10 April 2024 - 0 Comments

Hominid is the musical project of Benny Jennings (he/him), a sound designer and composer based in Te Whanganui a Tara (Wellington, NZ).

Heavily influenced by UK IDM, Electronica and Deep House, Hominid is embodied by flourishing textures, scrambled tape loops, four on the floor kicks, found sound and field recordings. Jennings’ hopes that Hominid can add a much needed tender, human and personal touch to Aotearoa's Electronic Dance music scene.

Today Hominid released their debut track Introvert//Extrovert, from their eponymous three track EP (out digitally and on CD on May 27).

STREAM INTROVERT EXTROVERT

BANDCAMP

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APPLE MUSIC

Introvert//Extrovert spans the full emotional gambit, with feelings of anxious apprehension turning to elation & joy. Beginning as a sound experiment centred around an underwater field recording, Hominid’s lush loops crescendo into club ready drumbreaks perfect for an intimate and emotive dance floor.

“I do a lot of field recording; it's a big part of my day-to-day job in the film industry but also how I meditate and connect with the world,” says Jennings. “I love the idea of my music being a journal of interesting sounds I have found out in the world.”

“The whole track is underpinned with water field recordings, especially an underwater one recorded with a hydrophone (Ambient ASF-1 Hydrophone). There’s this gritty textural whooshing element that sits underneath most of the track, and that is the sound of the tide moving small stones underwater out at Moa Point here in Te Whanganui a Tara (Wellington).”

Hominid cites Four Tet’s 2010 album There is Love in You as a major influence on Introvert//Extrovert; “I listened to it on some mushrooms about a year ago and just thought - ‘Shit, I desperately need to make something that makes me feel as ‘whole’ as this album does’. Its combination of both lush and disparate sounds tied perfectly together, and the sense of emotional weight he’s able to bring to dance music is incredibly beautiful. It’s dance music that has tenderness and softness at its core, and that tenderness specifically was really something I wanted to try to find and explore.”

Photo Credit: Brynne Tasker-Poland

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