Crooked Mouth is a band whose music emerges from a need for spiritual purification and healing — a sonic ritual, an act of transformation, a conscious immersion in the creative process that also becomes a search for meaning. Their performances often take on an almost liturgical form — they are encounters, moments of community, of suspension. The band draws from Western esoteric traditions, European paganism, dreams, magic, folklore, and, of course, the musical underground of the 20th and 21st centuries. Acoustic instrumentation meets distorted guitars, samples, and ambient drones — all woven into a narrative that is both melancholic and dreamlike.
Since its inception, Crooked Mouth has operated as an open collective centered around Ian Campbell — a leader, songwriter, and composer who has collaborated with such notable figures of the neofolk scene as Art Abscons, Night Profound, and Headstone Brigade. Following Campbell’s relocation to Vilnius in 2022, Adam Ormes joined the band as a permanent member. The live lineup also includes Glabis Niktorius (Romowe Rikoito) and Agota Zdanavičiūtė (Sen Svaja).
We spoke with Crooked Mouth about spirituality, music as a tool for transformation, the idea of “purity” in artistic expression, and what ritual sounds like in the age of algorithms.
Artur Mieczkowski
Artur Mieczkowski: Rudolf Steiner’s quote about the silence of the stars opening your artistic narrative – how does this “maturing silence” translate into Crooked Mouth’s music?
Ian Campbell: This quote speaks about how, in times past, certain things were given to us unconsciously from the universe, such as connection to the spiritual, connection to community, etc. In the modern era we have lost much of this connection because we needed to develop our individual selves, and now our task is to rediscover these connections in full individualistic consciousness, which we did not have before.
Through such a process, something new can be born. This relates not just to our music, but how all of us in the band try to interact with the world. We are not just listening to the cosmos, and we are also not just forcing our own meanings onto it either. Instead, we are looking for a middle path: we are trying to have a conversation.
A.M.: You define your work as “a spell against the ailment of the modern world.” What specific “ailment” do you want to cure through music?
I.C.: Though their causes might be very complex, I think most of the symptoms are quite simple.
Disconnection from each other, disconnection from higher ideals, ideological possession, belief in false histories, and merging of one’s own being into pre-made forms which are created to contain and control. Thinking things are real and absolute that are in reality just an illusion. Being eaten up by egregores everywhere you turn.
Simply, just being asleep to the world and cosmos as it actually exists, while at the same time also thinking you’ve got it all figured out.
A.M.: Your albums are “signposts on a journey.” Where does this road lead and can you describe its next steps?
I.C.: This road leads somewhere into the future where no one can see, just like what is seen on the art of our newest tour poster. The road is the journey of one’s life, and who can say where it goes? My journey is marked by my music and what it represented to me at that moment of my life. First, awakening to nature and its power with my first album, then diving into family history and the history of my country with “Decay”. Later, with “Coastal” I was exploring the spiritual and artistic traditions of my birthplace, Vancouver Island. With “Earth Becomes Sun” I began to express my interest in the spiritual movements of the early 20th century. Then came “Between The Fool & The Magician” which saw me question the deeper core of myself through symbols of the Tarot, and was an album recorded between two worlds, half was completed in Canada and the rest was finished in my new home; Lithuania.
A.M.: You say that Crooked Mouth concerts are “ritual and communion.” How do you prepare for these performances? Is there any initiation ritual for the audience?
I.C.: There is, sometimes, but this can change depending on the situation. Usually I like to do something to engage or shock people’s senses at least a little. So much in modern live music is very boring and predictable, so sometimes we do things like starting the show from standing in the crowd, slowly making our way to the stage with some kind of procession while sound plays. At times I have worn a mask, which really changes my state of mind and lets me become a kind of storyteller between songs that is not possible for me otherwise, but these days I have stopped using the mask. Usually I use some kind of incense, I try to have a candle lit, because I feel even having a single flame invites a different feeling into the room. Depending on the venue, all of this is not always possible, sometimes these things are quite improvised in the moment. Rituals can also be personal and entirely mental, so in places where certain physical things are not possible, more subtle actions can still be attempted.
A.M.: You combine esoteric tradition with underground music. How do you reconcile, for example, the magic of European paganism with the sound of the 21st century?
I.C.: It is not as intellectual and complicated a thing as I used to think it was. It is more a question of perspective and intent. Speaking of paganism specifically, one just needs to try to understand how those ancestors were thinking of those symbols, and then apply them to one’s own life, because much of what we experience as humans is still the same: life, love, death, birth, disappointment, elation, observations of the seasons and the sky. We have all these things in common with the ancestors.
Lithuania, where I live now, has many thousands of traditional folk songs that survived, many going back to pagan times. These are an absolute treasure. These songs usually have quite simple and universal themes that can connect you with this older way of thinking. The songs speak of the stars, trees, sometimes animals, usually a young girl or boy, all the members of his or her family, special plants and flowers, rivers, tops of hills. All of these elements create a symbolic language and after sitting with it for a while you start to see the pagan worldview is right there waiting for you to understand it. It’s not lost or hidden at all. And once I began to understand it, the ideas of how it could sound in the 21st century just came pouring out. These things can and were expressed in all times, in different forms, and right now might be one of the most important times for them to be expressed again, because they can help us understand the priorities of life. Most of us don’t understand these priorities now, and I include myself in that. These songs/ideas/mythical language can introduce us to the characters who can help us understand these things in a way that is deeper than pure rational, logical thought. I think all that is required to reconcile these things is to try earnestly to educate yourself about the topic and then trust where your own path leads.
A.M.: You operate with an international lineup (Lithuania, Canada). How does this affect your creative process? Has the culture of the Baltic countries left its mark on your recent work?
I.C.: Yes, certainly the Baltic has had an influence. You will hear that most on our new album, and the singles we have released in the last year. Creatively, it has been very interesting to be able to collaborate with people of very different musical backgrounds. People here are very open artistically, so you can find people to play with who are good fits from many different musical backgrounds, traditional folk, metal, etc. In Canada, it seems there were about 15 of us in my province who had any interest in this music, and there was no feeling that other musicians from outside that circle would ever want to work with us.
A.M.: You collaborate with artists from the neofolk scene – what do you have in common with projects such as Art Abscons and Night Profound?
I.C.: I used to be a live member of Night Profound, and we released a collaboration album together 10 years ago. We used to live only 2 blocks from each other. They have been my close friends since about 2012.
I was a big fan of Art Abscons for a long time, and then I finally met him in 2021 in Germany and learned that he like my music too, since that he added guitar and his voice to my last album and has been Crooked Mouth’s electric guitarist several times. He will play guitar with us at these upcoming concerts as well.
A.M.: You are played live by musicians associated with Romowe Rikoito and Sen Svaja. What is your choice of collaborators like? Do you look for “kindred spirits”?
I.C.: Yes, absolutely. This is the primary concern of who I work with. I have never invited someone play in Crooked Mouth just because they could perform an instrument, there has always been some deeper connection. All these people bring some small bit of essence from their own music into what I write, and that creates a very special effect.
A.M.: You talk about “seeking purity of expression.” Is this purity still possible in the digital age?
I.C.: It depends what one means by “purity”. I think, in the context I wrote that, what I meant was expression that is not filtered by any outside forces, so, not dictated by commercial forces, trends, worries about what a fan-base will think, etc. Creation for the sake of creation. This is still possible, and it is possible to be independent today, which is a very good thing.
I even think that it is possible to do the less respected side of music, social media marketing, in a creative way that could be as “pure” as making the music itself. A band is an organism that has something to communicate, and being able to communicate it well through both visuals and music is important, and not easy. However, it is very easy to get caught by these platforms and forget what you are trying to express and instead to hyper fixate on results, numbers, this kind of thing. They are a doube-edged sword.
My personal opinion; if I could push a button, and digital music is gone forever, I would push it. I am a physical media lover. But, I also accept that I live here and now, so I play the modern game at least a little bit, until it gets too much for me, then I take a break and remember why I do this in the first place. But I play this game because I do believe it can work to reach more people who might be affected by what we have to express.
But, I don’t let the current era dictate anything about what I create, the music comes first, and then afterwards is when I try to find my niche, and communicate to them in some way.
A.M.: Your music balances between melancholy and contemplation. Is it a conscious alchemy of emotions, or is it more of an organic process?
I.C.: I would say more organic. It is some expression of my soul’s natural temperament.
A.M.: You have played in clubs, festivals and “under the holy oaks.” Where do you feel closest to your artistic essence?
I.C.: It is not an easy question to answer, because each place can have something to offer that others can’t. For example, under the oak, acoustic, in the dark, with a sacred fire burning, there is one kind of very strong feeling that is created. But, in that situation, we are also missing an element of our sound, all the electric elements, samples, drones, that can create a very spacious atmosphere. In a place where we have great electric sound, we can create something different with it, but then the atmosphere of the oak is gone. So, I haven’t found a perfect place yet, but some things work better than others: darkness, a small space, smoke, being close to the audience.
A.M.: Your live performances have a special aura. Can you reveal what surprises (e.g. visuals, performances, special guests) you are preparing for your upcoming concerts?
I.C.: There will probably be all of those things that you mentioned….
A.M.: What ritual or symbol would be key to understanding Crooked Mouth?
I.C.: Symbol: maybe a lemniscate (the “infinity sign”). Or the 12 signs of the zodiac.
If you wanted to understand my view on spiritual things, perhaps you could start by reading “Knowledge of Higher Worlds and Its Attainment” by Rudolf Steiner.
Or, just sit quietly for a while and pay attention to the thoughts that come to you, seemingly from nowhere. Contemplate what the phenomenon of thoughts actually are, and come to your own conclusions.
A.M.: Thank you for the interview and good luck with your plans.
I.C.: Thank you for your interest and support!