Q&A: mercury Puts Her Heart Into the World With ‘Together We Are One, You and I’
BUILDING CONNECTIONS THROUGH MUSIC IS EVERYTHING — For the Nashville-based artist mercury, spearheaded by Maddie Kerr, nothing compares to hearing that her music helps people through difficult times. She describes songwriting as a form of survival, a mentality that shines through in the bold trio of songs on Together We Are One, You and I: “Born in Early May,” “Special,” and “Crick.” Central to each track is the desire to be heard. Kerr’s raw, angry lyricism mingles with grungy guitars, hurtling towards emotional breakthroughs. In each song, mercury refuses to shy away from difficult personal feelings. This vulnerability is a force to be reckoned with, fostering space for the connections Kerr dreams of.
Released on June 6, Together We Are One, You and I comes alongside a short film of the same name, directed by Harrison Shook. The three singles carry the short film as its characters traverse scenes defined by grief, pain, and loss. Elements of body horror juxtapose spiritual iconography, roaring flames, and an ever-present black void. Kerr’s hauntingly beautiful vocals surge throughout the film, building tension until catharsis breaks through in the culmination of “Crick.”
As Kerr steps forward to sing boldly about her experiences, she challenges her internal pressures to remain silent. “Crick” highlights the struggle of wanting to express herself, but not quite knowing how.
“I was angry at other people for not giving me the opportunity to speak for myself, but part of that was because I had waited too long to get my own words together,” Kerr says.
On Together We Are One, You and I, the artist begins to silence her inner critic as the larger-than-life sound compels her to speak authentically beyond the bounds of words. Kerr establishes herself as an artist unafraid to take risks.
Her excitement toward baring her heart to the world is palpable. While her music explores the depths of her pain, self-reflection gives way to the desire to be embraced in this new journey. This internal study propels both the songs and Kerr herself forward, into a space full of unashamed human desires to be seen and understood. Read below to learn more about mercury’s captivating new release.
LUNA: For this project, you created a short film that connects all three songs on Together We Are One, You and I. What was that process like compared to a traditional music video?
KERR: My good friend Harrison directed the music video, and he had done a music video for me in the past for a song called Moment. I wrote these songs in a pretty tough period of my life, and I was talking about some pretty dark feelings I was going through. They’re all very different but they also work in the same world. We initially had a concept for just one of the songs, which was “Born in Early May,” and then we decided to stretch out the story and characters and make it across the three songs because they're all from the same part of my story and my life. We wanted to be able to say something that wasn't already in the songs or convey a feeling that maybe wasn't already there in kind of an abstract, non-linear storyline, and in a way where people could put their meaning behind some of the characters that they see.
I wanted people to watch through and think, “What is this making me feel and why does it make me feel this way?” It was really fun to sit down and figure out how to convey what I felt in a completely different way. It was a fun little challenge, and like a puzzle piece to get them to all fit together.
LUNA: The short film is full of so many dynamic, intense visual moments. Can you talk about how the visuals work to express all these emotions abstractly?
KERR: It was so fun coming up with the characters. My friend Jakholbi Murry portrays the first character that I came up with. You see him get struck in the chest with a bird, and then later he grows wings. Those moments represent facing something really hard, and [having] a wound there and then growing from that. The wound doesn't necessarily go away, but it heals, and it changes into something different.
There's another part where he's seen holding the bird that struck him in the chest. That moment shows how you can look your pain in the face and hold it and own it. That pain is a part of you now, but it doesn't have to take you down anymore. There’s another character, portrayed by Audrey Venable, who builds an idol, molding a statue of an angel. We wanted to have somebody molding her own idol and then have it burn in front of her eyes to represent the experience of when you build people up, or you build up your idols, they’re gonna let you down. The idea is to not put all of your worth into something else that is not constant. I want us all to see enough in ourselves to where we don't have to build other people up so high.
LUNA: Each song explores themes of grief, pain, and loss. With the short film linking these songs, do you find them to be an interconnected story?
KERR: All of the songs talk about how I was in a very low place and life was just hard. I was dealing with change and trying to find worth in myself and not let other people, my mistakes, or my surroundings define how I feel about myself. “Born in Early May” is me literally just crying out and being like, “What is going on? I just need some relief.”
“Special” is me talking about how I want to be special enough to someone for them to see me as an equal and treat me with respect and kindness. “Crick” is about me wishing I had all of the right words to say all the time, to be able to communicate eloquently with the people around me. And that's something I've struggled with in the past. So the songs on Together We Are One, You and I are all little parts of myself that I'm just crying out, saying, “Let's not do this anymore. Let's not have it be this way.” It's an outward process of those emotions.
LUNA: What are some of the musical influences for this project?
KERR: I love Radiohead, Deftones, and Foo Fighters. There's like a couple of Foo Fighter chords in “Crick.” I’m inspired by the big, organic rock band sound. I also love Big Thief and The Districts. And then Alex Farrar, who produced the tracks, has made so many incredible projects. He’s worked with Wednesday, Indigo de Souza, and MJ Lenderman, all just incredible projects that I love a lot. He is really an inspiration to me as well, just with the sound that he's able to create.
LUNA: That’s an incredible list of artists he’s worked with, and now you’re part of that list too! How does that feel? What was it like getting to work with him?
KERR: He was so amazing. I loved working with him. He’s made so many of my favorite songs already, so going in with him felt so easy. It felt like he knew exactly what I wanted to hear, and we were on the same page, so we were able to be super quick and efficient. And he was also just such an amazing presence to have in the room. He's so calm, fun, nice, and talented, and I learned so much. It was just so good. I loved it.
LUNA: You’re about to hit the road with Dreamer Boy, and you have headlining shows at Third Man Records in Nashville and Gold-Diggers in LA. What can fans expect as you bring these new songs to the stage?
KERR: I've been dying to play them live for so long. Some of my best friends in the whole world play in my band, and I'm just so excited. It's gonna be so much fun, playing big rock music and screaming together, and just having a good time trying to get it all out, leave it out there, and be there together.
LUNA: These new songs aren’t the first time that you’ve explored some heavy personal topics in your music, but they seem to open up a new kind of vulnerability for you. How does it feel to get these emotions out there?
KERR: It feels really good. I love being able to sit down with my thoughts and figure out exactly how I want to say something and how I want it to come across. One of my favorite things is when I've put out a song and somebody that I haven't met before has found it and tells me that it got them through something similar to what I was going through. That’s literally all that I want. When somebody says that to me, I'm like, “This is exactly what I made it for.” We're all here together, experiencing stuff like that, and it makes it all worth it. I love feeling so connected to people who I would have maybe not met otherwise. It's the sweetest thing in the whole world.
LUNA: How do you think these songs are best experienced? What do you imagine to be the perfect listening setting?
KERR: I love listening to new music at nighttime in a cool space. Whether that's in your car or your room with some dim lights, just somewhere where you can just sit by yourself and take it in and be in a comfortable space to do that.
LUNA: What are some ways that you keep your creative energy going?
KERR: I got into painting recently. So I've been doing some painting, and I love being outside. I love being with my best friends, reading, and just listening to other people's music. I‘m inspired all the time. Recently, the cicadas came back out, and the last time the cicadas were out, I was 10 years old. I've been in touch with my inner child again, because I was 10 and I was doing the same things I am now, like catching cicadas. I feel like, even when I'm not inspired, I still can't go a day without at least trying to be, or feeling so much love for music and wanting to play. I'm always chomping at the bit and asking, “What else can I do?”
