Shermanology

The tech-house outfit Shermanology originated in 2009, shaped by Motown, U.K. garage, and the siblings’ formative years on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao, where brother-and-sister DJs, producers, and vocalists Andy and Dorothy Sherman first developed their sound.

Their father Tony, together with their uncles, had performed in the 1970s funk and soul ensemble the Sherman Brothers, a group unrelated to the identically named Disney songwriting team. Regular exposure to family rehearsals prompted Andy and Dorothy to pursue music themselves. Although born on the Netherlands mainland, the pair spent six years on Curaçao during their teenage years. From 2001 onward they delivered Motown covers with their father and cousin Leon at holiday venues on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

U.K. garage act Artful Dodger caught one of those performances and invited Andy to replace Craig David as live vocalist; he accepted, spent two years touring Britain, and appeared on the Artful Dodger single “Midnight Lover.” Seeking independence, he returned to the Netherlands and contacted Dutch DJ Fedde Le Grand, who granted him studio access. In 2008 Dorothy and Andy joined Le Grand and Funkerman on the track “3 Minutes to Midnight,” earning early recognition within the Dutch underground circuit.

An early three-piece version of Shermanology included cousin Leon on vocals, yet he exited by 2011. While still a trio the group scored a 2009 Belgian Dance Chart hit, “Automatic,” again alongside Funkerman. Additional successes arrived with Tom Hangs’ 2011 Dutch single “Blessed” and the 2012 Afrojack collaboration “Can’t Stop Me,” which reached the Top Ten.

Settling into their duo configuration, Shermanology played to their respective strengths, with Andy concentrating on production and Dorothy’s robust, gospel-rooted vocals occupying the foreground. They maintained a steady release schedule of three or four singles per year across multiple labels for the balance of the 2010s. Their debut EP, The Phylosophy, appeared on Dirty Soul in 2015, and the decade closed with the hard-edged retro-house single “Move Out of My Way,” hinting at the group’s subsequent trajectory.

Two further EPs followed in 2020—Soldier March and Bob Bini—with the latter issued on Jamie Jones’ Hot Creations and receiving BBC Radio 1 airplay in the U.K. Their self-released “Boy N Da Club” the next year secured additional plays from the same station, generating further attention for the 2021 EPs 2031 and Calle.