While the hip-hop duo Hermitude – Luke Dubs and Elgusto – hail from the Blue Mountains their music is a big-city sound. Their latest and crazily infectious album HyperParadise brings together electronic rhythm and hip-hop for a hold-the-ice dance floor sound. Having toured the UK and Europe over the year, they have returned home to play the summer festival season across the country. We catch up with Angus Stewart (Elgusto) before next weeks Festival of the Sun gig in Port Macquarie, NSW.
Can you tell me a little bit about Hermitude’s musical history?
We started playing in various bands together in the Blue Mountains, then after hanging out we realised we were both making our own beats at home. So we decided to hook up and write a beat together one day and that was the beginnings of Hermitude.
You have been making music for over ten years now, how has the Australian scene changed in the time Hermitude has been around?
Music itself has come so far in the last 10 years. The Australian scene has grown massively, especially in hip-hop and electronic music. It’s been great watching it all unfold over time and to also be a part of its growth.
You’ve recently toured Europe and the UK, have you been surprised by the response your music has received overseas?
We’ve had some great feedback from our overseas trips. We try and get over there at least once a year to spread the Hermit love. It’s pretty amazing to see people shakin’ it to your beats when you’re over the other side of the world.
Why do you think your music has such a wide reach compared to other local hip-hop artists?
I think we’ve always been on the fringes of the hip-hop scene as we are predominantly instrumental. Our last record was definitely a trip into our more electronic side and less hip-hop. But having said that our love for hip-hop hasn’t died a single bit and being able to perform and collaborate with the countries most talented MC’s and producers throughout the years has been some of the best experiences of our lives.
HyperParadise seemed to mark a change in your overall sound – what was behind making that album? Do you think it’s now definitive of the Hermitude sound?
It’s definitely more of our own sound than our previous records. We feel like we’ve really taken all of what we’ve learnt about song writing and producing and started to harness it in a way that is truly our own. We’re always looking for new sounds though so we’re by no means resting on our laurels.
The re-mix album features the likes of Ta-Ku and Flume, how did it come about? Where you interested in hearing particular artists take on the sound?
Man, those dudes are great producers and it’s always a treat hearing guys like that take your beats and put their own flavour into them. We couldn’t have been happier with the result too.
I’ve found that you’re very particular with your output of music, do you take more of a quality-over-quantity angle with releasing new tracks?
Definitely. I think you learn over time that rushing something out that isn’t finished isn’t going to do anyone any favours. We’re quite picky too so we possibly deliberate a little too much sometimes but that’s what works for us. HyperParadise was meant to come out in 2011 but we knew we couldn’t reach that target so we pushed it back 6 months. It was definitely the right decision.
What’s the current music that you’re listening to right now that you’re drawing influence from?
We like the trap sound. There’s a lot of really bad trap music out there but there’s some interesting instrumental takes on it that we like. I think that booming 808 kick and the simplicity of that music is really alluring. Aside from that definitely feeling the latest Kendrick album. Dude has crazy skills and the beats are tasty. I’ve been listening to some blues too like Bo Diddley and some female singers like Feist.
I saw you guys in Byron Bay last year, it was such an energetic performance, what can people expect from a Hermitude live show?
Lots of energy and dancing, probably too much babbling on the microphone and just good vibes. We like to include everyone in the show by telling them what we’re doing on stage and we got cameras mounted on our gear so everyone can see for themselves what’s going on. We’ve also got visuals made especially for the HyerpParadise album so it’s a sensory extravaganza!
Do you enjoy playing the off the beaten track venues in Australia – I’ve read that you had a great set in Darwin?
For sure. I think one of the funniest far away gigs we did was at a backpackers in Malaysia with Urthboy and Ozi Batla. We’d actually just finished a show in KL so we took a few days off and flew out to an island but we still had all our equipment with us. When we got there the owners we’re keen for us to play so we set up on the BBQ out the back and did a little show for the 10 or so people staying there.
What’s coming up next for Hermitude? Is there another album in the works?
Indeed. We enjoyed working on Hyperparadise everyday throughout 2011. We’ve really been itching to find that rhythm of writing again. Now that this year is coming to a close, we’ve got a bit more time on our hands next year to get back into the studio and start on our next record.