Mercury's Antennae

MERCURY‘S ANTENNAE is a San Francisco-based ethereal/shoegaze band comprised of multi-instrumentalist Erick R. Scheid (Translucia) and vocalist Dru Allen (This Ascension, Mirabilis). The two met in 2010 at a fateful Lovespirals show—having recognized Dru from her work with This Ascension, Erick approached her with the idea to collaborate on music, which led to the partnership of today.

Dru has studied and performed classical, avant-garde, world and folk music for over 25 years. Best known for fronting the rock outfit This Ascension—which began in her teens—she is also one half of the neo-classical, heavenly voices project Mirabilis (Projekt Records).

Guitarist/instrumentalist Erick R. Scheid co-founded his first band Translucia in 1994. After appearing on the Cocteau Twins tribute compilation Half Gifts on the now defunct label Dewdrops, Translucia were signed to Toronto label Plan 11, on which they released two albums.

In part Mercury's Antennae's work is reminiscent of ‘90s-era Projekt acts, ranging from the heavy moodiness of Lycia to the unadorned beauty of Love Spirals Downwards. But the duo also draws on ambient and tribal influences, contemporary electronica, the sweet melodic pop of 4AD, and the blissful guitar noise of bands like (sorely missed) Curve.

Musically speaking, Mercury's Antennae's imminent debut A Waking Ghost Inside is very evocative of and connected to Nature, capturing glimpses of the Sun, the sea, the stars, the rain… to these sonic portraits the vocals add stories from myth and dreams, touches of longing, connection and self-awakening.

Because the band's sound is largely based on voice and guitar, all of their songs have an organic versatility that beautifully allows for them to be interpreted acoustically as well. Coming from two bands that opted for the wall-of-sound approach (with a complete tool-belt of effects), there is something refreshing and powerful about being able to make music without having to plug into anything.