Having recently released a debut EP of dreamy indie-pop, Sydney collective Sherlock’s Daughter is now on the road with The Devoted Few. As FasterLouder hears from beguiling frontwoman Tanya Horo, it has been a learning experience so far.

You guys have set off on the Devoted Daughter tour. How did the first weekend of shows go?
They were pretty fun actually. We found out that no matter how long you play some songs for, you can still find new angles and layers to draw from them. We also found out that making a salad with rocket, tuna, strawberries and vegetarian sausages isn’t a good idea…I think we made the Devoted guys jealous though, but we pretended it was the yummiest thing ever. It wasn’t.

Anything you’ve learned the hard way about your tourmates The Devoted Few?
Ben likes to party, he likes to turn lights on and off and sing weird – œ80s hits whilst throwing his arms into the air…it’s strange.

What prompted Sherlock’s Daughter to team up with The Devoted Few for a tour? Do you feel the two bands compliment each other?
I think mutual respect really – our music is very different from each other, however it works as a package really well. Variety is the spice of life. Also, we all seem to have the same sense of humour, and that’s fairly important on tour.

You opened for visiting New Yorkers School Of Seven Bells earlier this year. Is there a trick to getting the support slot right?
I guess sometimes one of the main reasons for wanting to get an incredible support is because we get to see the band for free. That’s always a bonus. Haha! School of Seven Bells was a pretty amazing support for us to get, and we loved those guys.

You’ve recently released your debut EP. Has it been exciting to take those songs into the live setting?
Incredible and scary. It’s like watching your child take their first steps. Not that any of us have had children, but I’m sure when we do we can liken it to taking our EP on the road. I think we have all found a new love for our songs now, from conception to studio to live. An incredible process, but scary.

Your live show has been attracting good reviews all year. Do you feel it’s always a work in progress?
Definitely. We don’t ever really think about how we are going to perform live, but we do think about how the songs we already have working next to each other (building a set-list) and that in itself is quite hard. We love playing live, and you make many mistakes on the way – but that’s where all the fun is, really. As long as you learn from them, of course.

Sherlock’s Daughter is on the bill for Parklife in Sydney this year. Having played Laneway Festival earlier this year, do you have the festival thing worked out?
We would like to think so – we love festivals! We probably don’t have it all worked out though. Festivals are very different than venues for obvious reasons but also for presence and projection. I’ve seen a two-piece band fill the stage like they were a six-piece band – as far as energy and sound are concerned – and a six-piece look incredibly uncomfortable on a large stage. I’m not sure how we measure up. Somebody film our Parklife show for me?

What are the plans for the rest of the year? Is it too soon to start thinking about an album?
We are actually working on album right now, recording currently. We are off to NYC for a residency and some support shows, then coming back for festivals in December. Then recording; then doing it all over again. Groundhog Day, but the best kind.

These stops are still to come on the – œDevoted Daughter’ tour, presented by FasterLouder.

Fri 18 Sept – East Brunswick, Melb
Thu 24 Sept – Hopetoun, Syd
Fri 25 Sept – Hopetoun, Syd