Amira Mercury’s single, “Patterns (In the Sky)” is a catchy tune that explores her journey to becoming a young adult and finding herself during the COVID 19 pandemic, through a carousel of memories defined by the circumstances, such as having bedroom raves, putting on fake tattoos, driving a shopping trolley on a socially distanced walk and longing for recently found friendships that immediately felt like a distant memory. To find out more, I got in touch with a few questions…

Your press release mentions lockdown nostalgia playlists. Why do you think people are nostalgic for such a fraught period of recent history?

That’s a great question and there isn’t a simple answer. I think how you look back at the pandemic varies a lot depending on what your situation was. Obviously in many ways for a lot of people the pandemic was a really dark time, unprecedented in most people’s lifetimes. There was so much fear and uncertainty, a lot of people died, and those years of fear and isolation took a toll on a lot of people’s mental health in ways that still leave a lasting cultural imprint today. There were however other interesting systematic impacts of the pandemic when it came to pace of life. For those of us who were lucky during the pandemic it became an endless summer, a break from all the noise and pressure of modern society. I think a lot of people crave for things to slow down, for life to move more in tandem with nature in a way that we can’t easily access nowadays. I think many people miss the calm and the time they got to spend with themselves. Being in a lockdown where normally bustling cities were in a dormant state, media, art and music (escapism broadly) was a lifeline for so many. I think that’s why we are seeing covid nostalgia playlists and such because people want to be brought back to a time where they got to slow down and they feel nostalgic over it, and songs from that period specifically unlock that feeling in a unique and vivid way. 

Your song “Patterns (In the Sky)” is about becoming a young adult and finding yourself during the pandemic. How did that period shape who you’ve become?

I think there were many factors that contributed at the same time. For example, the BLM movement exploded at the time and it prompted me to reflect a lot over my own internal patterns and behaviours. Everything slowed down and was put on pause, opening doors for introspection. I couldn’t see my friends and I had to really sit down with myself without noise or distractions which would normally be available. Since I couldn’t use my environment as a distraction, I had to build healthy routines and habits such as meditation, eating well and journaling so as not to lose my mind. All of these things combined made a huge impact on my life and strengthened my sense of self. I had to have a lot of conversations with myself and come to terms with things under the surface. I may not have been able to change these things if the external circumstances didnt force me to and I am very grateful I did as its changed my whole relationship with myself and those around me.

“Patterns (In the Sky)” includes the line “Tell me all your stories.” Do any stories from the pandemic era stand out to you? 

Ive always loved listening to people’s stories and at the time of the release my friend used to tell me about their solo travels to Asia which is what that line is inspired by. In terms of my own memories that I made during the lockdown there were so many, many of which I refer to in the song and I think I could go on about it for ages. We had basement raves, danced in the kitchen, did edibles and watched clips of the Black Eyed Peas, amongst so many other things. The main inspiration for the chorus in the song is when we went down to the Fallowfield Loop (for those who dont know, its a leafy cycle path in South Manchester) with speakers. We were playing Subaru Crosstrek by Hobo Johnson on blast and found a shopping trolley, which my friend drove me around in for ages and it was so much fun. Something I saw a lot of was actually people dancing in the street and raving by themselves. Thats actually something I kind of miss. 

Were you making music during the pandemic?

Yes! It was pretty much all I did. Patterns was actually a result of that and was written pretty early on during the first lockdown as a reflection of my feelings and thoughts at the time. With so little else to do at the time, music was a crucially important outlet for the feelings I had.

Your sound is inspired by Frank Ocean and Flower-Boy-Era Tyler the Creator. What do you like about those artists?

I think its the combination of emotional vulnerability and storytelling with the fusion of different genres. Both of those artists in those eras feel to me like they are genuinely expressing themselves and showing you a little bit of their soul, which to me is very inspiring. I love stories and whenever I listen to that music I feel immersed, like I can see the stories in front of me. I very much want my music to feel unique and self expressive, so artists who give that vibe I take a lot of inspiration from. 

What’s your approach to music production? Do you play all of the instruments yourself?

My approach to music production usually starts with the concept and some rough lyrics to express my thoughts, then I will draft up a demo in Ableton. In terms of the instrumentation, I play a bit of guitar and have a basic skill level with piano, but when it comes to the final productions I will usually always have other musicians involved that are specialised. Once I have my starting point I will write out the whole structure, refine the lyrics and then bring it to my producer Tyla Rex (who also uses Ableton) who then elevates my idea and takes it to that next level. Tyla is the one playing the guitar on Patterns, and worked with me on building the sound design and textures I wanted, as well as handling the post production processes, like mixing and mastering. Absolutely recommend working with them if you want someone who makes the effort to understand and execute your artistic vision.

The video for “Patterns (In the Sky)” depicts you and a band of merrymakers. Who’s in the video with you? 

Merrymakers is such a great word for it!! The video includes so many wonderful people I care about. This includes my sister, three other members of my music collective, Different Kind Of Dough (DKD) (Tyla Rex, Soood and The11even) as well as one of my closest friends from Norway who moved to Manchester with me and who I actually lived with during the lockdown. He is the one dragging me in the shopping trolley by himself, which was filmed during the pandemic. It’s very impressive to look back at actually. The four people who were dragging me between them were struggling so hard so I have no idea how he managed to do it by himself. 

Did you face any challenges while recording your debut EP, Parenthesis (Brackets)?

The biggest barrier for me right now is definitely financial. I have been sitting on this song for five years now and as I care a lot about it, I wanted it to be the exact way I imagined it in my head. It takes a lot of time to execute stuff like that when all of your friends are working full time and you cant afford getting yourself some nice outfits to wear for music videos or go to the studio as much as you would wish. Its just taken a lot of time but it makes it even nicer that it is finally going to be out! 

Do you ever perform live?

Not as much as I would like at the moment but now that I’ve finished off a lot of my recording process I can finally start focusing on that part of my artistry again. I will be playing around in Manchester and the UK when Parenthesis is released but really hope to go to other places in Europe as well! 

What’s on the horizon for you?

I have a lot I am excited about! Firstly I am very much looking forward to finally sharing Parenthesis (Brackets) with the world as I have been sitting on it for so long and it’s a piece of work I am incredibly proud of. I have also been working on a lot of collaborative material with DKD over the last year and we may or may not have a project on the way 😉 I have also recorded another solo project that I am just starting to work on music videos for. So yeah I’m a very busy bee but I am in love with the process and I am so excited to get all of the stuff Ive been working on in secret to finally come out!