Tall Dwarfs was a New Zealand rock band duo founded in 1981 comprising Alec Bathgate and Chris Knox. The duo is said to have helped pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music

Having played together in The Enemy - which broke up and transformed into Toy Love - Bathgate and Knox developed a special kind of musical affinity and formed Tall Dwarfs after Toy Love's demise in 1981.

While Knox and Bathgate live hundreds of kilometres apart, they managed to keep Tall Dwarfs productive -- each writing and recording material at home, then sending it to the other to embellish or edit. Their recordings often feature found sounds, tape loops, tape effects and improvised instruments. The physical formats of their releases are often unusual, such as the 12" vinyl release of That's the Short and Long of It which played at 33RPM on one side and 45RPM on the other.

Periodically the two artists did end up in the same room together and the occasional concert or tour did happen. Both members have also released solo work.

Their final release was "In The Dying Days Of Helen Young" in 2005. I compilation of rarities, Bovril, was released in 2018.

Bands who may have claimed to be influenced by the Tall Dwarfs include Elf Power, Neutral Milk Hotel, and The Olivia Tremor Control. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.