An Illegal Rave Interview Turned Trip Report with Philly Underground DnB Trail Blazers

THE INTENTIONS (AND THE FIRST BAD DECISION)

I didn’t go to the party intending to lose reality, ego, dignity, or footwear.

I just wanted to write a simple piece on Primordial Vibe — the new drum & bass super-duo formed by Kulture Cru Co-Founders, Viberium (the cyberpunk bass wizard) and The Primordial Archetype (the witch-coded Queen of DnB).

But like most things involving Philly, everything spiraled out of journalistic control within seven minutes.

I was going to meet them at one of their Kulture Cru raves. It was in a warehouse that looked like OSHA had never returned their calls. You know the vibe...

A map to the location made on Microsoft Paint from the 90s

LEDs strapped to questionable architecture.

A guy selling grilled cheese from a shopping cart.

Before I even found the duo, a random raver dressed as a six-foot fluorescent raccoon handed me a neon capsule and said:

“Take this. You’ll hear God during Primordial Vibe’s second drop.”

I felt compelled like a well-produced Phonk song, dark yet calming, so I was obligated to make bad decisions for truth-seeking purposes, so I swallowed it without blinking.

ENTER PRIMORDIAL VIBE: THE SUPER-DUO THAT SHOULDN’T EXIST BUT DOES

I found Viberium first.

You can’t miss him — chains layered over futuristic streetwear, face markings that look like ancient sigils, and the general vibe of someone who’s fought a boss battle inside his own psyche. He looks like a futuristic dystopian "Street Pharmacist" turned Cyber Punk Street Wizard.

He greeted me like an old friend despite never having met me. He yelled "Vibey Vibey Let's Go" and gave me a Viberium a sticker.

Then The Primordial Archetype aka The Queen of Philly Drum And Bass arrived — her presence slicing through the fog like a supernatural warning. She looked like she just left the runway at an underground fashion show.

Everything about her said:

“I command Amen breaks, the moon, and possibly your dad” From her camo jungle pants to her long multi-color hair.

When the two stand together, it’s obvious why they formed their joint project, Primordial Vibe.

Separate, they’re forces. Together, they’re a cinematic universe that somehow learned how to DJ. But before I could ask a single interview question, the raccoon guy reappeared and whispered,

“It’s starting.”

That’s when the capsule kicked in...

THE DESCENT (WHERE THE WALLS DEVELOP PERSONALITY)

Within 45 minutes, the walls began breathing.

Within one hour, the walls were offering me life advice.

I was about to understand why Primordial Vibe has a cult following:

they’re not DJs —they’re dimensional transit guides with subwoofers.

Their set began with a drop so heavy! It sounded like a heavy metalcore breakdown than a pre-drop phrase that still echos in my soul:

"The World wants to know, What the hell is happening in Philadelphia... It's drum and bass what you gonna do?"

I immediately forgot all my childhood traumas, then remembered them again but from a third-person perspective. Viberium twisted knobs and was head-banging like he was summing ancient runes.

The Primordial Archetype stared into the crowd like with a bass face so fierce it looked as if she was deciding which souls to keep.

At some point I lost my shoes. I’m 90% sure I traded them for a glowstick “sword.” I used that sword to knight two ravers and challenge a trash can to combat.

Midway through their set, the duo synced so perfectly that I swear I saw geometry itself glitch. The crowd moved like a single organism, vibrating on a frequency only young Americans and extradimensional entities can hear.

This was NOT your typical Legacy DnB party or "Clean Cut, Frat Boy UK Drum and Bass, but with worse accents" this vibe wasn't UK born... this was something else.

This was something for American kids who grew up on anime fights, alt fashion, EDM festival culture, goth and emo nostalgia, gaming, cosplay, and DIY punk aesthetics mixed with some gangsta vibes and "wizardry" n "Wookery" covered in Glitter on "VIBES"

This was life changing! It was MAGIC!

When the "vibes" finally wore off, I was on a rooftop I did not recognize, wearing someone else’s jacket, holding a half-eaten granola bar, supposely got married to "steve." I come to find "steve" was my other shoe that I managed to trade back for a joint. This was Therapy. One thing I'm absolutely certain of:

Primordial Vibe isn’t a DnB duo.

They’re a controlled substance. And I will absolutely be doing more “research.”

The Interview didn't happen, but I got my answers...

However, we finally did meet up last week. They invited me to an afters for the interview, which turned into a whole other experience.

I will be posting the full interview and follow up soon.

I highly recommend, if you dare, check out and support Kulture Cru, Viberium, and Primordial Archetype at the links below:

Attend Kulture Cru Raves that happen in Philly: http://www.kulturecrurecords.com

https://www.instagram.com/kulture_cru/

Hear their music on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2i1uUnq8nDQHf2GgBA2kI1?si=uPaLnIgOS4WpgpgbIb-k3Q

Follow Viberium here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viberiummusic

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/viberiummusic

BandCamp: https://viberium.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3lF0awcLpMpvxDKtuPB3Y1?si=c_T0sa6DQ_ioyL4f22GoMA

Follow Primordial Archetype here:

https://www.instagram.com/the_primordial_archetypednb/