Darren Cross

Darren James Cross, previously known as Darren E. Spielberg-Cross, is an Australian songwriter, musician, record producer and video maker.

Cross is the founding mainstay lead vocalist and guitarist of alternative rock group Gerling (1992–2007).

Darren James Cross, as Darren E. Spielberg-Cross, on lead vocals, guitar and synthesiser founded the Australian alternative rock group, Gerling, in 1993.

He had attended secondary school in the western suburbs of Sydney, at the height of grunge.

Other founders were Presser (a.k.a. Paul Towner) on drums and Brad Herdson on guitar and vocals.

Gerling's early music was influenced by Pavement, Sonic Youth, Boredoms, Beck and Mercury Rev; writing with two guitars and drums.

The group provided experimental guitar pop, on their debut single, "Sedatives for Dead Radars" (1995) via Steve Pavlovic's Fellaheen Records label.

They followed with an extended play, A Day of Research (1996).

Their repertoire moved towards dance music and sampling.

Gerling released four studio albums, Children of Telepathic Experiences (February 1998), When Young Terrorists Chase the Sun (September 2001), Bad Blood!!! (2003) and 4 (March 2006).

The band toured Australia extensively, and also toured the United Kingdom gaining positive reviews in NME, Japan and New Zealand.

In 1999 Cross, Tim Everist and Rhys Lee formed Schwipe, a T-shirt label.

Guest vocalists on When Young Terrorists Chase the Sun were Kylie Minogue on "G-House Prokect", Kool Keith on "Brother Keith on Destructor Mountain (4001)", Solex on "Windmills and Birdbaths" and Inga Liljeström on "Dust Me Selecta".

Bad Blood!! was more in the dance and electronica genres due to use of sampled programmed drums, vocoders and computer plugins and distortion.

He started the E.L.F. project in 2007, which issued an album, Plankton Icke and Tina Turner David City Limits (2010).

After Gerling announced an indefinite hiatus in 2007, Cross began working as the E.L.F., providing dance and electronica material.

Gerling went into hiatus by 2008.

According to Cross, he wrote lyrics for 26 out-of 57 Gerling songs.

Cross and Presser, created the group's album artworks and collages, as the Deli Bros/Deli Brothers.

The E.L.F.'s debut extended play, Stevie Nicks Hearts (2008), was recorded at his home studio in Sydney.

It was issued on his own label, Oak Records.

He released a second EP, Sunray in the Rave Cave (2008) and an album Plankton Icke and Tina Turner David City Limits (late 2010).

The album received 9.2 out-of 10 from Jonny of Polaroids of Androids.

Cross performed, produced and wrote all material himself; he also toured and DJed throughout Australia.

His track "Cockroaches" was played on Triple J and its music video had nearly 250000 hits.

In March 2010 Cross on lead guitar and vocals formed the pop rock trio, Betty Airs in Sydney with Christian Campano on lead vocals, maracas and tambourine, and Michael Zagoridis on drums.

They issued a single, "Reverse Now", via Cross' label Oak Records.

Cross also produced the work at his E.L.F. Porta-Studios in July of that year.

Triple J's reviewer, Richard Kingsmill rated "Reverse Now" at four-out-of-five and exalted, "Nice one Darren - still fighting the good fight. I like the mix of influences coming through in this."

Drew Larringfort of Rave Review caught their performance at Adelaide's Ed Castle, "[their] chemistry was incredible, feeding off each other with comical stage banter, joking with the 'hipsters' in the crowd and having a good old fashioned fun time."

By 2011 they had expanded to a four-piece with Patrick Matthews on bass guitar.

Cross quit and the group broke up.

This line-up issued an EP, Creepin' It Real, by April of that year.

His folk noir duo Jep and Dep were formed in 2012 with his domestic partner, Jessica Cassar on co-lead vocals, which have issued two albums.

In 2012 Cross started a folk-noir duo with his domestic partner, Jessica Cassar on co-lead vocals, Jep and Dep.

Under his own name he has released four studio albums, _Xantastic (2016), Peacer (2018), Keeping Up? (2020) and Distorder (2021).

The artist's instrumental folk guitar project, D.C Cross has released three albums, Ecstatic Racquet (2019), Terabithian (2020) and Hot-wire the Lay-low (Australian escapist pieces for guitar) (2022).

Cross has collaborated with other artists, the Apartments, Kylie Minogue, the Avalanches, Jagwar Ma and Kool Keith.

The musician has worked in diverse genres from commercial house music, indie rock-style detuned guitar pop, abstract electronica with Gerling to Americana-style traditional folk music.

Cross has a music and video production studio, Bernstein studios and performs live in Jep and Dep and as Darren Cross or D.C Cross.