SHORT INTERVIEW SERIES _ Mercury Trip introducing Sunshine

Set to release their original single “Sunshine” on July 10, 2025, Mercury Trip’s latest track is a blend of influences from iconic artists such as Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jimi Hendrix, and PJ Harvey. “Sunshine” delves into themes of nostalgic love and the yearning of long-distance relationships, capturing the essence of waiting for someone special to return. With its catchy hooks, melodic vocals, and easy-listening vibe, “Sunshine” promises to be a standout release in the music scene, offering a fresh take on classic rock elements.

What’s the story behind your latest release? 

I wrote Sunshine initially on acoustic guitar on a wet and sunny Sunday in April, just after finishing uni. Back then I was free-spirited, drifting between places, and convinced of the goodness in everyone. It began as a love song, but releasing it now feels like a lens on myself as a young woman, and encapsulates the innocence, joy, and blind trust that coloured my twenties. Releasing it now has brought to life with the full band sound it was always meant to have.

How work for you the recording process, is something that you made on your own ?

Recording is a funny one because I have mostly played live and so recording was a skill that I had to learn. When we first recorded anything in a studio, I wasn’t aware of the key differences between studio sessions and live sessions, and felt a little that the live sound is how it needed to feel. After some time, I have realised that the processes are both very different. Coming back to the song itself, I was aware that I wanted it to emulate some classic rock sounds, and so I set to work to help model that sound with influences that I would send to our drummer and bassist for the texturing of the track. To capture that feeling of nostalgia, we worked with vintage equipment and recording styles that intend to mirror those 60s and 70s influences, such as a 1970s Fender Twin, my guitar which is a 1960s Japanese Guyatone and the looser style of playing recorded on a vintage SSD desk at KJM. 

How would you describe your sound? 

At the moment I’m not quite sure, easy listening has been the term quipped for this track but that might morph and change as the next songs are released as they’re all quite different and inspired by a very diverse range of music.

What’s one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music? 

Patience, time, trusting the process and the art of knowing when to stop. It’s so easy to think that you’ll record and it will be done in a month, when in reality, polish and modelling the sound takes time. We had a sad loss of our drummer and this put a big stopper in production, and it’s taken a while to gain momentum again. I feel like I actually overworked this song as although created at KJM Studios, I spent a lot of time working on it at home, is never heard of listening fatigue before but it becomes all too familiar when you’re in the weeds with things and can become too molecular with the details instead of the bigger picture.

What tools or software do you rely on in your studio?

The studio we used has a ProTools setup so I’ve slowly been learning to use it at home. Logic is another, but I have also used Adobe Audition and even Audacity for basic recording of stems from home.

What’s one song from another indie artist that you love right now? 

My favourite song at the moment is from a friend, and it’s “Everybody Knows” by Myles McCormack. He’s a performer from Belfast when I’m from and I heard him play it first at the American Bar a few year ago, I definitely recommend him as an artist as he is an incredible musician and songwriter.

What’s next for you? Any upcoming releases or shows?

We have an upcoming release that is in the works, and would like to start working on a series of support shows, so if anyone would like to hear us play a show, please get in touch! 

Where can our listeners follow your music? 

We’re on all major streaming platforms and also in Bandcamp and SoundCloud!

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to talk about our music ♥️