Ritual Rabbits frontman Clint Walper spent his formative years pursuing the sport of hockey, but his true life devotion was waiting to emerge. 

 

Walper’s athletic acumen led to an Ivy League scholarship, but he soon set in motion a seismic life shift by dropping his hockey stick and picking up his first guitar. In the four years that followed, pilgrimages from a New Jersey campus to New York City became his education in music. Immersed in the sounds of indie greats the Shins, Death Cab For Cutie, Modest Mouse and Interpol, Walper’s affinity for songwriting, melody and hooks blossomed. 

 

The opportunity to record his first EP came in 2011 with engineer/producer Dean Nelson (Beck, John Mayer, Fergie, The Rolling Stones) and Mark Vogelsang (supervising sound designer for Oscar shortlisted Spanish animation 'A Shadow of Blue’). Walper made an immediate impression. 

 

“I was initially struck by Clint’s delicate voice and thoughtful lyrics. The songs evoked a dreaminess and comfort with beautiful melodies and smart arrangement. I could see them striking a chord with a variety of audiences, from the indie college scene to moms and daughters.” - Nelson

 

That experience spurred on Walper to form Ritual Rabbits and record his debut LP, Somehow Never Again - named one of the Top 40 Saskatchewan albums of 2019 by SaskMusic. Since their debut LP, Ritual Rabbits has released several singles that continue to showcase the band’s knack for writing earworms that move both the head and the heart. 

 

The band has also established themselves as a fixture in the live music scene, highlighted by a main stage slot at the Ness Creek Music Festival in the summer of 2019. Featuring Walper backed by bassist Malcolm Whyte (Gunner & Smith, Karpinka Brothers) and Braden Bessel (Chasing Illusions), the band has years of experience between them having toured across the world, showcasing at SXSW, CMW and playing festivals in Europe.

 

Ritual Rabbits released their latest EP, The Middle of Somewhere, in April 2021. Walper wrote the six songs on the EP following the end of an engagement - and they chart the wobbly steps back after life goes and blows up. While their debut LP covered the highest highs and lowest lows of that relationship, the new EP charts the minutiae of the aftermath.   

 

Recording is now underway for Ritual Rabbits' next LP (slated for release in early 2022), but in the meantime The Middle of Somewhere EP is available wherever you find your music.