Hermitude“Behind us, there's a window, and there's curtains, and it basically looks out into the valley, and a cliff face, and we're on this kind of large property, and there's kangaroos hopping around. It’s bananas. It's just kind of magical. We're in a bit of a bubble”
That bubble in Blackheath, near the highest point of the Blue Mountains – a couple of hours west of Sydney – is where the duo of Luke ‘Dubs’ Dubber and Angus ‘El Gusto’ Stuart chat to The Music during a rehearsal break for their upcoming tour.
That studio with the “bananas” outlook of the sweeping valley beyond is the environment that has become the backdrop for the joyful eighth album from the Australian electronic pioneers known as Hermitude.
Conveniently named, EIGHT, (a title that both members came upon on the same day) the album is a resumption of the up-beat, positive, dancier, club direction that Hermitude has taken on since their hugely successful fifth album, Dark Night, Sweet Light.
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Whilst they are hugely proud of that album, their sound has taken a few diversions since, with the more immersive, atmospheric Mirror Mountain in 2022.
The friendship between Dubber and Stuart has been going for close to 30 years, since the pair met in a Katoomba school, sharing a love of turntables, samples and electronic music.
Their first Hermitude EP, Imaginary Friends, dropped in 2002, marking the start of a remarkable journey from pioneering Australian electronic music to some of the biggest clubs around the world.
Thinking back on 24 years ago, the pair are incredulous. “We have a photo here in the studio of us at our first ever photoshoot.” begins Dubber. “And I had a moment where it hit me. I was like, ‘Fuck, that's right, this has been going on for a little while now.' We look a lot different in that photo!”
For a pair of friends to last this long in the business, it takes a shared love of the genre, but also a lot of give and take in their personal lives as well as the creative process. A process that Dubber feels has found a new place in the making of this eighth album.
“The process has been awesome for this record. Every record's different and you're different for every record, you know?” he explains. “You're in a different spot in your life and different things are happening outside of music and this album has been one of those ones that just was, like, it flows easy when we're in the studio, you know? And that doesn't happen every time.”
“There's just been a lot of life and ups and downs outside of this record but I think the studio has been…” Dubber pauses, before Stuart finishes the thought with the word that says a lot. “Refuge.”
This refuge has meant that when they have the time, between family commitments, to be in the studio, they are making the most of it and building a sound unlike one they’ve created before. “I think that's been a really cool energy for this album,” resolves Dubber.
There is another significant change for Hermitude with this album being the first release in their careers without the Elefant Traks label, the iconic hip hop label that folded in 2024 after 26 trailblazing years.
When asked about this change and the transition to their own label – poignantly called Heavy Weather – the pair are philosophical.
“It feels really different, but it feels really similar in a way as well,” starts Dubber before Stuart continues, “It's one of those things – as a door closes, another door opens. Without realising, after a few weeks, this new music we had and with Elefant Traks gone, and us deciding to do our own label, it was super exciting.”
Dubber jumps in, “I saw Dale (Harrison), from The Herd at another gig a couple of weeks ago, and I got a bit emotional, because he was like ’Bro, this is the first record that you guys have put out that I've had nothing to do with.’
“It was such a tight-knit team in Elefant Traks, and so little memories like that come into your mind, and you're like, that's a real thing that we'll miss, but at the same time, this new chapter feels really exciting, and I think it's going to unfold more as the years go on, as to how we can kind of utilise the label for different ideas.”
The album starts big and doesn’t stop until the final track of the record. There are dance-floor fillers, hand-picked collaborations, teaming up with vocalists and producers that bring another layer to the immense instrumentality of the record.
After touring the USA after the pandemic and finding what the fans were hungry for, the band have taken their love of joyful club bangers to a new level, starting with the opening track from EIGHT titled All That, a viscerally pulsing track incorporating the vocal of American rapper and producer, Wes Period.
Was this an intentional pivot following the introspection and atmosphere of their COVID era, Mirror Mountain?
Dubber agrees, “We definitely chatted about it in the early days and had a little blueprint as to where we wanted to go, and I think we just kind of fell in love with what was happening in the club scene towards the end of Mirror Mountain.”
Stuart continues, ”[It] was the stepping stone – it was the bridge. We started dabbling in more four-to-the-floor production, which we never had really done before and that was us cutting our teeth and learning a bit more about it – not to say that we're still not.
“I feel like we're more realised with EIGHT, we know what we're doing – but we’re still imprinting our sound on it and trying to find our space in that.”
He concludes, talking of the fun that this album evokes; ”If you listen to our whole catalogue, we're always slowly evolving – our sound and our albums and everything, you know?
“And this is another notch in the belt in the direction we're heading. I think we just like to have fun and do things that challenge us!”
And that feeling of fun has evolved into five huge singles that were dropped pre album release, including Light Up, a track that explodes with vocals from English punk-rappers Bob Vylan into a fusion of warbling synth and throbbing beats that take you straight to the dance-floor, Royalty, a slow-building collaboration with Perth-based afro-pop sensation, Adrian Dzvuke, and For The Night, a well-timed team-up with DEVAURA, a rising pop star from Sydney.
The rest of the album includes collaborations with Blue Mountains-raised, Melbourne-based producer, IsGwan and American producer, Kameron, and whilst Hermitude have always seen themselves as primarily an instrumental group, these collaborations bring with them that extra gravitas and the differentiation that can sometimes get lost in instrumental dance music.
IsGwan (aka Isaac Walker), in particular specialises in UK garage infused dance and his connection with Hermitude stems from a family friendship with Stuart.
“I know him from family, he's a few years younger than me, and I remember being at some parties when we were younger, and being like, ‘This is Isaac,’ but then we didn't see each other for years and then I ran into his mum in Bunnings.”
This chance hardware encounter led to a session in the Mountains on a homecoming trip which then led to not only his collaboration on the UK Garage-infused I Want Ya, but also inclusion on the upcoming Hermitude album tour.
Stuart concludes, “It was this real awesome full cycle moment which was super fun”
In typical Hermitude fashion, they never do things by halves. The group have been known to hold a launch party in a No Lights, No Lycra session for Dark Night, Sweet Light, hang in a cable-car over the Blue Mountains for an album party for Mirror Mountain, and now as part of the launch for the newest album, the duo will be attending eight Record Store Day events in 24 hours.
“We’re going for the Guinness World Record or something,” jokes Dubber. “It's like a really fun idea, again trying to embody the vibe of the album and just have heaps of fun with it, and not overthink it. It was an idea that just kind of blossomed into this thing, and now we're doing it!”
In a perfect piece of serendipity, EIGHT drops the day before the annual celebration of record stores, Stuart acknowledges how right it feels, “We love vinyl. We’ve pressed all our releases on vinyl, we love the physical media, and we love record stores. We dig for samples all the time, and it just feels like this beautiful moment.”
The symbolism of the number eight is not lost on the duo and with it also representing infinity, their music will live forever and there’s a feeling that Hermitude won’t be stopping any time soon.
Hermitude’s EIGHT is out today. Find their 2026 Record Store Day plans below, with tickets to their upcoming tour on sale now.
Hermitude – Record Store Day 2026 Instore Appearances
Friday, April 17th
5pm – Hat Hill Records, Blackheath, NSW
Saturday, April 18th
9am – Beatdisc Records, Parramatta, NSW
10am – Crosstalk Records, Leichhardt, NSW
11:45am – Daddyrich Records, Dulwich Hill, NSW
1pm – Fanatico Records, Marrickville, NSW
3pm – Hum on King, Newtown, NSW
4:15pm – The Record Store, Surry Hills, NSW
5:30pm – Bondi Records, Bondi Junction, NSW
Hermitude – The EIGHT Tour 2026
Supported by IsGwan*
Sunday, April 19th – Earp Distilling Co, Newcastle, NSW
Saturday, May 2nd – The Factory, Cairns, QLD
Friday, May 15th – The Gov, Adelaide, SA*
Saturday, May 16th – Ice Cream Factory Warehouse, Perth, WA*
Friday, May 22nd – Northcote Theatre, Melbourne, VIC*
Saturday, May 23rd– ODEON, Hobart, TAS*
Friday, May 29th– Metro Theatre, Sydney, NSW*
Saturday, May 30th– Tivoli, Brisbane, QLD
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
