You know Gonzo and U-Bahn, but who's Moth?
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You know Gonzo and U-Bahn, but who's Moth?

“I’m definitely stepping out of my comfort zone; which is weird because I’m pretty comfortable with playing gigs but being up front and singing whilst playing the guitar is the complete opposite of me sitting on drums without a microphone. It’s been super fun and exciting so far…”
Being the drummer in both U-Bahn and Gonzo, two of the hottest acts in the Melbourne gig scene at the moment, I genuinely don’t know how Darcy Berry has found the time for his own solo project. But somehow, he has managed to create ‘Moth’, a multi-instrumentalist krautrock experience that is already stimulating some buzz in the Melbourne scene.
“When I first started doing it as a recording project, the songs could have been Gonzo songs because that was back when we were doing that sort of ‘spooky’ style and then I started doing more songs and they became less and less like Gonzo,” remarks Darcy. “It used to be pretty straightforward punk and then I got a synth and started getting weird with that and collected more and more instruments. Even recording-wise, learning different techniques definitely changes that style that you write in, if you know you are going to record it a certain way because that does change the sound.
“It’s always changing though, that’s kind of why I wanted this project; just to have the freedom to do literally any style and experiment with different stuff,” he continues. “That’s the same as playing with U-Bahn. It’s just new and exciting playing new shit and people getting into it.”
Originating as a personal recording project, Moth has now grown wings (pun intended) into a stacked line-up of local Melbourne musicians all helping Darcy to recreate his vision live.
“Seeing the sound that we are capable of doing live, it really has impacted on how I’ve been approaching writing it. I feel everyone just kind of assumed that the songs are meant to be played heavier, but I dig that, I think it sounds pretty good live.
“Because Moth for me has always been a recording process, it’s not something I ever considered playing live so hearing it all live at once I actually see that the songs have a skeleton which kind of proves they are songs to me, which is rad.”
With Moth’s album Initial Object having recently been released by Weathervane Records, Darcy is already busy working on his follow up.
“The tape was kind of recorded over 2-3 years so there are a lot of different sounds going on but I want to have songs that are more cohesive for my next release, which I’ve been writing for at the moment. I guess that’s why I’ve done so many songs for Moth, because I can do it alone, so I can write and record literally whenever.”
With both Gonzo and U-Bahn having a stack of gigs over summer including both the Loch Hart Festival and Gizzfest respectively, it may be a little while before Moth hits the stage again, but, be sure to keep an eye out because after catching them at the Grace Darling a few weeks back, Moth are definitely one to suss.
Moth isn’t on socials but keep your ear to the ground, it’s worth it.
Written by Alex Callan