Joseph of Mercury has released his new single ‘Pretenders’.
Joseph of Mercury is the alter ego of Toronto singer-songwriter Joseph Salusbury which allowed him to “step outside the mundanity of day-to-day existence to tap into a vast pool of inspiration”.
Drawing on romance, melodrama, conflict and power in equal measure, this single is his funkiest release to-date that’s guaranteed to leave you bopping along.
Speaking of his music, Joseph explained: “My songs often have a lot of yearning in them, but I aspire for them to also have a touch of hope. Things seem so impossible, but you feel like it’s a distance that can be closed.”
You can discover the inspiration behind his funky release ‘Pretenders‘ below as Joseph shares 5 tracks that influenced the release.
CHIC – Everybody Dance | Listen
Listening to a CHIC track is like laying your hands on the roots of all modern and joyful music – the elegance and really the happiness is undeniable. ‘Everybody Dance’ is not so much a song as it is a command from these Disco beings “from up on high” and it just feels so right to surrender to it. The best guitar sound to me is Nile Rogers, always, so on top of everything I just said, CHIC is simply woven right into my idea of what “good music” is supposed to sound like. With ‘Pretenders’ we just wanted to walk away feeling like we’d made some “good music”.
David Bowie – Let’s Dance | Listen
And, no surprise, here we have Nile again, though this time behind the scenes…This one was more of an after-the-fact kind of thing. I’m mentioning this less because it’s a specific inspiration, and more because it’s what people keep drawing a parallel to. By no means am I complaining though – if someone compares you to Bowie, you smile shake their hand, get a quote, and get the hell out of there before they change their minds. Fun fact, apparently Stevie Ray Vaughan was none too thrilled that Bowie advertised himself as the guitar player in the official video; even though it was Stevie ripping away at the strings, he never makes an appearance on screen.
Herbie Hancock – I Thought It Was You | Listen
Not exactly sure how this translates into the song directly, maybe the vocoder, maybe the bass feel… but I was honestly listening to this song so much at the time we produced ‘Pretenders’ that its DNA has got to be in there somewhere.
Boney M. – Daddy Cool | Listen
The infectious groove of this one is something we kept coming back to, a growling bass that feels almost more punk than disco, voices that move from low and conversational to warm and revelatory. Every once in a while I rediscover Boney M. and all their unique and perfect flare, do yourself a favour and check the footage online form the 1979 Sopot Festival… it’s an education.
Donna Summer – Love to Love You Baby | Listen
The bridge of the ‘Pretenders’ is what this song really came to inspire. The way that this airy falsetto could be so commanding, so hypnotizing, with at times such a minimal groove. The repetition never got old, the words just became more and more true each time she repeated them. Of course that bass… all 5 of these tracks really, you find that suddenly the bass is the thing leading everyone along… where? Let’s cross that bridge later…
You can listen to Joseph of Mercury ‘Pretenders’ below: