The first time I saw Hermitude was as a support act for Urthboy’s national tour in 2007. At the time, there was a bit more hip hop to their sound, collaborating with various MCs on several tracks. These days, Hermitude are much more dance/ electro, but I ain’t complaining. The poster boys for independent label Elefant Traks, they’ve been riding high since the 2012 release of HyperParadise, and with the release of their latest album Dark Night Sweet Light, I can’t see any signs of them slowing down.
When they hit the stage at 170 Russell, this sleazy old nightclub felt like it could have been any of the top, exclusive club venues around the world, such is the energy Hermitude bring on stage with them. They brought some bass early before easing everyone into the set with the catchy, sugary single Ukiyo off the new release. On a few occasions, it felt like they were toying with us, weaving together mashups of several of their well-known tracks. I’m not embarrassed to say I false started on going crazy to HyperParadise a bit too early, but when they did unleash it two tracks later, oh boy did the crowd lose its shit.
Somehow Hermitude have created a plethora of almost anthemic dance tracks, both old and new. Dubs and El Gusto bounce off each other innately, jamming out with their weird, electro instruments to create music that, quite frankly, is almost impossible to not jump around to.
Highlight of the set for me was Speak of the Devil. Back when I first saw Hermitude, I had a bit of a take it or leave it attitude towards them. A few years later, I caught them at a festival gig and it was this track that got me hooked. Tonight they brought out a guest vocalist/ dancer, who acted as a hype woman, not that they really needed it. They closed out the set with a couple of their new hits; Through The Roof and The Buzz, which you get the feeling will be getting more airplay than Frank Walker from National Tiles in the coming months. The encore of Get In My Life was nearly enough to raise the roof and then bring it crashing down, as they finished up leaving the crowd absolutely buzzing.
What I like most about these guys is that there is just no fluff. They don’t bother too much with trying to hype up the crowd – they let their music do the talking for them. With a completely sold out Australian tour nearly done and dusted, and several big festivals to come across North America (including Lollapalooza), it doesn’t look like things will be slowing for these guys any time soon.
BY EBEN ROJTER
Loved: Something to cut loose to on a Sunday.
Hated: 170 Russell is still Billboards, and there’s still too much sleaze here.
Drank: MB x VB.
