Earth Tongue, the legendary band that originated in Wellington. They've moved to berlin, held prime slots in international festivals, released new music and kept growing! So we're well due for a catch up:

"Kia ora Twisted whanau! We’re Earth Tongue - a heavy psychedelic rock two piece band, originally from Te Whanganui a Tara but now residing in Berlin Germany. If you haven’t heard us before, our music is a fuzzy, loud and energetic version of psych rock, leaning heavily into proto-metal and 1970s prog rock influences. We love the world-building aspect of heavy music so we put a lot into the visual elements of the band through live visuals, merch and music videos. The band consists of Gussie Larkin on guitar and vocals, and Ezra Simons on drums and vocals."

What is the source of inspiration from your most recent music video 'Ritual'?

We wanted to create something that was a bit more than a standard music video. The song conjures up occult ritualistic imagery, which historically is a pretty cliche for rock music videos - but we wanted to do an Earth Tongue version of the classic ‘cult in the woods’ music video trope. We had a friend make six red robes, and we drove out to some creepy German woods to shoot it. We thought it was a good excuse to cast some actors and create a simple giallo-esque narrative - we had fun with it!

How do you intertwine story telling into your craft?

We often get inspired by books and cinema for our song ideas - so story telling is a big part of the process from the beginning. We’re not crafting complete stories per se, but we muse on specific scenarios or images throughout the process. We see our visual world as equally as important as the music - so from each song’s conception we’re thinking about the visual world in which it exists.

So sick that you've been doing tours world wide! What's the tour life like?

We moved to Europe last year with the intention of touring as much as possible. It’s been great to be available and close by for whatever comes our way - we feel so grateful to be traveling the world and seeing so many new places. Some of the highlights of this year’s touring includes a prime slot at Barcelona Psych Fest, playing Dark Mofo in Tasmania - and playing alongside stoner rock legends Acid King at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. In between tours we’re able to go to lots of shows in Berlin. There’s endless music venues in this city, and a very vibrant and diverse music scene, so we’re spoiled for choice. We miss seeing our Aotearoa favourites on the regular though - the standard of bands coming out of NZ remains to be top tier!

What's been your favourite tour moment so far?

My favourite tour moment this year was probably playing Bearstone Festival in Croatia, in the beautiful Slunj mountains, we played in a little shack in 30 degree heat and went for a freezing cold crystal-clear river swim afterwards. Not quite as good as the river going through the Twisted sight, but not far off!

What're you most looking forward to when you come back to Aotearoa?

Friends, whanau, tui song and the ocean!