The duo, made up of Carisa Bianca Mellado and Andrew Dalziell, use myth and narrative in their music to explore the darker realms of life in a way that reflects its beauty.
‘‘Everyone has a shadow and darker side. We find acceptance in this, bringing it to light in a way that has a balanced energy. The myth of Achelous & Melpomene is of an underworld God of the ocean and the muse of tragedy that is connected to the birth of the Sirens – beings who reflect the beauty and sadness of life,’’ Mellado explains.
‘‘I find that in going to these dark places through music, and art in general, you can find and create catharsis,” Dalziell adds. “It makes you present within your body. There is an ecstasy to it – there is transcendence. I think what we do is fun, but it’s also profound. You get to go somewhere and be transported.’’
Their music is also a metaphorical carrier, entangling their own personal narratives within myth. ‘‘Lyrically, the songs are written from a point of view that could be taken from the characters within the myths and in a literal human way. We try to blur that line a little bit,’’ Mellado informs.
‘‘Using metaphor through myth allows us to express our own personal experiences that become universal experiences. I have a history of trauma and other things I have had to overcome. By using myth, the language I use stays alive, free from limitation.’’
The duo are not only alluring and mesmerising in their sound, but present a similarly captivating projection. “We project a lot of really, weird, dark mythic videos as well. They’re a little fucked up and beautiful at the same time. I have a transition that I use which is me crying with blood pouring throughout the video.’’
In creating the visuals, Dalziell does most of the filming while Mellado takes on the editing. ‘‘Some of them are collages and landscapes. We transform the space to create an imaginary room we are playing in,’’ explains Dalziell. ‘‘The visual component connects it all together and makes it a bit of a different experience.’’
The duo met in LA and soon started to collaborate, realising their interests instantly matched. ‘‘We met when I was on tour with my solo act and we did some shows together. We realised we were exploring the same thing – similar textures and sounds, even our musical influences. We both have this classical, post punk thing that we do,’’ states Dalziell.
Night Tongue’s dynamism is evident in all stages of their music production, one that begins with their songwriting. ‘‘If we start jamming there will be a bunch of new material. So much that we decide ‘let’s not jam anymore’. Whenever we go and practice we have to make a decision about what we are going to do. We have to be disciplined.’’
Night Tongue’s talents transcend their musical creativity and the outfit are now exploring other avenues to spread their wings. ‘‘We made a bunch of short films this year too,’’ Dalziell says. ‘‘Film composition is another place where the classical side of what we do comes in handy. Both our dreams would be to do as many horror films as possible.’’
Such filmmaking prowess goes hand-in-hand with their music video creation and the duo have been working hard to append their new EP with film clips, all of which are soon to be released.
Currently, Night Tongue’s plans are centred around touring, which has kept them busy throughout 2018. Looking into the future, they have been steadily busy, working on their first album.
‘‘It’s in the recording process and should be done by mid next year. I’m dying to get it out there,’’ says Mellado. ‘‘I haven’t been back to Melbourne in nearly ten years, it’s so good to be home.’’
