VIDEO PREMIERE: Keelan Mak - ‘Naked Eye’

Melbourne-based artist Keelan Mak is dropping his single, Naked Eye, tomorrow. But, in a Purple Sneakers exclusive, we have the music video for you here today.

Naked Eye is an airy yet melancholy pop banger fuelled by nostalgia for a love lost. The song was created during World Pride 2023 in a session with Troye Sivan, Leland, and Vetta Borne. Mak himself said, “There was something really special about having four queer writers in a room, telling a queer love story. The energy in that room was safe, and we all got the memo.”

As for the dreamy video itself, it follows a non-traditional love story between Mak and an alien who lands in his backyard. Loosely based on Mak’s real-life experience where a love interest had to move back home, the alien leaves without a word at the end of the music video.

Mak explained, “The story is meant to be cute and cliché. We didn’t want to overdo it and create an unattainable fantasy. He has a boring life, and for a moment, it’s made a little better by this person.

“Throughout the clip, you see them both come out of their shell and get comfier with each other. On the final night, the alien leaves without a word. I didn’t feel the need for any dialogue at the end, it made a lot more sense to me to leave it open ended, because it felt the most similar to my real life experience with that person.”

It was filmed on a farmstead an hour’s drive out of Melbourne, making for freezing temperatures and a gruelling shoot. 

“I had Jeremy (the actor who plays the alien) wrapped in a blanket between takes because the poor thing was wearing this paper-thin issey miyake top. The things we do for art,” Mak said.

Naked Eye will be Mak’s first release since 2022 when he dropped his EP Brave Face, a story of resilience and authenticity.