The Herd (band)

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Not to be confused with The Herd (UK band).

The Herd
Performing live on stage at the Metro Theatre, October 2005.
Background information
Origin	Australia
Genre(s)	Australian hip hop
Years active	2001 -- present
Label(s)	Elefant Traks
Website	Official site
Members
Traksewt (producer) Alejandro (producer) Rok Poshtya (bass) Ozi Batla (vocals, producer) Urthboy (vocals) Bezerkatron (vocals) Uncle Ho (producer) Snapsuit (producer) Toe-Fu (guitars, vocals) Sulo (producer, guitar)

The Herd are an Australian hip hop outfit from the suburbs of Sydney. Unusual for a hip-hop outfit they have a full band format which permits more dynamic live shows. The Herd are comprised of MC's 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. Their songs often feature politically-oriented lyrics.

Their first single to attract Triple J airplay was Scallops in 2001, a song about ordering food at a take-away shop. Later tracks included 77% which featured the line "77% of Aussies are racist", referring to the number of Australians announced in a survey that agreed with the Australian Federal Government's response to the MV Tampa incident, and Burn Down the Parliament, which was to be interpreted metaphorically, but unfortunately was released the same week as the Canberra bushfires of 2003.

77% scored well on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2003, coming in at #46.

The Herd released their third album The Sun Never Sets in 2005, featuring the single We Can't Hear You. Their subjects ranged from their well-known anti-war stance and anti-corporatism to more personal topics like divorce and slow death of the Australian outback/country.

In October 2005, The Herd featured live on Triple J's 'Like a Version' (acoustic covers) segment. They performed their own version of the famous Australian song A Walk in the Light Green by Redgum (better known as I Was Only 19). The song was so well received by fans that it has now entered regular Triple J rotation, and was voted #18 in the 2005 Triple J Hottest 100 countdown. They have since recorded a studio version which is to be released on the re-release of The Sun Never Sets, and they have also created a video clip for the song. The video can be viewed at http://www.brokenyellow.com/. The Herd performed at The Big Day Out 2007.