Primate is the stage name of Ghent-based producer Marcel Matheussen, who began making music at age 11. The Belgian drum-and-bass artist grew up in a family of writers, actors and jazz musicians, whom he has described as part of his musical roots. His first drum-and-bass show was in 2018, the same year he released Lost Tribes on RwDigital. His early sound drew on jump-up, while later work leaned toward melodic and technical elements. His music has also been characterized by screeching basses and hard-hitting drums.
His releases include the Sunshine EP on Radar Records and singles on Primate Music, Crucast and Monstercat. He has collaborated with Captain Bass, Sachi, Majistrate, Ekstatic and Maze. With Nersha, he released Gravity, including a 2026 single on Monstercat. Other collaborations include Not My Type with GPF, Don’t Forget Me with Ekstatic and Realise with Sota. His releases also include the EP Abundance.
Primate released About Us through Primate Music and discussed the track’s production techniques and creative decisions in an interview about its making. His 2026 releases included Booyah on Monstercat, Thrive with Maze on absrd wrld and Take Over VIP with Captain Bass on Primate Music. He also worked with Kazhi, Sigma and VALLO on OUTTASPACE (Primate Edit) for Day Ones, and remixed Flowidus and Loboski’s work as Lock It (Primate Remix) for Wobbles & Waffles.
In 2026, Primate played at Melkweg on 13 February, Now&Wow in Rotterdam on 26 June and Studio the Venue on 28 August.