Gerling

Gerling was formed in the outer western suburbs of Sydney, Australia at the peak of grunge in 1992 by three teens who dabbled in metal and rock in their formative years, but were warped by an independent radio show. The weekly transmission exposed them to the classic first outings from twisted west coast guitar geeks, Truman's Water. Combined with a steady diet of early Pavement, Sonic Youth and Huggy Bear, the trio set up their equipment in a warehouse in an industrial estate and created a chaotic and joyous noise that was certainly unheard of in metropolitan Sydney until then. Darren Cross, Paul 'presser' Towner and Burke Reid set about remapping the geography of Australian music by going where ever they wanted. Never having relied on, so-called "reliable" equipment or technology, Gerling invested in battered analogue keyboards; moog copies and farfisas came and went as did 4-track technology. Way before digital sampling and looping came into the common vocabulary, Gerling were three teens with a pause and record button, a cassette 4-track and splicing knives. The result was the naively primitive but glorious debut album Children of Telepathic Experiences that set Gerling off on an exciting ride. Children... earned Gerling release in the UK, and their early 'hit' "Enter Space Capsule" won them the adoration of one Kylie Minogue who, upon hearing that they were on tour in the UK, agreed to pop into a studio and lay a guest vocal track that was included on Gerling's second album Headzcleaner. With slightly updated technology and a much more refined knowledge of studio happenings, Headzcleaner features polished and thumping beats sitting seamlessly beside tunes akin to their earlier krautrock-inspired instrumentals. Other guests swayed by the Gerling sound included Dutch cut-and-paste chanteuse Solex and notorious hip hop chameleon Kool Keith, who both contributed vocals on the album. Known as mavericks willing to take risks, Gerling's live show has gained the reputation as the thing to see in Australia. As proof of this, in January 2004, Gerling were in the middle of their third national run on the Big Day Out tour. A feat that no other act can lay claim to. Channeling the punk spirit of 1977, Gerling wrote, recorded and produced most of their third album, BadBlood!!!, in their infamous G.E.R.L.O.G. studios with a do it yourself attitude and style. The danceable punk sound of BadBlood!!! fulfill's the band's wish to be able to transfer their live energy to the studio and then actually be able to take it back out on the stage again with less reliance on studio technology. BadBlood!!! is darker, more abrasive and punk rock than their earlier work. With this album, Gerling turn to their snotty, bratty guitar roots without completely forsaking their travels through the musical soundscape. Gerling - three scruffy punks with nice shoes daring to push the envelope and challenge the mainstream; Armed with broken equipment, and ready to take on the world.