mrcy

soul chillout indie pop funk_add_to_lidarr_batch_17

For producer Barney Lister and vocalist Kojo Degraft-Johnson, music is a place to belong. Hailing from different ends of England and disparate cultures, they have come together as MRCY, creating a shared space of soulful self-expression that combines the timeless musical warmth of Marvin Gaye with the modern sensibility of Anderson .Paak. On their debut, eight-track project VOLUME 1, MRCY view the heartfelt essence of Soul through the looking glass – theirs is a masterful sound that is as classic in feel as it is contemporary in concern. “It’s like hearing a distant memory,” Barney says. “But one that speaks to where you are now.” Arriving with a fully-formed vision, MRCY have nonetheless hustled hard to make work in their own voice. Over the past five years, Barney has established himself as one of the UK’s most in-demand, genre-fluid young producers, striking up a long term collaboration with Obongjayar and producing the Ivor Novello Award-winning ‘God’s Own Children’ in 2020, as well as his critically-acclaimed 2022 debut album Some Nights I Dream Of Doors. He has also worked with some of Britain’s most exciting pop talent: Rina Sawayama, Mercury Prize-nominees Joy Crookes, Olivia Dean and Celeste plus Glaswegian singer Joesef. Kojo, meanwhile, earned his stripes at London’s prestigious jam nights before going on to provide vocals for an equally-illustrious roster of homegrown artists, from Cleo Sol and Little Simz to Ego Ella May and Liam Gallaghe...