MRCY

In the organizer's words:

The warmth of Marvin Gaye combined with the musical sensibility of Khruangbin: That's Barney Lister and Kojo Degraft-Johnson, MRCY for short. The producer-vocalist duo from England have found each other across different parts of the country and subcultures, creating a common place in music that sounds like home. The artistic vision and unique voice of MRCY has been developed through years of creative self-discovery, making Barney Lister one of the UK's most sought-after genre-fluid producers and earning him a long-term collaboration with Obongjayar, as well as collaborations with pop talents such as Rina Sawayama, Joy Crookes, Olivia Dean and Celeste. Kojo Degraft-Johnson, who has his roots in jam sessions with renowned musicians, has already contributed vocals for artists such as Ego Ella May, Cleo Soul and Little Simz. When the two met for the first time in 2021, they immediately clicked: Lister had seen Degraft-Johnson sing live on Instagram and enthusiastically wrote to him to invite him to his studio - a place "full of love and positive energy", according to MRCY. Like many well-known soul greats and producer-vocalist duos before them, the two process what is happening directly in their music, bring calm to the chaos around them and try to create moments of shared experience in their music - even though they both come from different worlds, Lister from sound system culture and Degraft-Johnson from soul, church and gospel music. "The world can feel pretty shitty, and we're just trying to find some peace in all the craziness," Lister says in an interview. "With MRCY, Kojo and I are just doing our thing for the first time and putting our feelings front and center." The love that the two put into their project is clearly contagious: the band has created a loyal fan base that has found a place in their music where they can listen, feel, experience and perhaps even heal a little together. After a successful tour with Black Puma, the band is now going on tour alone - and will also be playing two concerts in Germany.