"Can we go back to the old school days?" sings Dorothy Sherman in "Old Skool Dayz." The song is ostensibly about going out for the first time (nothing beats the innocent rush of a clubbing virgin), but it might as well be the new motto of Shermanology, the Dutch-Caribbean house music duo that Dorothy is one-half of, along with her brother Andy. Shermanology broke out in 2011, when they collaborated with Avicii on "Blessed" and Afrojack on "Can't Stop Me"—massive EDM tracks that catapulted them to festival main stages around the world. But the siblings couldn't ignore the feeling that their music was missing a key element: soul."We recently hit the reset button to figure out what we wanted to do," the duo told THUMP via email. "We went back to our roots and brought back soul, funk, and basslines." Eventually, The Phylosophy—their latest EP, streaming above—was born. Loaded with feel-good pop hooks, soaring vocal refrains, and punchy piano chords, the release signals the group's return to back-to-basics house.It helps that Andy and Dorothy's musical roots run deep; their father and uncle are the Sherman Brothers, and the siblings grew up singing backing vocals, as well as playing in various reggae, soul, Caribbean, and Motown bands both separately and with other Sherman family members. "Our dad is still very much involved with our music, his opinion really matters to us," Shermanology says. "He even joined us on the intro music that we start our sets with! Sometimes when we are done writing a song and let our dad hear it, he reminds us that it sounds like a song we grew up with, without us even realizing."These days, the siblings define the philosophy of Shermanology as "a way of life," one about "self-discovery—finding, knowing, and being yourself." They are currently working on part two of The Phylosophy EP, after which they'll hit the road for a global tour.The Phylosophy is out September 18, 2015 on Dirty Soul Music
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