To help roll out the release of his covers EP Mercury Sings…, local soul singer MercuryCarter premiered two new videos today: Adele’s “Daydreamer” and Beyoncé’s “Speechless.”
The videos showcase Carter’s vocal talents with stripped-down performances. In “Speechless,” filmed at a studio in Charlotte, Carter stands in a smoky spotlight throughout the song, with nothing else visible but him, his microphone and his bedazzled black outfit.
“Daydreaming,” filmed and recorded live at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, features Carter performing in a hall full of statues.
Neither video features any cuts, and there is very little movement in general. Carter said he the minimalist vibes were purposeful, shifting focus directly to his voice.
“I didn’t want to do conventional cover videos. I wanted to produce something visually stimulating, all while providing the viewer an experience that stays true to my aesthetic and what I have to offer to the fabric of music,” Carter said. “Both videos are 100% live and completed within one take, a feat that I’m particularly interested in reviving within today’s music world — a world where splicing vocal takes from multiple sessions or lip-syncing has become the norm.”
Both videos were directed by Carter, with cinematography by Alex Hall and Gerrel Patton, sound engineering from Gea Mason and music production from Geoffrey Carter.
The EP, which was released on June 4, can be found on most streaming platforms. Through the rest of the year, Carter will be working on his debut full-length album, which he plans to release in 2020. He’s also working on a solo tribute concert to honor his favorite diva singers, which he’s in talks to put on at a Blumenthal Arts venue in October.
This work by Queen City Nerve is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
