‘We knew straight away’: UNIFIED & Liberation sign ready-made star

Liberation Records might have another big hit on their hands.

The Mushroom-owned imprint has unveiled the signing and debut single of Sydney act merci, mercy. And we reckon she’s one to watch closely.

The singer-songwriter has also inked management with UNIFIED and booker Village Sounds.

Her first single ‘Fucked Myself Up’ premiered overnight on UK new music discovery site The Line Of Best Fit. The accompanying lyric video was made by Charli XCX and Normani’s Giphy animator, Bianca Bosso.

The 19-year-old artist grew up between Beijing and Thailand but now calls Australia home, and ‘Fucked Myself Up’ follows on from her online-only 2018 single ‘Be’.

Merci, mercy joins a label roster that includes Julia Jacklin, The Temper Trap, Vance Joy.

She’ll be managed by Lauren Poulter and Rachael Tulloch at UNIFIED, and booked by Evan Davis and Katie Rynne from Village Sounds.

“Management client Edwin White who produced the track alongside Joel Quartermain sent us the song,” Poulter & Tulloch tell TMN.

We looked at each other knowingly after first hearing it. Without saying anything to each other, we knew straight away we had to work with merci, mercy.”

Her catchy, rhythmic debut single feels light but is actually about dependence on alcohol, produced by Edwin White (Vance Joy, Fergus James) and Joel Quartermain (G Flip, Oh Pep, Meg Mac).

“‘Fucked Myself Up is about dependence on alcohol, it gave me the confidence to be able to talk to people,” she says.

“I was getting fucked up on purpose in order to allow myself to be around people I didn’t know.

“My goal is to make music that talks openly about mental health, so it’s as normal as talking about what you’re eating for dinner. Fucked Myself Up is me saying yes, I have a problem but I’m doing my best, so leave me alone.”