Hozier knows a lot about at least one thing that’s “Too Sweet”: honey. That’s because when he’s not making music, he’s a beekeeper — he even showed off his skills in an Instagram post earlier in April that was soundtracked by his viral hit. And for Hozier, there’s a lot to enjoy about wrangling the tiny creatures.

“When you’re in their space … you’re just along for the ride and watching them do their thing,” he tells ABC Audio. “What I will say I really enjoy about it is, it’s an incredibly mindful process. You know, you have to be very, very present and very, very calm and intentional with all of your movements.”

But while he’s busy trying not to get stung, Hozier says he likes to contemplate the lives of the bees.

“You can’t help but be overcome with a sense of great empathy for these tiny lives that are so structured and so intentional and so hardworking,” he says. “You gain a great sense of care for them, and you can’t help but just appreciate and sort of wonder at their complexities and then their simplicities as well, too.”

However, Hozier isn’t sure there’s any sort of correlation between beekeeping and making music.

“I really enjoy it. I find it very calming. I find it very grounding,” he notes. “Maybe there is something in that sort of mindfulness or that that intention, that there’s some elements of that maybe you can bring to the music-making. But I haven’t quite haven’t quite figured that out yet.” 

“Two Sweet” is currently #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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