MRCY are on the path to becoming the UK’s next great soul group

When Rolling Stone UK headed to Brighton for The Great Escape earlier this year, there was one act that stood out from the rest at the annual showcase festival. 

Deep in the basement of Komedia, MRCY delivered the kind of powerhouse performance that immediately transported us. The stop-you-in-your-tracks vocals of singer Kojo Degraft-Johnson felt like a force that far transcended the tiny room, only matched by the intensity of the songs. Listen to ‘Flowers in Mourning’ and if this story of familial loss doesn’t move you close to tears, then you have a heart of stone. 

The immeasurable talent of Degraft-Johnson and his bandmate Barney Lister has been recognised with a support slot with American psych-soul outfit Black Pumas, while a sold-out run of shows reflects the upward trajectory that MRCY are on. In 2025, expect their fan base to get even bigger.  

How has 2024 been, your first with MRCY as a project in the public eye?  

Degraft-Johnson: A whirlwind, it’s fair to say. Our first song came out in February, and we’ve been driving pretty hard since then. We had the Black Pumas tour and we’ve had shows, festivals, and written a whole new album in that time. It feels constant, and I think part of that is the fact we’ve put so much work in before we released anything. We’re a few years in, really.  

Lister: We didn’t know each other before the moment where we got in touch with each other and wanted to work together, but I think we both shared a similar taste and vision. As a producer, it’s nice that I can put my name to a project and be like “This is my thing with my guy.” We’re a unit. It’s something I’ve been working towards for seven years. I remember when I first heard Kojo and thought it would be really cool if we got on and could work together. And now we’re here.  

Do you remember the first time you came across each other and your first impressions of each other? 

Lister: I heard Kojo on Instagram singing covers and thought he had this really interesting, unique sound and a confidence about him. Which is interesting, because he’s a modest man. But when we wrote our first song, ‘RLM’, he had his headphones on, head back, eyes closed, singing with his hands out, and I was just like “Oh, shit.” As soon as he opened his mouth and sang like that, it’s just like well, I can’t not love that. It helps that we get on too.  

Degraft-Johnson: It’s not the first time we met, but I remember when Barney played me the first ‘RLM’ beat and I was instantly in love with the flutes on that tune and it just felt like the right space for me, sonically. 

I think seeing what Barney is capable of in the studio as a producer was definitely profound, to be honest, because you often come across amazing writers and amazing producers, but when someone is definitely carving their own lane, everyone gets drawn to that. 

You released Volume 1 in May, an eight-track offering. What was the reason for wanting to release something so full bodied at such an early point in your journey?  

Lister: We never wanted to call it an album, but we’d made a lot of music, so why not put that out in the world? There’s always the pressure of one single, too, where everyone’s watching it and if it doesn’t land in the way you’d hoped, that can break you. It does my head in because this is a very sensitive game and you’re putting your heart on the line. This felt like a place to grow from.  

Degraft-Johnson: People’s attention spans are so short these days, but we wanted something that would resonate with people. We’re trying to tell a story and talk about our lives and other people’s lives. I think the key to achieving that is just putting out as much music as you can. And now we’re making another one! 

What was your first taste of soul music and all the sounds that have informed MRCY?  

Lister: For me, a thing I always talk about is this sound system event that happened in Huddersfield once a month. This guy called Paul Huxtable, who was a friend of my mum’s, built a sound system where he could play reggae and it was just amazing. Huddersfield can be a bit segregated, there’s lots of communities and it’s very multicultural, but it can feel a bit chopped up. The sound system event used to feel like the only thing that would happen where everyone came from everywhere to listen to reggae on this enormous sound system. 

To me, that was like a vision of what the world should be in a bit of a hippie sense. Everyone was getting a bit drunk and they were happy. I think that feeling was something that I always wanted to convey, and that’s what I’ve tried to do ever since I started production. This sense of goodness and spiritual positivity that exists within us, I don’t think it’s our sole focus, but that’s the whole essence of what I’ve tried to do. A deep sound that makes you feel good. It was amazing that this thing was being done by a white guy from Bolton and his wife from Huddersfield. It made me feel proud of Bolton.  

Degraft-Johnson: For me, it came from growing up and some of the car rides that I had with my dad when he was playing some of his favourite songs. There was a lot of soul music there, like Al Green and Teddy Pendergrass and Marvin Gaye, but there was reggae too. Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley and even other random stuff like The Carpenters. It’s all the shit we still listen to in the van! The beautiful choirs at my dad’s Catholic Church too. I’ve just been a sponge of sounds and trying to find the soul in whatever sound I’m exposed to.  

Is there something that has gone unexplored in MRCY, themes-wise perhaps, that you want to explore on the next record?  

Lister: Yeah. This is going to sound mental, but I’m proud of being British, I’m just not proud of where we’re at, and I’m angry that the right wing is popping up. It makes me really frustrated because I feel like we’ve done so much good work against it and then for this wave of hatred to come in. 

It’s just ruined so much good that’s happened, and I know what the world could be. It could be a good place. It’s there in our grasp, and I’m angry and frustrated. This is something that I want to talk about on our records because it needs talking about and that’s something I’m going to delve into.  

In reality, a song needs to feel quite intimate and you don’t want to sound too preachy. There’s a delicate balance. I think The Clash are the best band of all time and they did it so well. If we got that ethos and vibe in, I’d be a very happy person. I adore Joe Strummer.  

Degraft-Johnson: I was born in Greenwich, I grew up in Woolwich and lived in a lot of the surrounding areas, so I’m not a stranger to being subject to both judgement and the feeling where people see you as this beautiful soul. It’s always in the back of my mind, and if you’re in music, you’re eventually going to write about your experiences. I think it’s important to celebrate where you come from, which is England, while also recognising that it’s an imperfect place too. To tell that story in music is something we should definitely be striving for.