The Psychedelic Collective Behind Your Fave Tame Impala Vids

Tame Impala's been at it for a little while now, and aside from having solidified a synthy psychedelic rock sound, their videos have since provided fans with trippy delight. In a day and age where a video just ain't a video without naked ladies shakin' their money makers, it's nice to see that wholesome things like experiencing an acid trip through your computer screen are still relevant.

Having worked more recently with the likes of CANADA (ironically Barcelona-based), on their video for The Less I Know The Better, the guys’ main intent with their videos seems to be keeping it consistently weird. Seriously, think King Kong meets High School Musical...but with more body paint.

The band seems to enjoy pairing transient imagery with the ambient notes which appear to emerge from the background of various tracks. Tunes like Let It Happen illustrate a profound level of artistic scope, using clever transitions and feigned hallucinations to make us ponder the true state of the world we are experiencing.

David Wilson, who is the artistic visionary behind videos like Let It Happen and Mind Mischief, has also joined forces with the likes of The Arctic Monkeys and Arcade Fire. Not only does this brother seamlessly blend live action with animation, he’s also been the recipient of a slew of awards including Best Rock/Indie International for Tame Impala’s Let It Happen at the UK Music Video Awards 2015.

The guys have also notably worked with Becky & Joe, creators of Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, a dark mini-series in the style of a children’s television show. Seriously, this shit will have you hippie flipping so hard, you’re gonna have to check yourself for whiplash. Appropriately coming together to produce the video for Feels Like We Only Go Backwards, it features images of floating craniums and doors leading to far away tie dye galaxies.

If you’re looking to bend your mind beyond its present limits, I’d suggest Half Full Glass Of Wine, which was directed by creative masterminds, Special Problems (Cut Off Your Hands, Mercy Arms). Kevin’s vocals on this track, when accompanied by the myriad of shapes and colours, seem to take you for a strange little trip. In addition to the mammoth guitar solo, we are presented with imagery of hummingbirds, a sumo wrestler, monkeys doing God knows what, and dogs running around like wild animals. In short, a Rorschach Drawing of fuckery.

In April, Parker commented that he was writing new music but was unsure if it would be for Tame Impala or “for someone else.” Let’s hope that the bros will have some fresh tunes for us and give us something to drool over in months to come.

Until next time, stay groovy.
-A