Keith Wozniak (born January 19, 1971) is an American musician best known as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the band Marcy Playground. Early life Wozniak was born and raised in Minneapolis. He learned how to play the guitar ...

, and welcomed back their friend, Adm Shedden for violin. The band encouraged fans to participate in its development by listening to rough mixes. The band documented the recording process with video,

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

's and photo updates on their official website and also announced that 20% of the proceeds would be donated to

ShelterBox ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity established in 2000 in Helston, Cornwall, UK, that provides emergency shelter and other aid items to families around the world who have lost their homes to disaster or conflict. Shelt ...

. In July, the band performed at Trash Fest USA, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. A Primitive Evolution was recommended by

George Stroumboulopoulos George Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos (; Greek: Γεώργιος Μάρκος Παύλος Στρουμπουλόπουλος; born August 16, 1972) is a Canadian media personality. He is one of Canada's most popular broadcasters and best known as fo ...

for Canadian Music Week 2011 in his Top 3 Buzz Bands out of the 800 that performed. In 2018 the band signed a record deal with

Metropolis Records Metropolis Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1993 by the late Dave Heckman. The label's all-electronic format closely tracked with European contemporaries, such as Off Beat, and, since 1995, has been instrumenta ...

to release their album ''Becoming''. Now acting as a three piece with Brett Carruthers, Stephany Seki and Stu Dead, this would be the band's debut release under an official label. 2019 would mark the band's first major North American Tour opening for labelmates

PIG The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

. On this tour, they supported their 2018 release ''Becoming'' and added new live members to the band, Owen Mackinder from

and drummer Jake Hamilton.

Discography

''A.P.E.'' (2009)

The band's debut album ''A.P.E.'', released in early December 2009, was produced by Matthew Von Wagner, (

Crystal Castles Crystal Castles was a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, formed by songwriter-producer Ethan Kath and singer-songwriter Alice Glass, who later left and was replaced by Edith Frances. Crystal Castles were know ...

Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) was a Canadian alternative rock musical duo from Toronto.Alpha Galates Alpha Galates, formerly The Hollow, was a Canadian progressive metal band that originated in Medicine Hat, Alberta and later became based in Toronto, Ontario. Matthew von Wagner, his ex-wife, Karen Wagner, Adam Taylor and Todd Lefever formed The ...

) and Brett Carruthers. Wagner has worked alongside the likes of

Joe Barresi Joe Barresi (nicknamed "Evil Joe") is an American record engineer and producer who has worked with Kyuss, The Melvins, Tool, Chevelle, Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard, Parkway Drive, New Model Army, Ba ...

and

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

. ''A.P.E.'', according to the band, is grounded on a few common themes: the single "Death on Wheels" draws inspiration from classic

grindhouse A grindhouse or action house is an American term for a theatre that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter and exploitation films for adults. According to historian David Church, this theater type was named after the "grind policy", a film ...

horror films, while others like "Dead End" are thinly veiled love songs. "War B." explores political undertones and the Western view of war. Other songs on the album like "Beyond True" explore the

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

of human interaction.

Alan Cross Alan Cross is a Canadian radio broadcaster and a writer on music.

has referenced the band to sound like

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

and

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

and would go on to call them

The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guita ...

Grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

in his May 21, 2010, ExploreMusic podcast. (searchable on iTunes)

Tracks

# "War B" (4:40) # "Beyond True" (4:19) # "Death on Wheels" (4:02) # "Just Begun" (4:59) # "Dead End" (3:59) # "Still Waiting" (4:26) # "Coming and Going" (3:03) # "Show Me" (4:41) # "Train Wreck" (4:45) # "To Be Lost" (5:17) # "Empty Holes" (4:27)

''The Prize'' (2012)

The band's sophomore album ''The Prize'' was released on September 11, 2012. ''The Prize'' still includes reworked versions of songs found on APE's debut, but also features three new songs. The album was produced by the band and

Marcy Playground Marcy Playground is an American alternative rock band consisting of three members: John Wozniak (lead vocals, guitar), Dylan Keefe (bass), and Shlomi Lavie (drums). The band is best known for their 1997 hit "Sex and Candy". History Early yea ...

at Mushroom studios in Toronto, ON.

Tracks

# "Lord Of Reason" (4:05) # "Show Me" (The Prize Version) (3:52) # "I Feel It All" (4:52) # "Won't Let You Down" (4:10) # "Falling Far Behind" (4:28) # "Dead End" (The Prize Version) (3:59) # "The Prize" (4:26) # "Coming and Going" (The Prize Version) (3:05) # "Train Wreck" (The Prize Version) (5:36) # "We Are Lost" (4:31)

''Becoming'' (2018)

The band's third album ''Becoming'' was released on October 5, 2018. Recorded at their self-built Desolation Studios in Toronto, ''Becoming'' features many exciting Canadian collaborations including writer/producer Ian D’Sa from

and audio engineer Kenny Luong.

Tracks

# "I am an Infinite Cycle" (1:16) # "Who's Your Maker" (4:47) # "The Beauty" (4:19) # "Close Your Eyes" (4:11) # "Ghost" (6:17) # "Dead Skies" (5:22) # "We Are The Truth" (4:38) # "Becoming" (3:56) # "Skeleton" (4:50) # "Picturesque Hell" (4:28) # "Better Off Dead" (5:09) # "Live Forever" (5:05) # "Echo" (5:38)

Members

*Brett Carruthers –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s (2007–present) *Steph Misayo Seki – bass, keyboards,

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

(2007–present) *Stu Dead –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(2007–present)

Touring members

* Owen Mackinder – keyboards (2019–present) *Jake Hamilton – drums (2019)

Former members

*Dimitri Anastasakis –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

(2007–2010) *Scott Carruthers – lead guitar (2011–2013)

References

External links

*
Playdead CultThe Darkside Store
{{DEFAULTSORT:Primitive Evolution Musical groups established in 2007 Canadian alternative rock groups Musical groups from Toronto 2007 establishments in Ontario