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The Herd.
As anyone who's ever been in a band can attest, trying to sort out rehearsals or tours around four people's lives can be a trial - throw jobs and other responsibilities into the mix and it becomes something closer to an ordeal. Hence, I have trouble even imagining how The Herd manage to co-ordinate all nine members for a photo shoot, let alone their imminent national tour.
"We all pretty much drop everything, because The Herd is so important," explains guitarist Unkle Ho. "It started off as a side project for a lot of people before, but as it became more successful we started spending more time on it, so everyone just drops what they're doing. It's pretty amazing having nine people working on the same project, and not sleeping," he laughs. "And we also run the label [Elefant Trax], and The Herd is the main artist on the label, so we have to devote a lot of time and energy to the band, since it's the project that keeps the label going. We are the label, so if there ever are any issues they get resolved pretty quickly."
He's not kidding either: as the conversation progresses it becomes clear that when he says that the band run the label, he means all nine members work for Elefant Trax - each with a specific job to do. "Obviously they all have their role in the band - like a MC or a guitarist or bass player or whatever - but everyone in the band has a role in the label as well. So Urthboy is the manager and runs the day-to-day operations of the label, and we've got a couple of graphic designers, and I'm one of them, and Ozi Batla and Berzerkatron take care of the bookings, and so on. It's been like that for a long time - we started the label before we formed the band."
So what happens to the label when The Herd are on tour?
"We take it with us: we just discuss label matters in the Tarago," he laughs. "And it seems to be working."
If that wasn't enough, most of the members have their own solo careers too. "With nine people..." he trails off. "Well, trying to make music with even two people you're going to have plenty of different ideas. We try pretty consciously to keep it a bit more focussed, but we're all into varying sorts of music - like hip-hop or drum'n'bass and stuff. But when you get so many people together you just bounce out so many ideas."
So how does he decide what makes a Herd track and what's an Uncle Ho track? "Actually, a lot of it is timing," he says simply. "I mean, I'm always working on tracks, and [the Herd's MCs] Urthboy and Batla and Berzerkatron, they're always working on their raps, so if the timing is there and we have a deadline to get a Herd album out, then it might go to the Herd, but then if people aren't into that beat or rap, then it just stays with that solo artist. It's also the style: I try to keep my solo stuff a little bit different to The Herd anyway; if something it working with The Herd then I'll let the guys go with it."
While The Herd's good-time party credentials are never in doubt,
there are more than a few moments on 'The Sun Never Sets' that
have a distinctly political flavour. Lines like "Top dog sat
up at Kirribilli House / Give me a can of kerosene and you get
liberally doused" (the opening lines of Long Lunch) should
leave no listener in doubt as to the band's opinion of our nation's
leader. "What sort of drew us together is out views I guess,"
Unkle explains when I ask about The Herd's political philosophies.
"We all came from different universities, different schools,
different areas - but somehow through our similar views and
our love of music we all came together." He pauses when I ask
whether the increased political content in Australian hip-hop
is a sign of the scene's growing maturity or simply a reflection
that things have gotten so intolerable in recent years that
it's impossible not to speak out. "That's probably the thing,
actually," he says of the latter point, "but yeah, Australian
hip-hop's starting to gather more momentum now and I think people
are more confident of their voice and are not afraid to speak
out about things, whereas in the past it was 'what's this Aussie
hip-hop stuff?'"
Andrew P Street
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The Herd play at the Adelaide UniBar on Sat 5 Nov, and 'The Sun Never Sets' is out now through Elefant Trax/Inertia.
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