Hermitude Are El Gusto & Luke Dubs, An award-winning duo based in Sydney, Australia. Over the course of 12 years they’ve released four albums, most recently the Australian Music Prize-winning album HyperParadise. With music in their blood, Hermitude formed in the early 2000s after playing live together in various bands from an early age. Their first EP was the vinyl-only Imaginary Friends, shortly followed by their debut album Alleys to Valleys. These were both released by the indie label Elefant Traks, the beginning of a long association between them.
The sophistication of Tales of the Drift, their second album, earned the duo critical acclaim and a loyal fan base. This was followed by the EP Rare Sightings in 2007 and a year later the more electronic Threads LP dropped Shortly after the release, Elgusto and Dubs embarked on different creative projects, and while their live shows and recorded material were exemplary, the electronic trends were caught up in dubstep and other sub-genres. While Hermitude had no intention of chasing trends, the question of what to do next grew louder.
The answer came in a revitalised energy between these two lifelong friends and a song called ‘Speak of the Devil’. The response was huge, landing it in the triple j Hottest 100 and winning the triple j Award for Best Video. Hermitude’s fourth album HyperParadise followed in early 2012 and, for the first time in their career, charted in the Australian Top 40. The accompanying tour quickly sold-out but it became apparent it was nothing compared to what was coming. Where once they were playing chilled-out side stages at festivals, they were now playing prime spots on the electronic and dance stages. It wasn’t long until they were main stage.
Then something else happened, a young friend named Flume remixed their song ‘HyperParadise’ and everything escalated again. Hype Machine and Soundcloud went bonkers and the song blew up to almost double platinum status in Australia. They went on to win the AIR Award for Best Electronic Album, received ARIA Award nominations for Best Dance Release, and of course became winners of the prestigious Australian Music Prize (beating Flume and other great albums).
In 2014 they dropped the single ‘Ukiyo’ without radio or video servicing, yet in a few months it had millions of plays. In October of that year Hermitude toured North America for the first time, supporting Rüfüs Du Sol. Their unique and dynamic live show blew away booking agents across the USA and Europe, who were not accustomed to such a tight, concert-like performance from an electronic duo. In January 2015, ‘Through The Roof’, the first official single from the new album drops, and they were simultaneously announced on a run of prominent US festivals, including Governor’s Ball in NYC, Buku Festival in New Orleans and SXSW in Austin, TX.
