Music Film — Marley Starskey Butler

Black For Ages (2022)

Produced and curated by Danni Ebanks-Ingram. Photographed by Marley Starskey Butler. Directed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler + Danni Ebanks-Ingram. Visual Concept Inspired by: Jem Cohen. Music written, engineered, produced, and mixed by Marley Starskey Butler in June 2020. Video starring Danni, Hemel, Joy, Janet, Daniel, Rebecca, Yonatan, Eli, Steven, Child 2, Letisha, Child 3, Debbie, Zephyr , Chearine.

Special thank you to Polly Jarman, with whom a conversation led to the writing of this piece. Also, Samiir Saunders, whose email to me about the song, along with their own artistic response, inspired me to make a video nearly two years later. “Ticket Line to Freedom - Those in the ticket line have purchased their tickets to their personal and societal freedoms and are waiting.”

Here (2022)

Directed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler. River Frome photographed by Lucy Bentham in response to sound. Lemon Trees grown by the sun, watered, and photographed by Marley Starskey Butler in December 2021, from Lemon pips dried and planted by Kim Bormann and Marley Starskey Butler in September 2021.

Written by Marley Starskey Butler. Lead Vocal performed by Eleanor Dattani. Additional Vocals were performed by Olivia Onyehara and processed / manipulated through Forrester, an instrument by Leafcutter John. Piano by Marley Starskey Butler. Engineered, Produced, and Mixed by Marley Starskey Butler at home. Special Thanks to Polly Jarman and Olivia Onyehara.

Lemon Tree (2021)

Directed, Photographed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler | Movement by Kim Bormann and Music by Marley Starskey Butler.

"Kim Bormann read through notes from my psychotherapy and based her movement on them. Once we returned home after the shoot, we peeled and juiced each lemon, dried out the seeds, bottled the juice, and planted the seeds. In the following days, I drank hot lemon and ginger until it ran out. It felt like a ritual, and those actions were as much a part of the piece as the piece itself" Marley

Fiona (2018)

Video inspired by Eleonore Batteux's academic paper: Risk Preferences in Surrogate Decision Making (2017) intersected with Marley Starskey Butler's Children's (Social) Services records (1987 - 1990)

Video Directed, Photographed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler. Starring Olivia Onyehara | Movement and Choreography by Eleonore Batteux | 1st Camera Assistant: Gavin Rogers

Academic and Dance Artist Eleonore Batteux talks her collaboration with Marley Starskey Butler on their music video Fiona

Do You Know Where Your House Is? (2018)

Directed, Photographed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler. Do you know where your house is? is taken from the album Opposites

Kate Wilkins & Marley Starskey Butler | Clean Crime (2017)

Directed, Photographed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler.

Arnold Southfield (2017)

Directed, Photographed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler. Starring Eleanor Buchanan and Gavin Rogers. Arnold Southfield is taken from the album Opposites

Boddinstraße | Berlin (2016)

Directed, Photographed and Edited on the 2nd and 3rd of November 2016 by Marley Starskey Butler in Berlin, Germany. Boddinstraße is taken from the album Opposites

"This video is a love letter to an area of Berlin I stayed in in 2009, visiting a dear friend. The song was recorded back in 2009 and includes the sounds of Berlin I recorded on that visit. Walking around with my dictaphone, recording conversations with my friend and the sounds of traffic lights and public transport. I chose to edit the footage in a cafe around the corner from where it was filmed the day prior for the environment to inform my decision-making. This is a public gift to my dear friend for a special time in 2009 which impacted my relationship with love forever afterwards. Sometimes a love is meant to be only for a moment. Thank you very much for watching." Marley

The Worlds Smallest Violin (2016)

Directed, Edited and Photographed by Marley Starskey Butler. Starring Eleanor Buchanan. The Worlds Smallest Violin is taken from the album A Saffron History

"Brushing teeth is a short, sharp intervention to clean and refresh your teeth and mouth. If you brush your teeth too much, it has the opposite effect, causing toothbrush abrasion, which can lead to sensitive teeth and receding gums. In this video, I use this imagery to represent how a person may approach processing and dealing with trauma. One may create coping mechanisms and/or develop tools they use to help themselves, such as writing down their thoughts, composing a song, dancing in front of a mirror, or speaking with a friend who distracts them from their inner processes. These can be short, sharp interventions that parallel the normal act of brushing one's teeth when a person reaches for the healing tool that they know is effective for them. But sometimes, a person chooses not to reach for it and instead focuses on the issue and polishes, polishes, polishes, until the enamel peels off. This piece represents those moments when somebody does that, particularly when it is damaging to the self. Often, focusing on and unpacking trauma is positive, but sometimes you should just dance in front of the mirror because concentrating too much on it can mean you fall into a rabbit hole that you don't need to go down. Sometimes it's 7:30 in the morning, dawg" Marley

Ruminate (2016)

Directed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler, Movement by Kim Bormann, Photographed by Marley Starskey Butler and Gavin Rogers at Minerva Works in Digbeth Birmingham | Ruminate is taken from the album Awake Night

This is a movement interpretation of a recurring dream, one that presents an alternative version of various events that occurred in my life, events I wish had unfolded differently in reality. In these dreams, the character within them becomes aware that it might be a dream and not reality. They literally think, 'Oh God, what if this is a dream?' They then physically shake within the dream, and this shaking actually wakes me up in the middle of the night. The character in the dream fights their way out of the situation, so I don't have to deal with the disappointment upon waking up, realising it's not true. The process of creating this video with Kim Bormann is my attempt to explore this phenomenon, to understand why my mind won't allow me to complete the dream, and why it exhibits such an extreme level of caution. I'm trying to decipher the message my subconscious is attempting to convey.

Indelible Notes (2016)

Directed, Photographed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler. "Cry babe, it's good for you, it releases all that pent up tension, its like a reset button for your brain" (Olivia O, February 5th 2016)

Enough (2015)

Directed, Photographed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler

Toss and Turn (2014)

Edited by Marley Starskey Butler | Toss and Turn is taken from the album Awake Night. All footage taken from a home video recorded by Micheal Francis entitled "Keanus Big Adventure" Tape conversions by Chris White over at Piggyback Studios

Knowing Alone (2014)

Directed by Marley Starskey Butler, choreography and Performance by Kim Bormann, photographed & edited by Chevy-jordan Thompson. Knowing Alone is taken from the album Awake Night.

Freckled (2014)

Directed, Photographed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler. Starring: Sophie "Mghee" Todd

Blind Clouds ft Anne Marie Allen (2013)

Co-Directed by Marley Starskey Butler & Miscellaneous Films. Photographed by Miscellaneous Films.

Insomnias Date (2013)

Directed, Photographed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler. Starring Kim Bormann.

Lockeys Flag feat Ellie (2013)

Co-Directed by Chevy-Jordan Thompson & Duane Acton. Cinematography by Chevy-Jordan Thompson. Starring Bethan Stracey-Burbridge, Weronika Kawalek & Anna Kuklewicz. Make up/Facial scheme by Molly Mae Smalls & Josh Coleman. Lighting assisting by Sarah Nicholson & James Grimley.

Sagan Lane | Trip Over the Entrance (2014)

Directed, Photographed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler. Starring Kim Bormann. Trip Over the Entrance is taken from the album Funambule.

Nothing Destroys Itself ft Jamie Osborne (2012)

Scriptwriter/Director and Producer | Duane Acton | Chevy-Jordan Thompson | James Grimley of Miscellaneous Films. Starring Jamie Osborne and Katie Ward. Nothing Destroys Itself is taken from the Ep Procras the Sample.

Sagan Lane | Mikodeau (2011)

Directed, Photographed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler. Mikodeau is taken from the album Funambule.

Sagan Lane | Where Are You (2011)

Directed, Photographed and Edited by Marley Starskey Butler. Where Are You is taken from the album Funambule.

Papa (2009 / 2022)

Edited by Marley Starskey Butler,
Photographed by Kavin Video Productions - Jamaica. Papa is taken from the album Opposites

"In 2009, my mother/nan/auntie/foster carer, Ena's father, Victor Morgan (Papa), died in Jamaica. Me, her, and her grandson/my brother, Keanu, sat and watched the funeral together on DVD in Wolverhampton, England. This piece was inspired by the stories she was telling us about her father and Jamaican life while watching the DVD. Field recordings throughout the piece are from that moment." Marley

Rowlands Avenue (2009)

Edited by Marley Starskey Butler. All footage taken from a home video recorded by Micheal Francis called "Keanus Big Adventure". Tape conversions by Chris over at piggybackstudios. Rowlands Avenue is taken from the album Opposites.