Photo By Ol Marin // Words By Sigrid McCarthy

Rayon Moon are a Melbourne based garage punk band, comprising of local masterminds Gene Ulmer and Aye Lips. The band formed in 2011 and have already made quite a name for themselves here in Melbourne after releasing two solid EPs.

They’re playing a few gigs in Berlin at the moment, but rumour has it an album will be following their much anticipated return home in September. They’ve already confirmed that their single will be released at the end of November and that an Australian tour will follow shortly after.

These guys have a strong stage presence and exude copious amounts of energy – their live shows are always a good excuse for a boogie.

If you like what you hear, be sure to mosey on over to rayonmoon.bandcamp.com and download Rayon Moon’s first and second EPs. They’re free, but if you want to support the band you can name a price!

 

How did Rayon Moon come together?

Rayon Moon came out of another band that we were in together. We were the rhythm section but it wasn’t going anywhere. We are into many of the same sounds and ideals and it only made sense to start our own band together. Really, it was love at the first rehearsal.

What are your influences?

We’re in Berlin at the moment and records are relatively cheap so we’ve been buying heaps of strange compilations. We both love garage music, surf and punk from the sixties. We also both love a lot of pop bands from the time – The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Tommy James, Shangri-Las. We are both pretty into eighties bands also, the darker sounds and more minimal arrangements. We both love David Bowie. Everything he’s ever done.

What are your favourite types of shoes?

Aye: A low riding block heel, all black pointy as fuck winkle pickers.

Gene: Anything with a heel.

What other local bands are you keeping an eye on?

In Melbourne there are some incredible bands at the moment. Our personal favourites are by far the best; Drunk Mums, ScotDrakula, Sandcastle, Bidet Mate, and Cassini. All sound really different from each other and sound/look great live.

What makes Melbourne an exciting place for up and coming bands?

We have some really great venues in Melbourne and good people. There are places that are willing to give pretty much any band a go, usually on the venues own terms… There is a healthy variety of music and arts without too much pretension.

What’s planned for Rayon Moon once you both return home?

We’re working on some demos in Berlin for the album. The songs are sounding really good which is exciting. We’re also putting the finishing touches on our new single which we’ll be releasing when we get back with a couple of videos. As far as plans go, we’re putting together an Australian tour for the single in between working on the album this summer.

What can we expect from your forthcoming album? Will it have a similar vibe to your earlier stuff?

Yes and no…The same but different. It will be more ambitious but simple. We don’t really feel restricted by styles or genres. We’re really excited about the new songs and recording, working on sounds and textures. Less guitar solos, more harmonies. It’ll be tight!