Herd but not scene
The sole female member of The Herd Jane Tyrell talks genres, genders and guest appearances with Brooke Salisbury
The Herd do their best impression of Robin the Frog from the Muppets.
The Herd are Australia's favourite hip hop collective, hands down. It's a big call, sure, but one that's completely justified. They've continued to evolve as artists in their own right (as proven over the last year with highly acclaimed solo discs from Urthboy and Unkle Ho, as well as the Herd-spearheaded reinvention of ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow' under the Get Up Mob moniker) and together, on their fourth album proper, Summerland. The latest addition to the octet is their first full-time femme with the group, Jane Tyrell. "I've never been a girly girl. In fact, I've always surrounded myself with men."
This, she understands, has made the transition from Melbourne to Sydney life both smooth and welcomed.
"The boys are like family to me and they've made me very at home. I'm missing Melbourne like crazy, butSydney's where I need to be right now, for many reasons."
As for settling into Sydney, it's a delicate process. "I'm getting there. I'm starting to appreciate the design and aesthetic of Sydney. The way people put together interiors and outfits and the city in general is very different, but it's growing on me. Café Guilia on Abercrombie St has become my second home, I could pretty much each breakfast, lunch and dinner there. The Metro is a great little venue, and in summer I was loving the courtyard at The Courthouse in Newtown. I spend so much of my gigging life in clubs and bars that I tend to spend more time at friend's houses these days, though."
Besides her Herd duties, Tyrell also fronts this year's indie sensation, Firekites. "We had the 'Kites album launch last night, it was amazing. For once the Sydney crowd were wild!" The band have caused quite the fuss internationally, scoring support gigs alongside no less than Iron & Wine and Bill "Smog" Callaghan within their first year together. So how does Tyrell make the crossover from low-fi indie to mainstream hip hop? "It's something I'm very conscious of, that's for sure," he admits. "It's not like The Herd sit down and say, ‘OK, we're only going to write politically inclined songs.' We aren't strictly about what's hot in politics; it just happens that we have shared social and political interests. Firekites are a completely different kettle of fish. I want to do a solo album, and that's where I'll find my own rhythm."
Residing happily on the band-run Elefant Traks label, The Herd are perpetually juggling a multitude of timetables in the name of band time, though when it's called for they manage to get it together. "Writing is business; it's a vested interest. We arrange a time, we make it a focus. Somehow we pull if off, though I have no idea how."
Since her guest appearances on the previous Herd album, The Sun Never Sets, Tyrell's Herd involvement grew to touring with the band as well as appearing on Urthboy's and Uncle Ho's solo releases. "I'm all over their albums. At least I know I won't have problem getting guests on my solo release!" she laughs.
With the Firekites flying high and The Herd's Summerland national tour set to commence in July, Jane is living each genre to the extreme. "The main difference is in live performance," she explains. "The hip hop set is usually thousands of people jumping and screaming the words I've written; it's very lively. The indie crowds usually stand there, dead silent. They might clap once in a while, or I'll say, ‘How's it going?' and they'll look at me like ‘Yeah, whatever lady.'"
For these reasons, she's beginning to tailor her performances a little more specifically to each crowd. "When I walk onto the stage for a Firekites show, I have to hold myself back a little. Instead of being all ‘Yo, wassup!', I think, ‘OK Jane, you're not a B-girl tonight, settle down."
Summerland is available now through Elefant Traks/Inertia, and The Herd launch it at the Factory Theatre on Sat 14 June.