Video Voyager: AP Tobler’s “Claustrophobia”

AP Tobler has released their new single “Claustrophobia” and it’s accompanying video, an alt rock grunge song reminiscent of Green Day meets Weezer.

The song is about how uncomfortable they are in their own skin and is translated into their video. The whole thing is quick frames of a variety of different shots, consisting of AP in several different positions and outfits, the empty coach, and the empty coach with just their guitar. The many different ways they orient themselves is a perfect representation of trying to find comfort with yourself.

We spoke with AP about their video. Check out what they had to share about the “Claustrophobia” music video:

Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?

Claustrophobia is about feeling trapped and uncomfortable in your body. I wrote this song at a point of severe discomfort with myself. I was also just getting out of a spell of writer’s block and it took me quite a while to bring the song to completion. In the video, I wear all sorts of different clothes. The line, “You can’t become a new person every day,” inspired these outfit changes that show my futile attempts to renew myself.

What was the inspiration behind this video?

The video features myself singing the song while sitting on a desolate sofa. My outfit and position changes often in the video. These outfit changes represent that no matter what external things I change, I am still the same at the core, even if I don’t want to be.

What was the process of making this video?

The process of making the video was super easy and quick. The shoot consisted of myself singing along to the track in varying outfits and positions. The video was different from my others as we used a single camera angle for all the shots. We shot in my house which helped us prepare test shots and make sure we would get what we wanted. I did multiple sing throughs in each outfit and my dad did the editing. The tv frame and glitches represent changing the channel on an old television. While the concept is simple it is one of my favorites.

Watch here: