The youngest offspring of the late, great Alton Ellis and the only one to pursue a career in music, Christopher Ellis visited Jamaica recently and shot a video for his song Left Unsaid; directed by Kush Asher and co-directed by Nisha Rebel. The track was released last year on the singer’s EP- Better Than Love, created under the tutelage of Damian Jr. Gong Marley at the Marley-owned Ghetto Youths International record label
Gong requested director Kush Asher for the job after working with him on Cham’s “Fighter” short film/music video last year. On working with Damian, Kush had this to say “I’ve worked with Damian Marley on a project or two before, and it’s always a positive vibe. He is very interested and involved in the process. Sometimes I have to do 10 rewrites of a treatment because he’s very keen on the story aspect of a video, but good energies nonetheless.”
Shot in entirety at Jamnesia Surf Camp, the music video stars Chris and the beautiful Crystal Patterson playing the role of the unappreciative girlfriend. When questioned about the concept behind the video Asher had this to say: “The concept for the Left Unsaid video was very much in line with its feel. Love is filled with ups and downs, and not often do people acknowledge the transitions between the two; so I wanted to tell that story and play up the reality of love that tends to fade from our memories. The video looks at that jarring and uncertain feeling that we get in our stomachs when all of a sudden we start to question love and the person we put in care of our hearts.” Only his second music video shot on the island, the UK based artiste had this to say about the experience: “I really enjoyed working with Kush and Nisha, both extremely talented yet laid back people. The shoot took almost sixteen hours, yet only felt like five, it was the most fun I’ve had working on a music video.”
Following in the footsteps of his father, Ellis has a winning formula of soulful vocals and solid lyrics placed on a skillful blend of R&B, Reggae and Rocksteady instrumentation. “So many things are better left unsaid, unheard” says Ellis in this ballad as he warns of the potential danger of premature profession of love in a relationship. The singer feels confident that the video will be a good visual reflection of the song that is currently doing well in the UK.
Story written by Learie Holt.
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