Tapir!

It is with great joy, and big grins on our faces that we can announce our latest signing, London-based six-piece Tapir!

Today the band have shared the video for ‘On A Grassy Knoll (We’ll Bow Together)’, taken from their 4-track ‘Act 1 (The Pilgrim)’ which is out now.

Talking about ‘On A Grassy Knoll (We’ll Bow Together)’ Ike from the band said:

“The song’s narrative is about a pilgrim who hears a call in the distance – a mocking bird drops a feather from above and it guides the pilgrim towards the nether. Beyond this, I hope people can find their own meaning and emotional connection to the song through the anonymity of the pilgrim and its journey.”

Set in a fictional universe of green hills, choppy seas and red creatures, ‘On A Grassy Knoll (We’ll Bow Together)’ starts the adventure into this mysterious land, as Tapir! tell the story of the Pilgrim, a creature embarking to unearth the land’s history, meeting all sorts of strange characters along the way.

Inspired by the storytelling theatrics of Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman and Spelling, with twiddling guitars, drum-machines and vocal flights fluttering, their tender songcraft glistens with folkish charm and ambrosial melodia.

Recorded and produced by Joe Futák and featuring backing vocals and violin from Christie Gardner and Helen Dixon of London-based duo Lilo, ‘On A Grassy Knoll (We’ll Bow Together)’ is taken from their debut EP, Act 1 (The Pilgrim), the first part of their forthcoming debut multidisciplinary narrative album.

Intending to immerse listeners over time, Act 1 (The Pilgrim) is the first of 3 episodic EPs, which they’ll compile into the complete album in early 2024.

Core to maintaining their DIY ethos and playful nature, the band plan to release works in a range of mediums in their multidisciplinary approach, with paintings, set design, soundscapes, costumes, short films, masks, animation, puppetry and theatrical plays all set to come alongside. This begins with the band’s self-shot, self-directed and self-produced video for ‘On a Grassy Knoll (We’ll Bow Together)’, produced via their art collective ‘My Life is Big’ and matched with vocalist Ike Gray’s artwork for the single and EP.

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The band added about their signing to Heavenly:

“It’s so lovely that Heavenly are wanting to back our strange and personal project. We never set out to be signed, and so this all came as a bit of a shock. Tapir! has always been about having fun and making art together, and Heavenly have given us a platform to keep that going. We want to maintain that DIY ethos and irreverence, and they’ve been kind enough to allow us that freedom. It’s a huge honour to be joining and we’re in safe hands. Let’s see what the future holds – it’s going to be a blast!”

Finally, having recently supported Black Country New Road and Golden Dregs on their U.K. tours, Tapir! play a number of festivals over the summer.