Primary 1

By his early twenties, London electro-pop artist Joe Flory, aka Primary 1, experienced success with his debut single, “Hold Me Down.” A heavy-handed whip of ‘80s synth pop and chillwave, the song was the second release by Erol Alkan’s indie label Phantasy Sound, which was home to Late of the Pier’s side project La Priest. As rumors circulated that he would be a fitting producer for the likes of Kylie Minogue and Madonna, Flory denied that he had any aspirations of working with mainstream pop artists, and embraced Internet anonymity by wearing a lion mask in press photos. After performing a summer tour with Metronomy, he gained recognition by collaborating with the Shoes and Riton on their respective singles “Ho Lord” and “Who’s There.” Primary 1 self-released a free-for-download compilation of early demos titled Mess Detective before signing to Atlantic in 2010.