Australian Electronic Hip Hop Duo Hermitude talks Hermi vibes, sounds and influences with us ahead of their tour to Asia.
Hailing from Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, Hermitude comprise of members Luke Dubber (a.k.a. Luke Dubs) and Angus Stuart (a.k.a. El Gusto) are set to tour the world with a stop in Asia (Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong).
The duo recently dropped their brand new track ‘OneFourThree’ (feat. Buddy & BJ the Chicago Kid)’, a hip-hop influenced summer groove, bending genres and bridging the gap between electronic music and hip-hop.
This single is off their new album ‘Pollyanarchy’, set for release this autumn.
In Singapore for a gig on August 30 at Kilo Lounge, the AsiaLive365 team had a chance to catch up with the dynamic duo before they embarked fully on their world tour.
Here is what they have to say about their Hermi sound!
ASL365: I understand that you guys are on a world tour. Tell us what the experience has been like. For instance, is this your first time to the region/Singapore?
Hermitude: The world tour starts tomorrow night and we’re pretty pretty excited! We have been to Singapore once before on the Laneway tour but we’ve never done our own club show so we can’t wait to flex our Hermi vibes in Singapore!
ASL365: I’m sure that you’ve heard that Singapore (and Asia in general) is a food paradise. So… Any plans to try the local food here?
Hermitude: Indeed! Let us know the spots 😉 We love trying the local cuisine so I’m sure we’ll attempt our own food safaris wherever we can.
ASL365: ‘Northern Lights’ has such a great beat and rhythm. It is probably my favourite track right now. What was it like recording that piece or what was the inspiration for that track?
Hermitude: Thanks! The inspiration for that tune came from old rave and dance music from the 90’s. We’re big fans of that stuff and it helped us to shape the main riff in the drop. We recorded most of the vocals in LA which was a great experience and then Vory sent his vocals from Miami. It all came together at the last minute!
ASL365: Any other artist(s) that you guys reckon you would love to work with or collaborate on a couple of tracks with in the future?
Hermitude: Many haha. Goldlink, Leikeli47, FKA Twigs, Octavian and many more.
ASL365: The Hermitude sound is pretty lit! I can only imagine what the live music will be like. Tell us.. What is an average Hermitude set/gig like? What can we expect to see and feel at your gig? And why should we go to your show?
Hermitude: We’re doing the DJ set for our Singapore show but we blend a nice mix of our own music and other tunes that we’re feeling at the moment. Energy levels are high. Dance floor vibes are big, and it’s basically good times all night long!
ASL365: If you could describe the “Hermitude sound” in three words or a sentence, what would you say?
ASL365: What were your influences in music (whether as a kid, teen or adult) and how do you feel that has affected or formulated your own music?
Hermitude: We listened to a lot of old Blues, Reggae, Funk and Jazz as kids. I think it definitely filters through from time to time. Our latest track “OneFourThree” has a lot of those elements in there.
ASL365: If you could invite a personal music hero to your dinner party, who would it be and why?
Hermitude: Quincy Jones. He is the GOAT and we would pick his ears the whole dinner about his amazing life story and all the incredible music he has made.
ASL365: What are you guys working at the moment? We’re loving OneFourThree at the moment. Any other new music or sounds?
Hermitude: Yep. Record drops in a month so lots of new music coming!
ASL365: Do you have a shoutout for your fans reading this interview right now?
Hermitude: Thanks to anyone who has ever listened to our music and we’d love to see you at our show on Friday night!
Thank you so much for the interview guys and see you both on August 30 in Singapore and on the 31 in Bangkok! Special thanks to Collective Minds and Secret Signals.
