Profile: Joseph of Mercury

Published: February 18, 2014

As editors, we are always meeting passionate artists who are 100% committed to their craft. But, when we come across an artist whose passion seeps from his pores, it evokes a sense of magic that is stunning. Immediately upon meeting Joseph,of Joseph and the Mercurials,we were struck by his need to putforth equal amounts of passion into his performance as he does into his sound; a balance that is not often found.Take the time to read our conversation with Joseph as we explore his influences, mentors and desire to create a unique and memorable performanceeverysingletimehe takes the stage.

Styled by Sarah Jay. Photographs taken at The Great Hall by Thomas Van Der Zaag

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OTM: Lets start from the beginning.tell us a bit about your experience growing up in Toronto and how it has shaped your relationship with the city.

Joseph:Toronto, for me, has always been an ever-widening map. Growing up in Riverdale, I never felt intrinsically metropolitan, but that quickly changed over time as I matured and grew more mobile. With each day, I discovered new pockets of the city and new communities to explore. I found people Id never known, and places Id never been or could have imaginedToronto can be a place of subtle greatness.

I often just wander the streets at night, walking until I find that I can’t. Through this, I have really gotten to know this city and understand it’s place as my home. I’ve spent some time in New York and Montreal, and I’ve just begun venturing into Europe. There is so much magic in all those places, but Toronto is where I come to rest.

OTM: Do you feel everyone in Toronto shares the same excitement for discovery?

Joseph:There is definitely a vast group of creative individuals who have come to Toronto for that exact reasonto discover and explore. They come to Toronto for the same reason anyone goes to any cityto learn of new things and new worlds and to embrace the multicultural and multifaceted that is out there for all of us. Sometimes I find that those who were born here dont feel the same need to explore, perhaps because the city has always been at their fingertips. It’s easy to overlook that which we feel we own.

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OTM: When did your love for music begin?

Joseph:I have always been intrigued by sound, and in that I would say my love is for sound, not simply music. Long before I began in music I could be found bending my voice into various shapes and colours. As a child I was a perfect mimic, absorbing and reflecting everything I touched.

But to answer your question, I first discovered music through my Grandfather. He passed away when I was about 11-years-old, and left behind a collection of old records. I was unceremoniously drawn to all the ones he had loved the mostthe old gentlemen crooners of the 50s and 60s. I would sit there and admire the polished and confident men on the sleeves and covers. I could only imagine what [the records] sounded like as I had no means to play them. Eventually I discovered a stack of CDssome sort of “masterworks” collection, featuring the likes of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, and Paul Anka. I began to mirror their style and sound, and it forever became a part of me and of my voice. In truth I left those sounds and qualities behind for a long time. But one day about two years ago I simply picked up the right guitar in the right room, with the right endless echo, and they all returned to me. I was older nowmore “myselfand so I was not simply drawn into mimicry. Rather, I was able to take the feelings and textures of this classically romantic sound and truly make it my own.

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OTM: What has been your journey so far to develop your own sound? Has it has progressed naturally over time?

Joseph:I find that in Toronto, and more broadly in Canada, folk music is one of the first genres that you discover. You pick up your first acoustic guitar, and it just seems like the most natural direction to take. When I first started writing music, it was as simple as that. It wasnt until I began to join with others that I really started to grow beyond my beginnings. Polynesian Bride was my first true band experience, and an extreme one at that, growing at one point to a rather chaotic 13 members.

I have been very fortunate over the years to have acquired a number of truly great mentors includingFritz Helder of Fritz Helder & the Phantoms, AZARI & III, Zion Forrest Lee of BOYTECH, Ian McPhedran of Ostrich Tuning. These are connections and friendships that I will always cherish. Working with Fritz in particular gave me incredible insight into what it was like; to not only play music, but to work in music. He gave me a new understanding and appreciation for style, performance and the visual aspect of music.

It is a rather special sensation to look back and see all the points of your experiences and knowledge leading you in a perfect line to the exact moment you are in right now. I feel like it is the right moment, a very important moment for me.

Ultimately it is only the beginning.

OTM: Do you feel like your mentors have played a key role in your development so far?

Joseph:Of course. Im truly thankful for those I have been able to grow with. It’s a very powerfully beautiful thing when your mentors can continue to be your mentors, because they too are constantly progressing. You can begin to catch up to themyou can find a new balance where you’re closer to peers than you’ve ever been. Then suddenly, they surpass everything they ever were, and without warning you once again have so much more to learn from them.

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OTM: We know that your amazing white leather jacket was a product of a collaboration with Canadian fashion designer, Evan Biddell. Do you have any new collaborations on the horizon?

Joseph:Evan re-imagined my original “DREAMCOAT. Its a piece that is very special to me and a fantastic alternate when Im in slightly different moods. Altogether Ive been lucky up until now to have come across so many wonderful friendspeople who are excited about what I do in my medium and are willing to collaborate from a place of their own. Fashion designer Parris Gordon (Beaufille) designed an amazing crystal ring for me. Sarah Jay, a phenomenal stylist and one of my closest friends, has updated many of my pieces for the purposes of performance. Often style and function can meet at a precarious impasse, but she works her magic and suddenly I can move as if I’m not wearing a thing.

In more visual mediums, my oldest friend and creative sounding board, Joachim Johnson, collaborated with me on my first two music videos and has been an immense support from the very beginning. In the end we are all working with the same intension to just create things that are meaningful, to ourselves and to others.

OTM: Which musicians currently inspire you?

Joseph:In truth, I appreciate the skill of other musicians, but I can’t say that’s what inspires me. In terms of those whose skills I greatly respect, it’s anyone that understands the importance of theatricalitythose who inhabit the stage with intention and personality. That, to me, is what separates a performance from a recital. I mean, its many things but to touch upon one, the idea of what you wear is of particular importance to me. Clothes can change youthey can take you into a different part of yourself, and sometimes you don’t come back. Things that once felt like costumes are now simply a part of you.

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OTM: Where does your sound fit in the Canadian music scene?

Joseph:I think my sound comes from a group that is a bit more of a rebellion against the warmer, friendlier and at times sexless vein of Canadian music. Bands like AUSTRA, TRUST, DIANA and THE WEEKND touch upon a darker, more visceral aspect of our personalities. It allows you to be transported beyond your surroundings into a different, darker, more romantic worldone of desire. To listen to my music is to know that I really enjoy the effect of a cavernous reverb. To me, it’s just about space, creating it, playing within it. Personally, I love music that sounds like it happened in a dreamechoing slowly through an endless cathedral.

OTM: Youve mentioned some amazing mentors that have helped you shape your career path. Do you have any words of advice for new musicians?

Joseph:There is room for so many different sounds in this city, you just have to find the right way to perform and communicate that vision. It’s something I am still figuring out. It’s something you have to earn. However once you do [earn it], the city, and eventually the world, will accept you. You just have to be clear in what you want.

Sincerity, to me, is the key to great music. So know the rules, but dont be afraid to do what sounds best to you. Collaborate with others outside of your medium and collect friends who believe in what you are doing. They will help to move you forward, though be sure to honour their efforts. Be open to competition but at the same time, lend a helping hand to those below and above you.

For me it’s important to carry on the tradition of community that I benefited from: a community of people who have had success and are willing to invest their energy in aiding others to reach those same levels of success because we are a stronger force together.

In closing I have to say, that to me, singing and performing are the purest forms of communication, that I know, and that I have, and so I continue to do this. I have no choice but to continue to do this, because who I am on stage is the truest form of myself. And I am addicted to feeling that true.

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