MNZ Interview: CoffeeBar Kid Cuts S02 / E05 – Earth Tongue

Currently conquering the planet from their new home base in Berlin, Aotearoa’s very own psych-rock doom shredders Earth Tongue are coming back down under for three epic shows. Gussie Larkin (Mermaidens) and Ezra Simons (Soft Bait, Troy Kingi) are a relentless force, playing an absurd number of gigs and festivals across Europe and the UK.

Last year alone they shared the stage alongside Brant Bjork, Acid King and Ty Segall (who also produced their forthcoming new album) and notched up a finalist placing at the 2025 Taite Music Prize for their heavy riff-drenched “horrifying rock opera” and second album Great Haunting, alongside many other achievements.

Earth Tongue will be down here, shortly, for the Lōemis (pron. lew-mis) festival, an annual midwinter arts festival that began in 2016 and takes place in locations around Wellington, Te Whanganui a Tara. The festival tries to connect with midwinter and ideas around darkness, light, harvest, and the creation of new works (almost all of the festival is a new offering of some sort). There’s often been a fantastical thread running through the programme as well, which fits in nicely with Earth Tongue’s own dark music kaupapa.

But being a Kiwi means that no matter how far away you might be, we can always track you down. Tim Gruar put in a call with shred-queen Gussie Larkin to have a bit of a chat about relocating to Germany, plying a gig at cheese festival and recording a new album in LA.

How is Berlin?

It’s great. I was just, yeah, I was just sitting out on the balcony, and it was getting too hot, actually. Things are getting really nice at this time of year as it sort of turns into the city that I moved here for. It’s a completely different city in summer, which we love.

I’m jealous because Wellington is just going into the wintery, cold damp phase.

I’ll soon so be right there with you.

Yeah, you’re coming back to your home city, Te Whanganui a Tara?

Yep. I’ll be staying with my family my family again, good to see them. And they have a new cat!

Tell me more about Berlin. Why did you move there. Is that because you can now do lots of European tours and gigs. Because it’s central?

Well, we did our first tour in Europe in 2018 and spent a bit of time in Berlin. That’s when we first fell in love with the city, I guess. Since then, we’ve come over again and done a few tours. We’d always and would always make sure we spent a bit of time here.

We actually intended to move in 2020, had our flights booked and everything. So, the move has just been delayed (by Covid) from then really. It’s just a really great city to be an artist. People like will say that it’s not what it used to be today. That it’s getting more expensive. All that. But for me I still find I can find a balance between during music, which is what I’m spending most of my time on and working a little bit, as well. And now we have friends here and also, the booking agency that we are with is German. For us, there’s been quite a few connections.

I follow you on Instagram. You get around an insane number of gigs and festivals.

Yeah, last year we played 14 festivals over and like 50 gigs or something, which was just mad, but it was it was so amazing yeah. This year is not as busy, but we do have a lot coming up. It’s nice that just the momentum has just kept rolling on. All the risks we’ve taken it paying off.

I remember a post showing you guys playing in this field on a mountain.

Yeah, we played a festival in Switzerland called the ‘Roclette Festival’, named after the cheese. A play on that cheese these heat up, melted and serve. It’s pretty much all there was to eat. It was actually all the way up a mountain. So, you just stay in this cute little ski town and then head up for the actual shows. They were on different locations over the weekend. The one we played was just in this beautiful green clearing. After we played, we could walk through the beautiful nature to this little hut where this chef made us a three course lunch and it was the most delicious food and cheese and wine.

We also had some great gigs in the Netherlands. I mean we had some amazing meals. And they are so well organised. The venues.

It’s got to be so different from where you started in grungy lil’ places like San Fran and Valhalla, etc.

And now we’ve done a lot of Germany. We’re planning a festival (appearance) in Croatia in July. I’m really hoping we can book a few more shows in the in the Balkans.

Europe is pretty challenging right now – that’s the perspective from down here in Aotearoa. Is that true?

I guess, the war with Ukraine, and America. And things like that, you mean? Europe is feeling that for real. But I can say my only tangible experience is meeting a few people from Ukraine at shows recently and talking to them about how they were able to leave under a kind of very hushed circumstances. It was interesting to make friends with a guy in Barcelona, a cyclist who had moved there, maybe two years ago from Ukraine, and was not able to go back there. He can’t leave because if he does, he’ll have to fight. Leaving his family behind. That’s hard. And very complicated. So, yeah, I guess that impacts you.

Because I’m in central Berlin, I’m sort of sheltered. It’s like an island. It’s an artistic centre. But Europe has changed, just generally. The recent election local election, with a huge spike in popularity for the right-wing party. But it doesn’t affect you. Yet. But there’s the same threats. So, you feel like this is a reasonably safe, a comfortable place to be but I don’t think that’s reflective of Germany, overall.

I’m kind of grieving that Mermaidens (Gussie’s other band) can’t continue at the moment because obviously you are doing the other stuff.

I was just talking to Lily (bassist from Mermaidens). We recorded an album last December and we’re just putting like the finishing touches on it. So, there’s going to be new music.

Awesome.

It’s always a bit of a juggle to time the releases. So, that Earth Tongue’ isn’t, like, ‘squashing’ Mermaidens. Or vice versa. So, yeah, there will be Mermaidens’ music later in the year.

And, you’ve been recording for Earth Tongue in LA, with Ty Segal?

We met him in New Zealand, when we he came and did a few shows. We were supporting him. And then when on to support him on a Europe and UK tour last year. We formed a bit of a connection and started talking about recording an album with him (he’d be the producer). And we did that in February this year. We were in LA for almost three weeks at his studio called Altamira Sound in Alhambra, California. It was a very intense and focused time because we recorded and mixed everything within 10 days.

Wow.

Yes. I’ve never worked that way – usually you have a bit of space (between recordings) to reflect on what you’ve done before you mix the record. But it was a cool way to work but quite intense.

Because the clock was ticking?

Well, yes. And I’m a huge fan of his work so, pressure to perform well. And you paid all this extra money to travel, accommodation, all that. It’s just felt like the stakes were higher than previous records, which we mostly did ourselves.

Yeah. So, what does Ty bring to your sound? Because you guys are quite DIY, like many Kiwis, wanting to do everything yourselves.

Yeah. He was even more DIY. He has recorded so many albums – like 30-plus records. He always records to tape. Everything is analogue, including the mixing. He like he doesn’t do anything digital, only at the very end of the mixing where you bounce the audio from the tape onto the computer.

So, all on reel-to-reel tape?

Something like that. I think he often works with the producer sometimes. But all hands on. You know bands often become more and more shiny more and more high production as their careers go on. But we’ve kind of gone like back to the old skool sound. It’s a unique sound. Definitely more (raw). A lot more (grunge), kind of ‘popping’ in a way. Because there’s no drum editing, etc. You can hear sticks clicking. You have to make sure the entry is absolutely. I’m interested to see what people think of it.

As I said, everything (these days) is highly edited and polished. I’m not sure I really like that. Recording to analogue is a real commitment like to go “Okay, this isn’t like super Hi-Fi”. It’s just got ‘feel’, in a way that’s more like Earth Tongue live shows. Yeah

I’ve been talking to a few Kiwis have been based over there (in LA) and they are saying that the whole place has really changed a and it has got a sort of weird vibe at the moment. Did you pick up on?

I mean, Ty mentioned that. He said in terms of like selling tickets, it was getting a little a little more challenging for people. Financially harder, post-election. People aren’t spending as much, less disposable income. So that was, kind of, noticeable.

Also, we were there about 10 days after the LA fires. And whilst we didn’t see any of that, because it’s just such a massive city, you can’t go about without noticing something. Ty had friends impacted. He knew a lot of people that had lost their houses.

But then, fortunately, there were a lot of musicians and creatives that were living sort of more out outside the city, so they were OK. It would have been hard for them to work with us if they were impacted. Ty said that it was good timing that we arrived two weeks after everything had settled down again.

I’m in awe of how much sound just two people can make. I kept looking for the bassist. But it’s just you and Ezra on stage.

That’s because of how I split octave with two amps. (It gives that bigger sound) Like I have two guitars. It’s just that little trick that’s really like transformed us and made it possible for us to keep going as a two piece really.

I watch your videos, with that real DIY cheesy 60’s horror and sci-fi B-movie vibe. The witchcraft and the blood and gore. I kept coming back to Ken Russell’s Lair Of The White Worm – Hugh Grant’s early thing. Am I on track?

I love that movie. Year, it encapsulates, aesthetically, all that stuff. Thanks for comparing us to that. I think that ‘tone’, it’s not easy to nail down. It can be completely misunderstood and just

And now you are in Germany, are you tapping into that ancient world?

It’s everywhere. It’s the whole culture. The lyrics we’re writing start with this sci-fi or horror thing and now seem to be more mediaeval dungeon focused. That feels right for Europe. Earth Tongue are so fantastical. I will say that that a lot of the album was written during winter here. I think really helped with the darkness of the lyrics and the music. And it was just a really good time to have a project to focus, when it’s like that snowing outside. And You know, you’re coped up, not really going to any parties or anything. This is when the stories come out.

So, these stories. What are they based on? Real things, legends, movies, songs, poems?

We kind of had a few characters in our minds. I won’t say too much about it because obviously like we haven’t released any music from the new album (which is what I’m referring to now). But I can say that we kind of gave them a narrative, and that spans across the whole album. Which was quite fun.

Because you guys live together, is the creativity always on? Are you thinking of riffs, beats or lyrics while doing the dishes or brushing your teeth?

Well, yeah. That has its merits. And bad points. Because we have this struggle to have boundaries. It’ll be like I’ll getting ready to go to bed at 11:00PM or whatever and there will suddenly be like I have to get into ‘admin brain’ and be like doing emails about the band or something. That’s the dull reality behind the façade, ha ha.

Hard to believe that actually happens!

Their second album Great Haunting is out now on In The Red Records.

Upcoming Gigs:

Thursday 12th June – The Loons, Lyttelton

Friday 13th June – Meow Nui, Wellington*

Saturday 14th June – Double Whammy, Auckland

Loemis Festival, which features Earth Tongue (Psych Pop), Clear Path Ensemble (Jazz) Bret McKenzie & The State Highway Wonders (pop), Max Gordy (award winning Chef), Justin Firefly Clarke (folk), avant-garde film, and much more – Monday 9 – Saturday 21 June 2025

 

Photo Credit: Frances Carter