Darryn Farrugia began playing the drums at an early age thanks to his father - also a drummer - who encouraged him by buying him his first drumkit and a handful of Sandy Nelson records at the age of 5.  Darryn began taking lessons at the age of six and played along to records by Tom Jones, Neil Diamond, Credence Clearwater Revival and Elvis Presley before he started to play gigs at the age of 12. Around the age of 14, Darryn developed a love for jazz and eventually studied at the Victorian College of the Arts under the guidance of his longtime teacher, Frank Corniola. This was eventually followed by private study in the U.S. with drummers such as Marvin ‘Smitty’ Smith and Joe Morello.

Darryn’s credits include the drum chair for the popular TV show ‘Hey, hey it’s Saturday’, recording sessions for film soundtracks, jingles and albums, plus tours and gigs.  Some of the artists Darryn has played behind include Tom Jones, Tina Arena, Lou Rawls, The Commodores, Curtis Steigers, Trisha Yearwood, Ruby Turner, Larry Adler, Joe Cocker, Michael Feinstein, Ray Davies (the Kinks), Ernie Watts, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter, Randy Crawford, Eartha Kitt, Justin Robinson, Buddy Greco, Gloria Loring, Roger Daltry, Barry Manilow, Jackson Browne, John Tesh, Martin Taylor, Rene Geyer, Thelma Houston, Petula Clarke, Tommy Emmanuel, Keb-Mo, and Olivia Newton-John to name a few.

Darryn moved to London for a 5-year stint in 2005. During this time he played on recording sessions for several albums, toured throughout Europe and played many gigs around London’s live music scene at clubs including Ronnie Scott’s, The 606, Pizza Express amongst others. Darryn returned to Australia in 2010.

Recently, Darryn has performed live with Many artists including Leo Sayer, Hugh Jackman, Mary Wilson, Ian Moss, Jimmy Barnes and has played the drums on albums for Harrison Craig, Anthony Callea, Rachel Beck, The Daryl McKenzie Jazz Orchestra, The B# Big Band amongst others.

Darryn has authored two instructional books – Groove Perspectives and The Groove Perspectives Play-along and maintains a busy teaching schedule.

2012 saw the release of Darryn’s debut solo release ‘Seeds’ which features Australian and international artists including Phil Turcio, Glenn Cannon, Joe Chindamo, Leonard Grigoryan, Luke Howard, Patrick Bettison, Mike Stern and Bob Berg.