The Herd are an Australian hip-hop group from the suburbs of Sydney. Unlike many other such groups, they play their own instruments and have a full band format. They are comprised of MCs Ozi Batla, Urthboy and Berzerkatron, Unkle Ho (beats), Traksewt (piano accordion, clarinet and beats), Sulo (beats and guitar), Toe-fu (guitar), Rok Poshtya (bass) and singer Jane Tyrrell, although MC Bezerkatron left the group in 2006. Their single "77%" came in at #46 on the "Triple J Hottest 100" of 2003, and their remake of the 1983 Australian classic "I Was Only Nineteen" (originally by Redgum) was #18 in the Hottest 100 for 2005. Their album "The Sun Never Sets" was nominated for Triple J's inaugural "J Award" for album of the year. Their songs often feature very politically-oriented lyrics.
Traksewt is also a computer programmer who developed the "Distributed Audio Sequencer" (DASE, a program that allows musicians to jam in real-time over the internet), contributed to the development of the OGRE Engine (Object-Oriented Graphics Rendering Engine), and was involved in the development and founding of the Free Play independent computer games developers conference.
While they haven't gained the popularity of the Hilltop Hoods, they are well respected within the Aussie hip-hop culture for their innovative and progressive style. Their remake of Redgum's "I Was Only Nineteen" was a risky move, as they were messing with a song that Australia holds dear, a great Vietnam protest song. To their credit, they reinvigorated it for a new generation.
Albums by The Herd:
The Herd, 2001
- Scallops
- Lurque
- Symbioses
- Royal Jelly
- Dase'n
- Hello Boys
- Hill Cats
- Manufactured
- Awaken
- Toronto
- X-Continental
- Ones and Zeros
- Too Late
- Takin' Space
- Gutter Rats
- 20 Leopards
- Sutherland Pickup
- Tricky Sleeves
I haven't heard anything from this album, so
no comment.
An Elefant Never Forgets, 2003
- The Plunderers
- States Of Transit
- Burn Down The Parliament
- Superweeds
- Urban Lady Saloon
- 77%
- Hunter's Theme
- The After Party Brigade
- The World Keeps Turning
- Hell
- When You Thought Nothing Was Happening
- Croissant Para Zwei Na Cvrtek
- High Seas
- LG
- Taki Taki
My favourite song from this album is "States of Transit", a song about travelling through the Sydney streets each morning and afternoon. I'm surprised that it wasn't a single. While "Burn Down The Parliament" was intended to be
metaphorical, the album was, unfortunately, released in the same week as the 2003
Canberra bushfires. "77%" is a reference to a survey in which 77% of those surveyed agreed with the government's reaction to the
MV Tampa incident, containing the lyric "77% of Aussies are
racist".
The Sun Never Sets, 2005
- Unpredictable
- Long Lunch
- National Holiday
- We Can't Hear You
- Under Pressure
- Where Is Everyone
- Full Moon
- Apocalypta
- Can't Breathe
- Starship Troopers (Redux)
- Effortless
- Mischief
- No Disclaimers
- Breakfast Club
- The Metres Gained
- I Was Only Nineteen (A Walk in the Light Green)
"Unpredictable" is one of their most interesting songs, each
verse being in a different language. "Unpredictable", "We Can't Hear You" and "I Was Only Nineteen" were all singles, with "Under Pressure" also receiving air-play.
Overall, a good experimental group that, hopefully, will continue to make music for many years to come.
Update: They released a new album, Summerland, in 2008.