Today we have your first look at Chameleon Treat’s video for “Honey Bee,” which is the first song off the duo’s upcoming album BASKETPUSHER.

Andrew Kruske, who makes up one half of Chameleon Treat, says that he and his counterpart Jake Edwards were influenced by bands like Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, and Spiritualized for this album. “I really just wanted to make a solid set of straight up ‘dream pop’ songs. This song in particular is about avoiding a bee that was trapped in my house…it’s about me going way out of my way for an insect, essentially. Through that lonely bug, the song broadly explores empathy (for bugs and/or human beings), stress, and avoidance,” Kruske says.

After writing the song, Kruske and Edwards were tasked with the challenge of making a visual accompaniment to the track on a very low budget. “We were faced with the struggle many independent bands are faced with: how can we make an interesting video with a budget of 0 dollars?” In order to do so, the band had to get resourceful and put in some remarkable DIY effort into the project. The answer involved a “rickety-yet-stylish” tandem bicycle, an oversized stuffed animal, and a lot of patience. “Aside from a few bad snowboarding videos in high school, this video was my first attempt at filming or editing something. It took a lot of planning, guessing, and tinkering, but I’m definitely happy with the end result,” Kruske says.

Kruske even got creative and crafty enough to add some special effects to the video. “The visual effects for the bridge section of the song were produced with an overhead projector and a variety of dyes. I attempted to give a visual indicator of a 60’s psychedelic feeling, in order to enhance the Beatles-sque vibe of the instrumentation of this section of the song. I’ve been consistently drawn to ‘liquid light’ as an art form, and I definitely want to work with it more in the future,” they say.

Although Kruske really spearheaded the efforts behind this video, he also had some help from his friends he says. “I’d also like to give a few shout outs really quick: first, to Emily Henley for playing the harp on this song. My good friend Susie helped me out while filming wherever I needed it. Jake [Edwards] was also there to help out and play the drums in a few of the shots near the middle.”

Now that you have the background story, check out the finished product for yourself with the exclusive premiere of “Honey Bee” below!

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