Elements EP by Hermanez

Belgium’s Michael Coninx aka Hermanez has been a driving force for electronic music coming out of his home turf for quite some time now having been releasing material via the likes of Suara, Kling Klong, Trapez and Monique Musique since 2009. Here we see Hermanez slot into the Gruuv roster following a steady run of material on the label in 2015 from the likes of Hugo, Emanuel Satie and Spirit Catcher.

Opening the record is ‘The Lovers’ which sees Hermanez deliver a swinging, bassy heavy workout fuelled by shuffled rhythms, rumbling subs and swirling vocal echoes. ‘The Magician’ follows and takes things a little more low slung with bumpy drum lines, cavernous vocal hits and an infectious acid-tinged bass hook running alongside menacing synthesized drones.

Last up on the originals from Hermanez is ‘The Hermit’ which strips things back even further to a sparse and vacillating rhythmic groove, while sporadic piano licks and dubby stabs instill a raw and minimalistic grit to the composition. Albania’s Sabb then rounds off the package with his take on ‘The Lovers’, delivering a percussive reshape laid out over seven and a half minutes with tension building strings elongated bass hook and shuffling snares easing In and out of the groove.

Hermanez - Elements EP
Release date 11th May 2015
Label Gruuv Recordings

Tracklist
1. The Lovers
2. The Magician
3. The Hermit
4. The Lovers (Sabb Remix)