ARIA Nominated Damien ‘Diz’ Cassidy (Faker) , Timothy Powles (The Church, Multiple Arias and Hall of Fame), and Simon Starling (Cult45 and Etherland) joined forces for the ‘The Argon Room’. Tim Powles produced the record with notable guest Jeffrey Cain (The Church, Remy Zero-USA).

The Argon Room has most recently played at The Vanguard (Newtown) and Metro Social in Sydney. Previous tours have among others taken them to The Northcote Social Club and The Worker’s Club in Melbourne, the sadly lost Sandringham Hotel and Notes in Newtown, Moshpit, Petersham Bowlo and The Brass Monkey.

Influences include… David Bowie, The Cure, David Sylvian, Thom Yorke, Annie Lennox and David Lynch.

“This was the last song written for the record. Tim said we needed something up tempo. Luckily I had those chords and rhythm kicking around. It’s up tempo… but it couldn’t get much darker.“

Simon Starling began his musical career in 1996 with Sydney punk band Cult 45, known for their energetic live performances. The band released the debut single Now We Are Sick on Chatterbox Records, followed by a five-song EP, before evolving into Spectators. In 2000, Spectators self-released the mini-album Mood Music For Action Flicks.

After moving to Melbourne in 2002, Starling formed Etherland, which became a regular fixture on the Melbourne live circuit and released a self-titled EP in 2006. Their single Same Old Trap received significant community radio airplay on FBI, RRR and PBS, with the accompanying video also appearing on Rage. Starling returned to Sydney in 2008 and began a prolific period of songwriting.

This led to the formation of the band ‘Starling’ and the 2012 album Semaphore, produced by Steve Kilbey of The Church. The album featured contributions from Kilbey, fellow Church member Timothy Powles, pianist David Lane and pedal steel player Jason Walker. The single Lovebirds received airplay on FBI and Double J.

Damien Cassidy, originally from Canberra, began performing as Dizzi DeCazz with cult dirty-lounge-noir group CooCoo Fondoo before moving to Sydney. He joined The Pip Branson Corporation and later Faker, touring extensively and performing at major festivals and alongside P!nk on the Australian leg of her 2009 Funhouse Tour.

The 2012 touring lineup of Starling eventually evolved into The Argon Room, featuring Wes Gregorace, Cassidy and Shaun Gaida. With Timothy Powles producing, the band began work on a new album, joined by notable guests Jeffrey Cain and Mark Axiak.

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