Hermitude
| Hermitude | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Blue Mountains, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Elefant Traks |
| Website | hermitude |
| Members |
|
Hermitude is an Australian electronic hip hop duo, originating from the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
Multi-instrumentalists, Luke Dubber (a.k.a. Luke Dubs) and Angus Stuart (a.k.a. El Gusto), have collaborated in bands since 1994, when they were aged 16 and 11, respectively. Their first functional band was called "Funk Injections" and included Stuart's sister, Aja Stuart, on bass.
When a group of local rappers, including Tim Levinson (a.k.a. Urthboy) from the Herd, were impressed by Funk Injections' abilities, the two groups briefly incorporated in 1998, performing for a while under the name "Explanetary". Explanetary consisted of Levinson on vocals, Dubber on keyboards, Stuart on drums, Realfatix on vocals (and sometimes production), No Mumbles (a.k.a. Nug) on vocals, Aja Stuart (Stuart's sister) on bass and DJ ALF on cuts. Explanetary only released one EP, In On the Deal, in July 2001 following which the members went their separate ways.
After Stuart returned from a trip to the US in 2000 with a set of turntables, the two tried jamming together with Dubs playing keyboard, sans vocals. The combination worked so well that they realised they didn't need anything else, and Hermitude was formed.
Signing with the Elefant Traks label, founded by The Herd, Hermitude released the vinyl-only Imaginary Friends EP in 2002. The collection of esoteric instrumental soundscapes, with two vocal cuts provided by Urthboy and Ozi Batla, sold out and has never been transferred to CD, making it a collector's item. A year later, the band's first album, Alleys to Valleys, was released. The name referred to their moving between Sydney and a recording studio called Sound Heaven in the Blue Mountains, owned by Stuart's father, John Stuart, which allowed them to live like hermit crabs half the time. The other half of their time they spent coming down from the mountains to try out their new material in the clubs of the city.
The popularity of Hermitude's debut allowed them to earn support billing with touring international acts such as, Dizzee Rascal, RJD2, and DJ Krush, and then record Tales of the Drift in 2005. A more percussive, Cuban sound was created, inspired by Stuart's time spent there in his youth. In 2006 Hermitude embarked overseas to pursue bigger success, landing gigs in Europe, Asia and the US. They were invited to perform in Malaysia,Norway and Spain as well as at DJ Kentaro's Japanese album launch, and were booked for Aceyalone and Abstract Rude's West Coast US tour. Whilst on this world tour, Dubber and Stuart wrote the tunes that would make up their 2007 Rare Sightings EP release. Released in November 2007, initially sold at venues on their return tour of Australia, it was their fourth release on Elefant Traks. Hermitude then joined Urthboy and The Tongue on a national tour throughout Australia. Copies of the CD sold out during the tour and had to go back to press before copies could be released in stores.
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