Premiere: Shayfer James visualizes triumphant survivors of abuse with ‘Ophelia’

One out of six women and one in 33 men in America have been victims of rape or attempted rape in their lifetimes. But the plague of sexual abuse cuts far deeper and has left swollen wounds that may never heal, ranging from cat-calling and misogynistic jokes to unwanted advances and other forms of manipulation (physical, emotional and psychological). The journey to recovery for many survivors of abuse can be long, tiring and equally-scarring, often excavating triggers that come from just trying to live, be present and simply move on. Pop-noir singer-songwriter Shayfer James offers up a slice of hope with his new music video for the lilting, earthy ballad “Ophelia,” in which guitars cry gently in the background amidst an adornment of piano and percussion.

“Ophelia’s forgotten how to dance / Ophelia’s reminded she should smile,” sings James, his voice carrying every barb and lash of pain but only as the conduit for a story of redemption and self-empowered enlightenment. “Veil is just a clever word for mask / Ophelia remembers how to hide,” he then lights upon a branch that creeks under his weight, quickly steadying to allow the body to catch up with the mind. As such, the visual (directed by choreographer Meagan Woods) calls to a sketch of a veiled woman named “Ophelia” by artist Ceallaigh Lorenz-Talleyrand, whose skill on canvas is a marvel of its own. “The song was written as part of an art project I did wherein I wrote songs based on visual art,” James tells B-Sides & Badlands, premiering the video clip today.

“The title and image made me think of Hamlet and how Ophelia is depicted as mad in the play. I wanted to reframe her as a victim of abuse, manipulation and gaslighting,” he continues. “The concept of gaslighting has so much to do with memory. For me, in this song, Ophelia is a hero because she remembers herself and how to escape.”

Woods’ rapt poise, beauty and mastery pours forth onto the screen, truly illustrating the breathtaking glory of a soul’s freedom into peace. Dancer Myssi Robinson rises and falls at the center of the artwork as the titular character, and as she stumbles and tosses through the forest, grasping onto parts of herself that had long been tucked away behind stony walls and crumbling battlements, a slew of other women with shared trauma ⏤ Lorenz-Talleyrand, Michelle Pfriender, Monica Gonzalez, Morgan Refakis , Heather Warfel, Delana Ramos and Veronica Gagliardi ⏤ come to her rescue to embrace, to love, to cherish, to honor her and her story.

“More women I know have been abused in some way than haven’t, including my family members, and that is immeasurably troubling to me,” muses James of the video’s harrowing realities, focused with a lens for compassion, understanding and hyper-awareness. “Originally my name was on the slate as director, but we changed that about two hours into shooting because it was so abundantly clear that this was Meagan’s video.”

All proceeds via BandCamp for “Ophelia,” from James’ latest Hope and a Hand Grenade EP, will benefit the York Street Project, a charity out of New Jersey. James is set to play an EP release show next Friday (March 8) at New York’s Rockwood Music Hall, Stage Two and will donate $1 for each ticket sale, as well.

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