Formed in 2019, Krooked Tongue burst onto the scene with the release of their celebrated debut single ‘I Wanna Steal Your Car’. Coupled with word of their frenetic live shows and lyrical commentary, the band’s reputation spread, leading them to embark on their debut UK tour.
With a series of successful singles under their belt, the band spent the following year honing in on a more refined studio sound with Josh Gallop (Phoxjaw, Mother Vulture) at Stage 2 Studios in Bath, helping to replicate their formidable live act. The result was their critically acclaimed debut EP ‘No Vacancy Hotel’ released in February last year. We had the pleasure to catch up with band member Oli Rainsford (Vocals, Bass) to discuss the band’s fortunes and current projects.
Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi. Congratulations on your career to date. For readers who are unfamiliar with your background, how were you introduced to music?
Hey Occhi, thanks for having us! Well, we all have different backgrounds in music, but I think it’s similar to most people in that our parents were a big influence on our music tastes growing up. I’ve always been a sucker for melody, and I reckon a big part of that is probably the music my parents and my older brother used to have on all the time when I was a kid, Elvis, Rod Stewart, Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Stereophonics. Kelly Jones is especially a big influence on me as a lyricist. I always preferred observational lyrics, the bird’s eye view. There’s something more impactful with telling stories that way.
Dan grew up listening to Linkin Park and he loves John Mayer. I think you can hear a lot of Mayer in his playing. Even if it’s hidden behind some of those wailing tones.
And I’ve had many a conversation with Harry’s dad about music. I know H’s influences growing up were the likes of Queens of the Stone Age and Squeeze. I think you can especially hear QOTSA in his drumming.
What was the emotional drive in you to become an artist?
The creativity that comes with writing music, performing, and everything else entails it is just such a pure commodity. There’s no feeling quite like playing one of your own songs live and people are singing the words back to you. There just isn’t anything like it.
Please share with us the origins of the band. How and when did you decide to form Krooked Tongue?
We’re a mongrel of sorts! I’m (Oli) originally from Worcestershire in the midlands, Dan is from Plymouth and Harry is from Liverpool. We met at BIMM and just clicked straight away really. The lads are receptive when I bring in new material and that’s so important to a band’s dynamic I think. Having people that know your vision, saves a load of time when it comes to steaming through new material.
Congratulations on the success of your single releases Lupines and Velociraptor, which received airplay and endorsements from radio stations and critics alike. Of your accomplishments so far, what are you most proud of, and why?
Good question! There’s been so many amazing features and accomplishments that we’re still in awe over. I think we unanimously agree there are a few stand-out ones for us on a personal level, such as reaching the Number 1 spot in the Dutch Indie Charts, or Radio 1, and from a performance side, we were lucky enough to debut our EP at Tallinn Music Week in Estonia while on tour in May. We’ve just returned from Burn it Down too which was just incredible. What a festival.
Please tell us about your latest track ‘Backseat Therapy’, and the accompanying video
So the origin story for Backseat Therapy is something we’ve discussed a lot by now but to give it to you in short, I (Oli) was traveling in a cab one day and the driver was down on his luck, and was venting to me about quitting driving cabs and how he hated his job. So I somehow became a mediator for the journey, and by the end of the trip we were best pals and he was in a much better mood. I thought it would make for an interesting song subject, and so I wrote ‘Backseat Therapy’ that night!
What other projects are you currently working on?
So currently we’ve been in the middle of a late festival season! We just played a show with The Virgin Marys, followed by Burn It Down Festival and Worcester Music Festival, and at the end of the month we headline Fozzafest! So it’s been super busy. We’re also in the midst of recording a bigger project, so stay tuned for that! As for now, we can’t wait for everyone to see the video for Backseat Therapy! Loads of love and work went into this, so we hope it’s reciprocated by the people!
Where can we find out more about you?
We’re on all the socials and streaming sites but we’re most active on Instagram and Spotify, so come and say hello. We always try our absolute best to respond to everyone on DM’s and keep the community alive.
You can find us at krookedtongue on Instagram
krooked_tongue on Twitter
Krooked Tongue on Facebook.
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