Not many artists can say they’ve had a bigger 2012 than Hermitude.
The Sydney-based, Elefant Traks-fuelled duo have used every second of their spare time to spread the word of their most recent genre bending release, HyperParadise, and collected more than a handful of awards and nominations along the way; a mean feat for a talent exposing such a niche market to Australian music fans.
One half of the experimental duo, Angus Stuart (aka Elgusto), discusses the changes he and partner in crime, Luke Dubber (aka Luke Dubs), made in the formation of their new electronica masterpiece.
Elgusto admitted the new record had jumped significantly in terms of their genre hallmarks compared to their earlier releases, but was ecstatic the gamble paid off.
“We’ve always balanced on the edge of hip hop. This time around we took a bit of a turn and went more electronic on the production style,” explained the beatsmith. “We decided we wanted to keep the record purely instrumental, and I think the direction that vision gave us offered it a particular sound compared to our previous works.”
For Hermitude, it seemed the time was right to produce an electronically-driven instrumental album, according to Stuart: “With the music these days, the electronic music being more dominant, we felt the timing was right.”
“We’ve always balanced on the edge of hip hop. This time around we took a bit of a turn and went more electronic on the production style.”“It’s been really exciting, we’ve been writing records for 10 years, and it’s just been interesting watching the climate,” he continues, “when we first released our work it was more based on house. And now it’s experimental and beat that has really come to the forefront.”
It was this ‘thinking outside the square’ approach that Elgusto thanked for the uprising of the HyperParadise release, later revealing, “it was the sound people were digging at the time and [we] tried to make the record available to all and stand up to other records with vocals.”
This time around however, Stuart confessed their approach to songwriting contrasted anything they’d previously conjured up. “We’d do a lot of experimenting. We’d even do things such as tapping a bottle with a drum stick. Things like that that were unconventional.”
Like a pair of mad scientists, the pair confined themselves to their very own sound lab, known as ‘The Cave’ to work on their new vision.
The songwriting process this time around was quite foreign to the pair, but no doubt defined them. “We really wanted go about a song really differently to working with vocalists. Sometimes you have to forget about having a vocalist and focus on how the song is going to move from here to there.”
HyperParadise has swept through both the recorded and live mediums, fetching a string of awards including the Australian Independent Records (AIR) award for best Independent Dance/Electronica album, as well as being nominated for ARIA awards and featuring heavily on local radio.
Adding to their sweep of awards and prestige over the last 18 months is the electronic beat pioneers’ nomination for the 8th annual Australian Music Prize. The pair has been shortlisted in the final nine contenders to take out this year’s honour, which sees the worthy recipient pocket $AU 30,000.
So, how excited were the guys upon hearing the news? “We were super stoked” a joyous Elgusto remarked.
The nomination, as Stuart revealed, has significant sentimental value for the couple, who were clearly overwhelmed by the response to their release.
“Luke and I were really happy that we got shortlisted. Having an electronic instrumental album against all those pop records kind of blew us away. We were all really happy, we went to bed that night with smiles on our faces”.
To coincide with their welcomed nomination, the live performance masters will be leading the free entertainment celebrating the AMP at Federation Square in Melbourne early next month. AMP Alive will showcase the talents of the pair, as well as fellow Elefant Traks artist Urthboy, who is also amongst the nine artists also shortlisted for the major prize.
Dubs and Elgusto had also lent a hand in producing the Urthboy release, Smokey’s Haunt, making the dual nominations for the AMP even more satisfying. “It’s just been a fantastic ride with Urthboy; it’s almost like we’ve had two albums nominated,” says Stuart.
AMP Alive will be hosted by Australian singer-songwriter Clare Bowditch, along with Kevin Mitchell (AKA Bob Evans) to help showcase some of the country’s finest talent in a special one-off performance, as well as the official announcement of the nine shortlisted albums.
Without giving too much away about the Federation Square performance, the electronic multi-talents gave an insight into their live spectacle: “We like to perform as live as possible, so we have the whole package – synths, turntables, [everything] on stage”.
Adamant their performances are enormously hands-on and energized, Stuart credited the pair’s early musical ventures as their main influence: “Dubs and I came from a live band background so we’ve really put emphasis on that. We aren’t just sitting behind laptops checking our emails.”
“Luke and I were really happy that we got shortlisted. Having an electronic instrumental album against all those pop records kind of blew us away… we went to bed that night with smiles on our faces.”If their preparation for their AMP Alive performances wasn’t enough, the Sydney-siders have a headlining national tour to look forward to.
Having already sold out some of the country’s most iconic live music venues, including Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory and Melbourne’s Corner Hotel, the dynamic duo have admitted some nerves: “Things are getting pretty hectic!”
As for narrowing down a highlight for the year past, Elgusto could look no further than his experiences over the nights at Woodford Folk festival during the New Year period.
“Both nights we had a massive crowd and were absolutely wild,” he enthuses. “There was like 12 year olds jumping on stage in tie-dye onesies, it was such an amazing place to spend the end of the year and see the effect of a record going well.”
Outside of the recording and live performance circuit, Stuart also has a passion for the art of vinyl collecting. The wax archaeologist continues to be inspired on a regular basis by the uncovered wonders of the vinyl realm. “We went to Indonesia a few years and went for a dig, and found heaps of psych records – all 60s and 70s records,” he adds.
However, the producer credits one record in particular, “the big inspiration for me was Herbie Hancock – Headhunters. That really changed things up for me. It really made me wanna get down and pull that grimacing face.”
HyperParadise is out now through Elefant Traks. Hermitude play the Coopers AMP Presents: Amp Alive in February, amidst dates for their national headline tour. Dates and details below.
The Coopers AMP Presents: AMP Alive
FRIDAY 1ST FEBRUARY, 2013, 6pm – FEDERATION SQUARE, MELBOURNE
A free event featuring the best of 2012’s Australian music.
Hosted by Clare Bowditch and Kevin Mitchell.
with Hermitude + More To Be Announced
Hermitude 2013 Australian Tour
With special guest Jonti
SATURDAY 26 JANUARY — SOLD OUT
OXFORD ART FACTORY, SYDNEY
Tickets
SUNDAY 27 JANUARY — SOLD OUT
THE ZOO, BRISBANE
Tickets
THURSDAY 31 JANUARY
REPUBLIC BAR, HOBART
Tickets
FRIDAY 1 FEBRUARY — SOLD OUT
CORNER HOTEL, MELBOURNE
Tickets
SATURDAY 2 FEBRUARY — SOLD OUT
JIVE BAR, ADELAIDE
Tickets
TUESDAY 5 FEBRUARY — SOLD OUT
CORNER HOTEL, MELBOURNE
Tickets
SATURDAY 9 FEBRUARY — SOLD OUT
OXFORD ART FACTORY SYDNEY
Tickets
SUNDAY 10 FEBRUARY
OXFORD ART FACTORY SYDNEY — 3RD & FINAL SHOW
Tickets
THURSDAY 21 FEBRUARY
CORNER HOTEL MELBOURNE — 3RD & FINAL SHOW
Tickets
