Brother and sister duo, TJ Mercury and Chelsea Rae, make up the core of the collaborative project Mercury & The Architects. The release of their debut album “The Ghost That Haunts My Castle”, sees the project forging and consolidating their blend of alternative rock with rap and edgy urban flavors. From the album, released 22nd December 2017, comes the single and official video for “Machine”, Mastered by Grammy award winning engineer, Mark B. Christensen.
As they have demonstrated, on most of their music Mercury & The Architects have a talent for taking complex subject matter and turning it into a relatable, and approachable song. “Machine” is no exception, though I’ll leave you to listen to the lyrics and watch the video clip and draw your own conclusions on the socio-political and cultural queries the duo bring to the fore.
The evidence of inspiration and free expression radiates from “Machine”, as Mercury & The Architects takes it upon themselves to create awareness of pressing issues in the world surrounding us. Popular music has a very important place within protest music, it can communicate important issues on a much larger stage than most genres.
But it has to come from an honest and informed place, whilst also conveying these themes in a fresh and interesting way. “Machine” does all of these things sublimely. The project has also proven to thrive on moving and intense tones with this track.
Mercury & The Architects certainly throw their listeners a few curveballs on this recording, but there is almost always one or two familiar elements that will keep the masses listening. This is clearly one of is most creative and inspiring musical projects I have listened to in the last few months.
Something in the powerful voices – rapped or sung – makes you feel the emotion behind the lyrics. And the depth of the lyrics are truly outstanding as well. Together these elements will capture and hold your attention, while the musical arrangement eerily unfolds and builds towards its intense climax.
Music should be all like this. This is what we, as consumers, should be demanding from record companies – Inspiring artists, and beautifully produced music that not only has some connection to art, but is also capable of being relevant in today’s society.
The boys and girls working on this project, are obviously deep thinkers and hard workers. There could hardly be any other way independent artists are able to achieve the high level of quality present in Mercury & The Architects’ sound and visuals.
This project offers a fresh sound that speaks to the times with surefooted musicality and a pure artistic philosophy. Every inch of the music is superb, and truly worthy of following as they develop their unique genre into something probably massive in the near future.
OFFICIAL LINKS: WEBSITE – SOUNDCLOUD – ALBUM STREAM – YOUTUBE – INSTAGRAM – TWITTER – FACEBOOK – MEDIUM
