Episode 24: Darren Cross – D.C Cross, Jep And Dep, Gerling
Darren Cross.
Listen to the Trusty Chords podcast via your preferred platform of choice here.
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, and Sydney across the next few months. There’s also more set to be announced, so I’ll pop the current ones down below, 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.
Darren Cross – 2024 Live Dates
Thursday, October 17th
Church St Hotel, Wodonga, VIC
Friday, October 18th
Major Tom’s, Kyneton, VIC
Saturday, October 19th
2:30pm Matinee Show
George Lane, St Kilda, VIC
Tickets
Sunday, October 20th
Album Launch
Merri Creek Tavern, Northcote, VIC
Tickets
Thursday, November 14th
The Cave Inn, Brisbane, QLD
Saturday, November 16th
Elevator ARI, Lismore, NSW
Thursday, November 28th
Eltham Hotel, Eltham, NSW
Sunday, December 29th
Veue TBA, Earlwood, NSW
Darren Cross’ Trusty Chords
Darren’s One Influential Artist
AC/DC (Bon Scott-era)
Darren’s Three Impactful Albums
AC/DC – Let There Be Rock (1977)
Leo Kottke, Peter Lang & John Fahey – Leo Kottke/Peter Lang/John Fahey (1974)
Leonard Cohen – Songs Of Love And Hate (1971)
Darren’s Five Trusty Songs
Trumans Water – 'Empty Queen II' (1993)
Leo Kottke – 'Vaseline Machine Gun' (1969)
Doc Watson – 'Black Mountain Rag' (1964)
Leonard Cohen – 'Avalanche' (1971)
AC/DC – 'Let There Be Rock' (1977)
