The Hermit (band)
Encyclopedia
The Hermit is a Canadian
electronica
group started by Hamish Thomson. Based in Vancouver
, the group initially consisted solely of Thomson but has come to include other musicians, notably singer Allison Shevernoha. The Hermit is known for its uplifting sound and down-to-earth drum beats.
Music Program, going on to form the Vancouver based trio Big Tall Garden. Since then Thomson has worked as a drummer in a variety of bands including Vancouver’s The Simples. In 2000 Thomson decided he needed more control over his musical creativity and formed the one-man group The Hermit. The Hermit’s first album Flying out of Solitude was produced and released independently in 2001. Working with engineer Mike Rogerson, Thomson wrote and recorded the ten tracks by himself, playing all the instruments and even using some unusual objects to make his music like a toaster oven. The album is mainly instrumental consisting of spacey synths which are grounded by Thomson’s drum beats, which he emphasizes are made with a real kit. The album was described as "a wonderful little gem of a first album...a minor masterpiece at best, but it’s still a masterpiece" by PopMatters
.
After The release of Flying out of Solitude, The Hermit was signed by Nettwerk, a Vancouver based record label that has released albums by other notable Canadian acts such as Ron Sexsmith
and Sarah McLachlan
. Nettwerk re-released Flying out of Solitude which helped lead to The Hermit receiving the nomination for Best Independent Release at the West Coast Music Awards, and then for Male Artist of the Year and Best Electronic Release the following year.
For The Hermit’s second album, Wonderment, Thomson decided to expand the scope of his band to feature a variety of musicians. While still relying largely on loops for many of the instruments, a number of guest vocalists appear on the album. This marked the first time that Allison Shevernoha, who sings on the tracks "Flutterbye" and "Sir Real", was featured on The Hermit roster.
After releasing Wonderment The Hermit went on tour featuring Thomson on drums, Jon Frederiksen on bass, Robb Mitchell on keyboard, and Allison Shevernoha on vocals. The band toured across Canada as well as playing one show in Seattle. Upon returning home The Hermit continued performing, and had the opportunity to play shows with more prominent acts like Canadian indie rockers Apostle of Hustle
and New York’s Ivy.
Wonderment landed The Hermit a lot more recognition than Thomson’s solo debut. The video for the track "Sir Real" reached the number one spot on Bravo’s Top 30 Video Countdown. Also, at the Canadian Music Week’s Indie Awards, The Hermit beat out better-known Canadian electronica acts the Junior Boys and Caribou, to be voted Favourite Electronica Artist. The album drew comparisons with Air.
For The Hermit’s third release, 2007’s Turn Up (the Stereo), which was released independently, Thomson and Shevernoha worked together much more closely, with the two co-writing eight of the ten tracks. The album also brought other changes for the band; Thomson, having produced both previous albums, worked with Krish Sharma to produce Turn Up. As well, for the first time The Hermit recorded a number of tracks live-off-the-floor instead of using looped tracks for most of the instruments.
Hamish Thomson is currently working as a drum instructor at Deep Cove Music in Vancouver. He also does session drumming and producing, as well as still playing shows with The Hermit.
For The Hermit’s second album Wonderment Thomson collaborated with a variety of vocalists including Martina Sorbara of the Britain based electropop group Dragonette, Allison Shevernoha of the Winnipeg indie pop band Paper Moon, C.R. Avery of the Vancouver based spoken word group Tons of Fun University, Frazey Ford
of the folky Vancouver band The Be Good Tanyas
, Amalia Townsend of the jazz group Sekoya, and Shelley Campbell.
The Hermit is currently composed of Hamish Thomson on drums, Robb Mitchell on keyboard, Rachel "Red" Watson and Allison Shevernoha on vocals, Jon Frederiksen on bass, and Duane Murrin on guitar.
, Brian Eno
, Kate Bush
, Bob Marley
, and The Police
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
group started by Hamish Thomson. Based in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, the group initially consisted solely of Thomson but has come to include other musicians, notably singer Allison Shevernoha. The Hermit is known for its uplifting sound and down-to-earth drum beats.
History
Hamish Thomson began his career in music as a drummer, initially working with a pipe band in Vancouver. He completed two years in the Capilano CollegeCapilano College
Capilano University is an undergraduate-focused, public, coeducational, teaching-intensive university located in the District of North Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is enabled by the University Act...
Music Program, going on to form the Vancouver based trio Big Tall Garden. Since then Thomson has worked as a drummer in a variety of bands including Vancouver’s The Simples. In 2000 Thomson decided he needed more control over his musical creativity and formed the one-man group The Hermit. The Hermit’s first album Flying out of Solitude was produced and released independently in 2001. Working with engineer Mike Rogerson, Thomson wrote and recorded the ten tracks by himself, playing all the instruments and even using some unusual objects to make his music like a toaster oven. The album is mainly instrumental consisting of spacey synths which are grounded by Thomson’s drum beats, which he emphasizes are made with a real kit. The album was described as "a wonderful little gem of a first album...a minor masterpiece at best, but it’s still a masterpiece" by PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
.
After The release of Flying out of Solitude, The Hermit was signed by Nettwerk, a Vancouver based record label that has released albums by other notable Canadian acts such as Ron Sexsmith
Ron Sexsmith
Ronald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...
and Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
. Nettwerk re-released Flying out of Solitude which helped lead to The Hermit receiving the nomination for Best Independent Release at the West Coast Music Awards, and then for Male Artist of the Year and Best Electronic Release the following year.
For The Hermit’s second album, Wonderment, Thomson decided to expand the scope of his band to feature a variety of musicians. While still relying largely on loops for many of the instruments, a number of guest vocalists appear on the album. This marked the first time that Allison Shevernoha, who sings on the tracks "Flutterbye" and "Sir Real", was featured on The Hermit roster.
After releasing Wonderment The Hermit went on tour featuring Thomson on drums, Jon Frederiksen on bass, Robb Mitchell on keyboard, and Allison Shevernoha on vocals. The band toured across Canada as well as playing one show in Seattle. Upon returning home The Hermit continued performing, and had the opportunity to play shows with more prominent acts like Canadian indie rockers Apostle of Hustle
Apostle of Hustle
Apostle of Hustle is a Canadian indie rock group, formed in 2001 by Andrew Whiteman.-History:The band is more or less the brainchild of Andrew Whiteman, who has been in such groups as Bourbon Tabernacle Choir and Que Vida. He released a solo effort titled Fear of Zen in 1995. He is also the lead...
and New York’s Ivy.
Wonderment landed The Hermit a lot more recognition than Thomson’s solo debut. The video for the track "Sir Real" reached the number one spot on Bravo’s Top 30 Video Countdown. Also, at the Canadian Music Week’s Indie Awards, The Hermit beat out better-known Canadian electronica acts the Junior Boys and Caribou, to be voted Favourite Electronica Artist. The album drew comparisons with Air.
For The Hermit’s third release, 2007’s Turn Up (the Stereo), which was released independently, Thomson and Shevernoha worked together much more closely, with the two co-writing eight of the ten tracks. The album also brought other changes for the band; Thomson, having produced both previous albums, worked with Krish Sharma to produce Turn Up. As well, for the first time The Hermit recorded a number of tracks live-off-the-floor instead of using looped tracks for most of the instruments.
Hamish Thomson is currently working as a drum instructor at Deep Cove Music in Vancouver. He also does session drumming and producing, as well as still playing shows with The Hermit.
Band members
Flying Out of Solitude was a solo effort by Hamish Thomson, who played all the instruments on the album.For The Hermit’s second album Wonderment Thomson collaborated with a variety of vocalists including Martina Sorbara of the Britain based electropop group Dragonette, Allison Shevernoha of the Winnipeg indie pop band Paper Moon, C.R. Avery of the Vancouver based spoken word group Tons of Fun University, Frazey Ford
Frazey Ford
Frazey Ford is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was a founding member of The Be Good Tanyas. Her solo debut Obadiah was released on Nettwerk on July 20, 2010....
of the folky Vancouver band The Be Good Tanyas
The Be Good Tanyas
The Be Good Tanyas are a Canadian traditional music group, whose influences included folk, country, and bluegrass. The style of music they performed can be referred to as alt-country or Americana.-Career:...
, Amalia Townsend of the jazz group Sekoya, and Shelley Campbell.
The Hermit is currently composed of Hamish Thomson on drums, Robb Mitchell on keyboard, Rachel "Red" Watson and Allison Shevernoha on vocals, Jon Frederiksen on bass, and Duane Murrin on guitar.
Influences
The Hermit describes its influences as "the world around" them. Thomson has cited other key influences as U2U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
, and The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
.
Discography
- Flying Out of Solitude (2001)
- Wonderment (2005, NettwerkNettwerkThe Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Management, Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk One Publishing, Nutone Records, and Artwerk. With over 150 employees, the Vancouver-based company has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Boston, Nashville, and Hamburg...
) - Turn Up (the Stereo) (2007)
External links
- The Hermit
- The Hermit Myspace
- The Hermit on CBC Radio 3
- The Simples
- Deep Cove Music
- Phillips, Derek (2008) "The Hermit: Ten Questions We Ask Everyone", Glorious Noise