Videos

ELY, “The Neck”

Post Author: Michael Brummett

A light, experiential blend, that exists to stay honest to its origin.

Initial Thoughts

The magic of art, and music, is how sometimes, emotion can be evoked without a direct connection to those who appreciate it. Art itself may serve as an expression of its creator, society, or another human origin, but envelops our very human drive to create. Joy in creating where there was once nothing is a simple and innate pleasure.

Art often finds its strength in its subjectivity—one creation could mean a thousand different things for one person compared to the next. ELY and “The Neck” complete a work of art that is experiential. Watching the video independently of listening to the audio would spoil the effect. We find the complete production to be closer to a short film—with a subjective narrative—than simply a music video.

Background

ELY is London producer Henry Walton, who has a distinct love of collaboration and atmospheric creations. Experimental, ambient undertones mark much of his work. Here are the meaningful thoughts from the director Sofia Mattioli, after speaking with Henry, on “The Neck”:

Henry told me that this song was like a mantra, so that s how I wanted the video to be as well… so just as the sounds and as mantras, is a very simple constant repetition of the images that transforms itself on it’s own… with time and space. That is why I also edited the video on my own. I manipulated the footage after going through my phone archive and seeing a video I took at a Buddhist retreat in Tenerife in February, adding what I saw by hearing the song We both struggled economically at the time we wanted to collaborate, so there wasn’t budget for a video but wanted to show how it’s possible to be creative with little possibilities and that it is important to be honest as artists. Being simple is something that I feel is lost with a lot of money being spent on productions that create fake realities without any connection to the song. Videos should be something that takes the song somewhere else but doesn’t suffocate them—and it should give space to the viewer to also go into their own world—while still being pulled away from it.

So hopefully the video it is all throughout,

Really Like a mantra, like doing meditation,

a journey within yourself where you can connect with all whilst having your own dimension.

Verdict

“The Neck” in its subjective space, giving “the viewer [the opportunity] to go into their own world,” succeeds via its simplicity. As more of an experience than a music video, ELY has gone beyond taking a critical stance on the staleness of the production industry, and found a thoughtful outlet for protest within the value of his final product.

Ultimately, ELY transports us to a place where oneself is continually question, and existentialism is explored. As a guiding hand on this journey through the subjective, ELY and other listeners may find radically different takeaways. Relative as it may be, a degree of certainty marks “The Neck” as a well-grounded 4/5.