Composed by DJ Shaw, Produced by Eliot Best, Co-Produced and written by mSTORK

Watch the musical video versions: www.youtube.com/user/mST0RK

Marakkesh is a musical narrative by mSTORK exploring themes set up by George Orwell's '1984'. Edited from footage now in the public domain from the BBC adaptation for television starring Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence as broadcasted in 1954, mSTORK weaves into the narrative his own collision of LOVE and HATE as a construct beyond social breakdown. Smoky, unsettling, colourful.

The platform of 1984 visually sets the stage on which mSTORK stamps his foot, utilising lo-fi guitars and robotic samples to create a progressive musical landscape. Hip-hop, yes. Reggae, of sorts. Beat poetry, mostly. The 1954 BBC ident captures the mood gracefully from the outset, surrounding a gyroscopic all seeing eye with angel wings. Excerpts from the film bookmark the four tracks that make up this 25 minute short film, taking the listener on a journey through the heart from now till the evermore, transforming George Orwell's classic into the undercurrent of a new discussion: are our highways to holiness built on hopeless hope.

Non-conformity disguised in poetic uniform.

The narrative begins with the hand of war, but is quickly swallowed by the all powerful force of Big Brother. From this point on, the story can be absorbed in two ways. One is a visual congestion of the love story between Winston Smith and Julia, ending in the torture of their separation. The other is a lyrical prophesy charting the common man through a global time of peace but at great cost. It presents the dilemma of choosing passion over assimilation into a system that is in moral denial, culminating in the reset of history. In the film, the mentioned character of 'The Leveller' is this force of nature, the application of both LOVE and HATE, impartially judging and leading all on roads to the holy mountain of doom.

Nigel Kneale was the director of the BBC version of the film. He passed away several years ago, so I will never know if he thinks the re-edited 'Marakkesh' was a good idea or not. Entitled, miss-spelt, seemingly random, 'Marakkesh' is a head nod to Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil'. The real Marrakech does hold connection to George Orwell in his recently published 'Diaries' perhaps as a place of inspiration to him. It is also referenced in the film (North Africa) as the source of the clerical error to be covered up: another synergy with 'Brazil'.

But if I am honest, the composer Dave Shaw named one of the original pieces of music he recorded 30 years ago on a 4-track as 'Marrakech' and other than the Gilliam reference, I discovered all the other reasons for the film title afterwards.

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Marakkesh

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