Episode 24: Darren Cross – D.C Cross, Jep And Dep, Gerling

When it comes to prolific, diverse, and unafraid musicians, it’s a little hard to look past the unstoppable Darren Cross. If that name doesn’t sound familiar right off the bat, then you might remember him as one third of the enigmatic Sydney outfit Gerling. Formed back in the early ‘90s, Gerling were hard to pin down. Beginning with a blending of alternative rock and noise, they soon incorporated more electronic elements into their work and – as Darren puts it – started doing full-on house music. I’ll tell anyone that ‘Children Of Telepathic Experiences’ is a must-listen record, and tracks like 'Death To The Apple Gerls' or 'Enter, Space Capsule' are great examples of why. Chuck in later tracks like 'Dust Me Selecta', 'Turning The Screws', or even the Kylie Minogue-featuring 'G-House Project', and you’ve got a group unafraid of trying new things. Sadly, Gerling broke up after their aptly-titled ‘4’ album, but Darren wasn’t keen to stop there. In fact, it’s clear that nothing will stop him. Soon, he launched his project The E.L.F., which gave rise to the likes of Betty Airs, and eventually saw the launch of the more heartfelt Jep And Dep with his partner Jessica. Just over a decade ago, he started releasing music under his own name, with a few EPs giving way to his albums ‘_Xantastic’ and ‘Peacer’ in 2016 and 2018, respectively. In 2019, however, he launched his D.C Cross project, which is effectively a separate entity from the records under his birth name in that they’re explorations into acoustic instrumental guitar.  Taking influence from the likes of John Fahey and his innovative work with American primitive guitar, it’s a unique project which blends ambient soundscapes with Darren’s Australian take on solo acoustic guitar. D.C Cross has released quite a few albums over the past five years, including the most recent, ‘Glookies Guit’, back in May. As per usual, he’s also getting ready to take his transcendent blend of music on the road.  Currently, there’s a bunch of shows planned for the likes of Wodonga, Kyneton, St Kilda, Melbourne, Brisbane, Lismore, Eltham, and Sydney across the next few months. There’s also more set to be announced, so I’ll pop the current ones in the online blog, and you can check out Darren’s socials for full details. In case you haven’t guessed yet, Darren Cross is my guest on this week’s podcast. We’ve met and chatted numerous times before, and he’s always a wealth of knowledge when it comes to music, and it’s always a pleasure to chat to someone who is so passionate about the music they make. Anyway, I’m beginning to ramble as I always do. So in the meantime, I strongly urge you to check out D.C Cross’ new album, ‘Glookies Guit’. and once you’re done giving that a spin, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.