Tulipomania’s “Never Knew” is the fourth single from Absolution (Sursumcorda), an album inspired by the duo’s contributions to award-winning author Jeff VanderMeer’s provocative latest book of the same name. Secrecy, trust and betrayal form the fractured narrative of “Never Knew”—and the Philadelphia art rockers wanted the video to reflect those themes.
“The overall animation concept and method mirrors, to an extent, the process we undertook to create the music,” says Tulipomania’s Tom Murray.
For the video, Murray and longtime collaborator Cheryl Gelover actually purchased and destroyed multiple copies of VanderMeer’s novel. “Seeking to match the lyrics of the song to the words in the book required an intensely claustrophobic immersion in the printed pages,” says Gelover. “At times, finding them meant cutting or tearing through pages. But often the text became a compelling distraction, as it invited pauses to experience fragments of the narrative once again.”
We’re proud to premiere Tulipomania’s “Never Knew” video.
—Hobart Rowland
