Hermitude“Last week I was challenged to make a song with a basketball,” says Jonti, the bespectacled, beanie-sporting man standing behind a formidable array of electronic music-making devices. The track he opens with features samples of the satisfying smack of a basketball, with his own vocal lines layered in as the song progresses. The set is fun and energetic and gets the swelling crowd dancing, although Jonti perhaps relies a little too heavily on pre-recorded material to truly show his compositional strengths live on stage.
The sold-out room has come to see Hermitude though, and Luke Dubs and El Gusto receive the warmest of welcomes when they take the stage. They are masters of their dancefloor domain, and they get the crowd moving early with All Of You and Sloucho Darx. Their set is heavy on tracks from their latest hit album, HyperParadise, with a smattering of hip hop and older work thrown in for good measure.
Live producers' sets can be tough to execute – a straight DJ set doesn't usually cut it, and the fiddly finesse required for great production doesn't often translate well to the stage. Hermitude tackle this issue by delighting in the chance to showcase their talents live – Luke Dubs drops some fiendish keyboard solos (including a particularly impressive one summertime anthem, Golden), while El Gusto scratches up a few storms. The duo keep the crowd thoroughly engaged – in fact, they only welcome one vocal guest to the stage: Chaos Emerald, the vocalist for Speak Of The Devil. They round out the set with the dark swagger of The Villain before being coaxed back for an encore – the hauntingly strange Cloud City. There's no question that they'll leave the night on such a relaxed note, though – after all, this is Hermitude. Before they leave the stage, they make sure the audience is dancing, sweaty, exuberant and thoroughly satisfied.
