London based music video director. Joel&#039;s work is heavily inspired by blurring the lines between the real world and a slightly surreal alternative. Finding the bizarre amongst the ordinary, Joel&#039;s work often uses movement as a tool to take the viewer on a journey through the landscape of his narratives.Previous Collaborators: Royal Blood, Arlo Parks, Gang Of Youths, Groove Armada, Alfie Templeman, Ojerime.joelbarney.com joel@sonder.london

Director

Joel Barney

Joel Barney and Ali Raymond co-direct a claustrophobic promo for Arlo Parks' Devotion.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the tight confines of a lift, we see Arlo and her band perform with a riotous, upbeat energy.&nbsp;Sharing screen-time between solo portraits of each musician and absorbing, cramped group shots, it's a stripped-back yet punchy concept, and one that perfectly suits the energy of the track.&nbsp;

United Kingdom

Lewis Munro

Ali Raymond

Ozzi Sanderson

Sonder

Mike Harounoff

Eliot Morris

Oscar Ferguson

Eno Enefiok

Simeon Leeder

Owen Lawes

Emile Louizides

Transgressive Records

Arlo Parks 'Devotion' by Joel Barney, Ali Raymond

Arlo Parks - Devotion (Official Video)

Chris Breheny&nbsp;- aka Moncrieff -&nbsp;plays a tormented taxi driver in Joel Barney's video for What Am I Here For?He gets a fare from&nbsp;a young couple - who turn out to be an ex lover and her new partner. As the journey progresses, it takes an increasingly surreal turn, as&nbsp;we begin so see fleeting flashbacks of Chris slow dancing with the girl. It's unclear whether he is imagining the scenario or if it is a real memory.At the end of the video when Chris turns to reveal no one is in the back of the cab, he spots himself in the headlights, dancing alone.[imgtoken data:1]"We wanted to narrative to feel a little confusing and non-linear," says Joel Barney. "The track is about a breakup.&nbsp;Chris drove from London to Ireland to try win a girl back. When he got there, she was with a new man and had moved on. That left Chris feeling pretty lost. So we wanted to try and communicate that story in an interesting way."It would have been easy to just take the true narrative of the track and turn that into a video, but we wanted to push it toward somewhere a little more interesting. As if he is driving in a never ending loop, alone."

Eliot Moris

Oscar Ginn

Paddy Cartwright

Oscar Feguson

Singer-songwriter

Moncrieff 'What Am I Here For?' by Joel Barney

Moncrieff-'What-Am-I-Here-For?'-by-Joel-Barney

The best is certainly yet to come in Joel Barney's tender promo for Tom Walker.&nbsp;The black and white video for Walker's The Best Is Yet To Come is interspersed with real stories from some of his fans, shining the spotlight on their journeys and their connection to the track.&nbsp;Beautifully composed and emotionally affecting, the video is an important piece of work with an incredible message.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;"Tom posted a clip of this track on TikTok a few months back, with no intention of releasing it as a a single," Barney explains.&nbsp;"Instantly, fans connected with the song and began posting videos of themselves sharing their stories and how the song had resonated with them. We invited Tom's fans to come in and share these stories with us and how the song had connected with them and their experiences."

Becky Leigh

4th Floor Creative

Kat Cattaneo

Ollie Riches

Jed Darlington-Roberts

Cameron Sealby

Charlie Clinton

Sony Music

Tom Walker 'The Best Is Yet To Come' by Joel Barney

Tom-Walker-'The-Best-Is-Yet-To-Come'-by-Joel-Barney

Joel Barney directs a moving promo for Man-Made Sunshine - the new solo project from Nothing But Thieves frontperson&nbsp;Conor Mason - presenting&nbsp;an ever-evolving scrapbook, exploring the unique and beautiful relationships shared between sons and fathers."We shot with pairs of real fathers and sons in this video, to delve deep into the complex relationships they experience together," says Barney of his video for Big.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]"Every single frame in this video was shot digitally and then hand-printed and scanned to create an analogue, ever evolving scrapbook," he explains.The&nbsp;handmade aesthetic creates a textural, tactile&nbsp;feeling, which&nbsp;lends a certain relatability to the footage - we have all seen similar photo albums and books with our own family members, and this adds to the viewer's emotional investment into the concept.&nbsp;

Declan Price

Philly Felton

Frankie Noller

Michael Lewin

Will Churchill

Danny Rumbelow

Chloe Rose

Sony Music Uk

Rock

Man-Made Sunshine 'Big' by Joel Barney

Man-made-Sunshine-''big''-by-Joel-Barney

Cian Godfrey - aka&nbsp;Somebody's Child - reflects on childhood aspirations in the sombre promo for Broken Record.&nbsp;Shifting between a young version of the artist in his childhood home, and an apathetic,&nbsp;beaten-down present day version, the video explores Cian's disappointment in the way his life has turned out.&nbsp;The vibrant, colourful aesthetic of youth soon turns grey and blue, reflecting the change in mood and loss of hope, instead presenting life as a dull cycle of misery and regret.&nbsp;Interestingly, however, it could be argued that one of his&nbsp;dreams has come true, in the form of Godfrey being a fully-fledged musical artist. Indeed, when the visual intercuts between the performance setup and&nbsp;his younger self rocking out to an untold track, things start to feel much more hopeful and less depressing than might have been suggested.&nbsp;

Murdo Hepburn

Daniel Temple

Molly Fenn

Hara Spyrou

Somebody's Child 'Broken Record' by Joel Barney

Somebody's-Child-'Broken-Record'-by-Joel-Barney

Joel Barney directs an unconventional studio performance promo for Himalayas.&nbsp;Set in an illuminated underworld, the video sees the group rock out whilst a cluster of haunting figures claw at screens behind them.&nbsp;With&nbsp;an emphasis on creative lighting techniques such as silhouettes and shadows, the video suggests a surreality lurking beneath the surface, which creates a gripping, stirring atmosphere.&nbsp;The performance at the centre of the concept is a breathless, rip-roaring affair, which amplifies the punchy track.&nbsp;

Inuka Bacote

Matthieu Livingston

Nettwerk

Himalayas 'Alone' by Joel Barney

Himalayas-'Alone'-by-Joel-Barney

Joel Barney directs a dramatic narrative promo for Ellauro.&nbsp;In the video for No Mind, we see Eloise and her lover travelling from day into night, as their relationship deteriorates in front of our eyes.The concept highlights the slowly fading spark of their relationship by match-cutting scenes with increasingly apathetic interactions and uncomfortable silences, until they go their separate ways at the end.&nbsp;Barney keeps the video fresh by interweaving portraits of the couple in with the travel set-ups and performance vignettes.&nbsp;

Sam Barnham

Elliot Eason

Island Records UK

Ellauro 'No Mind' by Joel Barney

Ellauro-'No-Mind'-by-Joel-Barney

Alfie&nbsp;Templeman is on the run from a gang of blue morph-suit hitmen, in Joel Barney's whimsical promo for Colour Me Blue.In a surreal game of cat and mouse, Alfie is chased through the sleepy streets of his hometown, Bedford, in a concept inspired by Edgar Wright&nbsp;and early Noughties music videos.&nbsp;The laidback&nbsp;style is a perfect match to Templeman's playful persona, and encapsulate the summer vibes of the track.&nbsp;

Emma Holt

Freddie Kemp

Cheyenne Miller

Joe Harvey

Arthur Attenborough

Rebecca Doctor

Vlad Barin

CHEAT

Eddie Hooks

Sam Preeves

Awal

Indie Rock

Alfie Templeman 'Colour Me Blue' by Joel Barney

Alfie-Templeman-'Colour-Me-Blue'-by-Joel-Barney

Joel Barney directs a distorted&nbsp;mirror room performance for UK rock legends Royal Blood.Shot in high-contrast black and white, we see the group captured with slow-shutter cinematography, creating a haunting, claustrophobic vibe.&nbsp;The head-spinning concept has an otherworldly style which feels simultaneously nostalgic and futuristic, with dark cinematic moments which linger in the mind long after the video ends.&nbsp;

Joel Barney

Director

2023 (2)

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