The Herd
I ADORE hip hop! I really adore Australian hip hop! Here’s a conversation I’ve had with one of my favourite Aussie hip hop acts, the Herd. They’re very forward-thinking in all they do and without a doubt one of my favourite hip hip collectives. During one of our chats Urthboy once told me:
“Politically I’m much more aligned with punk music. I had my days in the last few years of school where I’d consider myself a complete punker. I grew up as a hip hop kid but I just hung out with all these punk guys that seemed to match my mind state at the time. We were listening to a lot of Dead Kennedys and Black Flag. That used to be what was communicating to me and what I thought I could relate to. I still do in a lot of ways. I don’t listen to too much punk anymore but love punk music. If we (The Herd) are able to have some ethic that runs alongside a d.i.y punk ethic than that’s good!”
Another like-minded soul that sees the punk rock-hip hop soul connect! Yay! I think there’s a lot both communities can learn from of each other. It’s funny ’cause over the years I’ve had so many punkers want to talk to me about hip hop and hip hoppers wanting to talk about punk rock… I’m so happy I get the best of both worlds!
The Road Less Trampled
Sydney hip hop outfit, THE HERD weren’t always the full live band of dynamic misfits from the suburbs we’ve come to know and love, their beginnings started off humbly and somewhat ordinary as a collective called, Dase Team 5000. One third of The Herd’s MC arsenal and all-round wearer of many hats at the band’s independent record label Elefant Traks, URTHBOY chats with BIANCA VALENTINO.
“One of the guy’s in the group made this software and it was really based on freestyle and improvised music,” Urthboy explains. “The deal with the group was that you had to improvise whether you were a player or a vocalist. It was good but it was also potentially bad as well. You know when you got good freestylers that can handle their business but every freestyler has their bad day too. Trying to freestyle for an hour while everyone else is improvising it can just meander sometimes. You’d have moments where everyone was just laughing at the hilarity of it and then there’d be other times when we’d be like ‘Gee we really have to stop this and play properly’.”
Lucky for us they did and in 2001 the band delivered their first serving of colourful Aussie hip hop with a self-titled debut. Single, Scallops – an ode to ordering food at the local takeaway shop something we can all identify with – perked the ears and attention of Triple J and the band got their first taste of national airplay. “Sure there was a lot of love for it (Scallops) but there was also a lot of hate for it too. A lot of people wrote us off as a novelty group,” Urthboy recalls.
The next couple of years seemed like it was all quite on the Elefant (Traks) front then in 2003 the band delivered their breakthrough album, An Elefant Never Forgets – the band creating waves with the album’s lead singles, Burn Down The Parliament and 77%. “Even though the first album was pretty political as well, the second album the songs that got the most attention were Burn Down The Parliament and 77%. I remember Robbie Buck announcing it on Triple J and going ‘Whoa this is a bit of a change of work for these guys’ and we made some random joke about how Burn Down The Parliament was about weed and the next thing we know the interview was finished and we were out of there. All of a sudden the perception had changed,” tells Urthboy.
Much touring ensued in support of their sophomore record including spots on various festivals including the uber cool, Splendor In The Grass. “It’s a good period of life when you’re on tour but, it’s also very exhausting,” Urthboy sighs. “You spend your time off tour wanting to be on tour and looking forward to it and anticipating it and then you spend your time on tour being exhausted and tired and wondering when you’ll get a chance to rest. It’s a funny state of affairs but, I wouldn’t change it.”
“It’s pretty damaging being on the road, you don’t eat well,” he adds laughing, “You drink, you go out late and wake up and have fatty breakfasts. That’s the way I like it!”
The Herd are currently on tour to support new Elefant Traks release, Trampled – The Elefant Traks Remix Album which features 18-tracks rehashed and retouched by some of the classiest producers in Elefantville. The compilation is as varied as their roster featuring hip hop, post rock, big band to electronic carnivalesque dub adventures. Asked about his favourite track on the comp Urthboy answers, “There’s a few and it changes from time to time. The first song that started the whole project off – I had wanted to do it for a while, a remix project – but the first song that click it all into gear was, Last Chance remix by Count Bounce (of TZU fame).”
Other artists to feature on the record include Plutonic Lab, Hermitude, Unkle Ho, combat Wombat and more. There’s even UK folktronica act Tunng giving the Herd’s surprise hit cover of Redgum’s I Was Only 19. “ I think the Hermitude remix of can’t Breathe is really cool because it really captured the vibe of the first version but it kind of took it up a level as well,” he enthuses.
So does the MC like working in the studio? “I don’t mind it,” he starts. “I have moments of to and fro-ing of really enjoying the event and feeling like I have a real deadline to the time I can commit to working on the label full time.”
Speaking on the label, which was started in 1998 when some of the signed artists got together to create an original mix-tape for a mutual friends going away present Urthboy assures, “We will be running Elefant Traks for years to come yet.” He does admit though “But it is a trying pursuit trying to run a small business with a bunch of mates.”
Continuing he enlightens, “We may be perceived as being very successful in the broader community but when you’re actually trying to run a business not just have a good little band thing going on, then there are a lot of pressures. I really love the freedom that it gives me. I come in in the morning and decide what I’m going to do for the day. A lot of the work is shared between the Elefant Traks members but a lot of stuff just comes down to me as well, whether I like lounging around a lot quite often deadlines are deadlines and I have to somehow make things happen even if some days are relaxing other days can be twelve hour days. I can’t believe that I’m still here and still working on the label. It’s great!”
After the current tour the band look to head in studio to write and record for their follow up to this year’s release, The Sun Never Sets. “We’ve recently got all this new gear that’s going to change how we make our music a little bit. It’ll be really fun working with Jane who wasn’t really a member when we recorded our last album. She recorded a couple of songs with us but it was only on the tour last year that we really decided that we wanted her on board. Not has she only impressed people from the start but she seems to be impressing people ore and more. There’s a couple of reasons why I’m literally gagging for the next recording to take place.”
Posed with the question of why he’s ‘literally gagging’ to record the new album the MC is elusive. “I can’t say!” he laughs. “I still feel though that we have a few cards up our sleeves and I’m just hanging for the time when we can draw them all together and just work on and bring it out on an album. I have the feeling that the next one is going to be it.”
Closing on an excited note he beams, “Who knows what the future will hold? I’m personally anticipating it though!”
