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MRCY are producer Barney Lister and vocalist Kojo Degraft-Johnson.

Hailing from different ends of England and disparate cultures, theirs

is a space of soulful self-expression that combines the timeless

musical warmth and social consciousness of Marvin Gaye with the

genre-melding, modern sensibility of Anderson.Paak and SAULT.

"It's like hearing a distant memory," Barney says. "But one that

speaks to where you are now."

MRCY first connected over Instagram in the pandemic before

meeting up IRL in Brixton, where they immediately found common

ground in their time spent hustling behind the scenes. Hailing from

Huddersfield's thriving soundsystem culture, Barney has established

himself as one of the UK's most in-demand producers, with

collaborations ranging from Ivor-Award-winning work with

Obongjayar to Mercury-nominated records with Joy Crookes and

Olivia Dean. South London-raised Kojo, meanwhile, earned his

stripes in church as well as singing with equally-illustrious

homegrown artists like Cleo Sol and Little Simz. MRCY's music

reverberates with individual perspectives, but also reminds how

those common experiences of graft, grit and abandon have always

been able to bring crowds - or a new band - together through tough

times.

Debut single 'Lorelei' exemplifies MRCY's method of viewing Soul

through the contemporary looking glass. Their upcoming project,

VOLUME 1, artfully combines musical weight, commanding vocals

and otherworldly touches to produce songs that feel as personal as

they are deeply universal. For Barney and Kojo, the band is as much

about putting yourself first as it is the spirit of compassion, empathy

and m(e)rcy that has never felt more needed. Soul, says Barney, is

"good people making music that matters." And from the very first

line of standout single 'R.L.M.' - "London rain on the window / I don't

care where we're gonna go / I'm good with you" - MRCY offer a

blissful respite from and an intoxicating soundtrack to the madness,

the magic, of the everyday