GET TO KNOW: Red Mercury

Steeped in cyberpunk atmosphere and pulsing with festival-ready energy, London-based electronic duo Red Mercury return with their most cinematic release to date: ‘People are to Love’. The track marks a global collaboration with Hong Kong-based DJ and producer Gargoyle Girlfriend (Rachel McInerney), fusing the duo’s signature modular synth-driven sound with Rachel’s ethereal vocals and dystopian lyricism.

Operating at the intersection of drum & bass, progressive house, and widescreen electronica, Red Mercury craft immersive worlds built for both the dancefloor and the deep introspective moment after. On ‘People are to Love’, they channel the rush of dislocation and discovery, drawing from their own transcontinental relocations: Rachel’s move from the U.S. to Hong Kong, Steve’s journey from Australia to London.

So with the new single out now, we sat down with them to find out more about their origins and influences over the years.

What was the first band or artist you fell in love with?

Steve: “If we’re going right back, one of my earliest musical obsessions was Oxygène by Jean-Michel Jarre — that was the first time electronic music felt like a whole world to me. But in terms of what really shaped my production, it was definitely the 90s era: The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack, Underworld, and to a certain extent The Prodigy. When I first moved to London I was properly introduced to drum & bass and breakbeat, and that was something that hadn’t really hit Australia/NZ in the same way. You can still hear that influence running through a lot of what I make now.”

Izi: “I’m going to be really boring here, but I have to say Britney Spears — please don’t judge me! I was completely obsessed. The songs were just so good, and it was the first music I remember properly loving.”

Did you ever form a band when you were younger and if so, what did they sound like?

Steve: “I was always more obsessed with synthesisers than the idea of being in a traditional band. I actually made my first cassette of music before I was even a teenager, and I was so convinced it was going to be a thing that my Dad took me around record stores to see if anyone would sell it. One shop owner in New Zealand listened to it and said she wasn’t really sure what it was… but that they might be able to play it in women’s aerobics classes. 

Izi: “I wasn’t in a band when I was younger, but I did a lot of classical training — I was always singing in choirs. I also played the French horn, which I know is not what most girls do! We still have it sitting in the cupboard somewhere. And I always joke that the band is basically Steve, me… and my friend Shaun.” I think we’ll write a track one of these days called My Friend Shaun. 

What has been your primary inspiration in writing music?

Steve: “I’ve always been obsessed with weird sounds and textures. I think a lot of it comes from the fact that I grew up around tech, and my relationship with technology basically shaped what I thought music could be. Some of the very first music I ever made was on a Commodore 64 - and I mean literally writing music using code. I was completely obsessed with people like Rob Hubbard, who’s basically a legend in game music. Then there was the early Amiga MOD / tracker scene, where the music behind those demo-scene visuals was insane. Tracker software was one of the first times sampling felt like it was in reach, and it opened up a whole world of sound. I even learned to play wind controller (and that’s actually the sax sound on our latest track), and I’ve got this growing collection of stupid instruments and noise-makers — including a corrugated hose I convinced an air-conditioning repair guy to give me because it made the most amazing sound while he was fixing something in my office.”

Izi: “Lately I’ve been really inspired by artists like Hybrid Minds and Goddard — and just melodic techno in general. I love music that feels emotional but still has that energy and drive. That’s kind of where Red Mercury sits as well - we’re a bit of a blend of techno and drum & bass, and I really like living in that space between the two.”

What is a song you wish you had written yourself?

Steve: “There’s a few. The first thing that jumps out is anything off The Crystal Method’s Vegas album. That record completely rewired my brain - I actually bought a Nord Lead because of what they managed to make that synth do. Going in a totally different direction, the theme from American Beauty is something I’ve always used as a reference. It sounds deceptively simple, but the expression in that piano part is unreal - it’s a good reminder for me not to overproduce everything. Another one like that is ‘Children’ by Robert Miles - straightforward dream house, but it’s beautiful and really emotive. And then at the other end of the spectrum, Skrillex’s first album is still ridiculous. Same with Noisia - their whole catalogue is basically a reference point for me. The clarity and production on that stuff is just on another level.”

Izi: “At the moment it would be ‘Back to Life’ by Wilkinson featuring Julia Church. I’m really enjoying that track - it’s got really powerful lyrics, but it still hits hard with the bass. I love that combination of a strong female vocal sitting over the synths and the energy underneath. It’s actually pretty close to the kind of thing we love doing in Red Mercury.”

If there was any moment in your career you could relive, what would it be?

Steve:“One of the biggest highs for me was having a full symphony orchestra play our cover of ‘Teardrop’. It was something I worked on for over a year, and I had musicians involved from all over the world. We ended up recording it with this incredible orchestra in Budapest - literally right after they’d finished working on Squid Game for Netflix, which still feels completely surreal. It was during Covid, and weirdly that made it possible - we had access to musicians we probably never could’ve reached in normal times. Hearing an 80-piece orchestra play something I’d written, and realising it was actually happening… that’s probably the high point of my musical life so far.”

Izi: “Honestly, what we’re doing right now with Red Mercury. It feels like it brings together everything I’ve been interested in - the music, the emotion, the energy, and the whole creative world around it. It just feels like the right project at the right time, and I’m really enjoying being in it.”

Which artist would you most love to share a stage with?

Steve: “I’d love to share a stage with Sub Focus. I’ve admired him for a long time — and the fact he’s based in London too. I always follow his production classes when he puts them online. He’s got a really solid understanding of technology, modular synths, and the detail side of production… but he also makes music that people actually want to hear. 

Izi: “I’d love to share a stage with Fred Again. I really like the way he pulls together all sorts of sounds and sources - even stuff from the internet — and somehow makes it feel really personal. And he just always seems so genuinely happy when he’s performing. We watched a livestream of him playing this rooftop party once and had it on for so long that I genuinely started to feel like we were there… and then I had to remind myself I actually wasn’t invited.”

And is there an artist you would love to collaborate with as well?

Steve: “We’ve done a couple of collaborations as Red Mercury already, and it’s something I genuinely love doing. I think it’s really easy to get stuck in a rut and just keep making the same track over and over in different forms - and working with someone else always pushes it into a direction you wouldn’t have gone on your own. We’ve collaborated with an orchestra, a gospel DnB rapper, an R&B artist, and more recently a DJ in Hong Kong, which was a really cool experience. Going forward I definitely want to get our music into more club and festival environments, so that’s the direction we’re focusing on at the moment - and I’d love to keep doing more collaborations that pull us further into that world.”

Izi: “Oh I don’t know… only the biggest names! Stormzy, Chase & Status… and I also love Aurora and what she does. I think we’d be a really interesting fit with any of them - something with proper energy, but still emotional and a bit different.”

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

Steve: “We’ve recently made the decision to move a bit further out from central London so we can get more space for production. The big upside is that it gives us room to build a much bigger and better studio - and also expand what we can do with film-making as well. We’ve always been about the visuals as much as the music, so having the space to properly do both is a huge step for us. With the new production flow we’ve put in place, we’ll be able to release music more regularly and keep building momentum.”

Izi: “We’ve got a big goal to record at Abbey Road one of these days. It’s going to happen — we just need to coordinate it properly. We’ve also got a few really talented friends and family back in Australia that we want to be involved, so it’ll take a bit of planning. Maybe not this year, but it’s definitely in the five-year plan.”

Listen to Red Mercury's new single 'People are to Love' below.