Off the Record Podcast with Maliah AguilarEpisode #004 – Guest: Mercedes“This is Off the Record — I’m Maliah Aguilar. Here, we go beyond the music. I sit down with artists and personalities you know — and some you’re about to — to talk about the moments that don’t make the liner notes. From heartbreak to healing, tour life to late-night doubts — it’s raw, real, and completely off the record.”
We’re back with the final episode of Off the Record for this year. I’m Maliah Aguilar and I can’t wait to get stuck into my conversation with one of the ultimate enigma’s of the music industry. I just want to quickly say a huge thank to your everybody that has listened, downloaded and liked each episode of the podcast series so far, it’s been such a labour of love and it’s still crazy to me to think that I had the opportunity to interview Billy Khan, Kara Romero and Amy-Jayne only three episodes into this whole thing. We hope to be back later next year for more episodes but we’re incredibly delighted to produce one final episode before the end of 2025. Absolutely one of my favourite people in the industry and she’s just had her most dominant year of her career so far, with 2026 set to continue in that same fashion with her hugely anticipated debut album “A Woman’s Work”. I’m so excited to be sat with the incredible Mercedes, to discuss literally anything and everything. I think we just need a bottle of wine and we’re all set!
Welcome to the podcast! Thank you so much for making this happen, how are you feeling right now?"Yayyy! Oh my gosh, hi! I'm doing well, hun. It's such a wonderful time right now! Before we get into it, I just want to say that I'm so glad you and I are properly meeting and having a chat right now. We've got a few mutual friends, we move in the same circles, we're London girlies but we've never had a proper one-on-one. This feels right!"
It feels like you’ve had such an insane year to all of us from the outside looking in. Does it feel that way to you, or is this more like the culmination of a couple of years of putting things in place and building towards this point?"Babes, I am probably going to sound like an absolute loon when I say this but this year has been so breezy compared to everything else in my career! Like you said, this is years of work in the making. I'm not just talking about this new specific project of music, it's everything that comes along with relaunching a career and all the fighting, grafting, the boring paperwork stuff. 2025 has felt like a relief, a reward more than anything. Getting the music out the door is a huge weight off my shoulders and the fact that it has been received so well is such an incredible payoff."
Your name has always been iconic and you’ve built this name and almost brand for yourself in a less traditional way. But let’s talk about your output real quick, because you’ve been around since 2012, signed to Hot Eye Records which I’m sure we’ll get deep into the weeds about later. But it feels like you signing to Five Pesky Kids in 2024 has been the catalyst for this real renewed energy and ambition."Yeah and don't get me wrong, ever since 2012 I've been fighting and pushing towards getting music out the door. I'm a recording artist. That's who I am, that's what I want to do. It's just that I had to get many things in order. I've been hit with a lot of unfortunate events behind the scenes and I had to make sure everything was properly aligned before I made another proper attempt at this. Part of that renewed energy and confidence has come from surrounding myself with the right people. I have an amazing tribe of beauties surrounding me at the moment in all aspects of life. Feeling truly, truly blessed."
The whole Five Pesky Kids deal wasn’t publicly announced, you just quietly got to work. That must have been a conscious effort on both yours and the labels behalf to not put that expectation out there. It would have came with huge fanfare, why did you decide to sign with Five Pesky Kids Records quietly, without the big announcement?"You hit the nail right on the head, babes. It was a case of wanting as little pressure and expectation as possible. I'd been through the wringer quite a bit prior to that; deals had fallen through, I stumbled through a few false starts after signing bad contracts, I was in a legal dispute with an old management company. I was absolutely knackered from it all, to be bloody honest! As much as I would've been grateful for goodwill and fanfare, I needed time to recuperate and recalibrate as I started from scratch yet again. I didn't want to sign a new deal - a tad mentally fried with zero songs written, and then have a bunch of people yelling at me to give them some #1 worthy bops or sweep the UMAs even if their intentions were as sweet and pure as possible. Mama needed some time!"
You already have a known relationship with all of the guys from Weekend, probably your friendship with Riley is one that has definitely become more obvious over the last few years. Already having that solid foundation and trust with them, was that the main selling point of joining Five Pesky Kids rather than any other label?"Oh, totally, babes! I don't think I would've signed to another major label without any trepidation if it wasn't Pesky asking. I possibly wouldn't have signed to any at all! With everything I had been up against and where my mind was at the time, signing a new deal seems totally unhinged in theory. It's not really sage advice to give to an artist who has been screwed over so many times. 'Yeah, sign to another major, girl!'. Mad. I was in a very unique and privileged situation, however. I'm well aware of that. The boys have been friends ever since day one. We debuted within the same year, did a lot of events together back in the day, and have literally grown up with each other. I live with Dustyn aboard The Duke of Winchester! I don't mean to sound cliché but it really is a family feeling at Pesky."
After Hot Eye Records closed, rather than jumping back into a new record deal you used that time to truly establish yourself as a personality online. Your wit and humour is the thing that shone through the most to me, from the outside looking in. But having briefly gotten to know you over this last year, you’re incredibly grounded. How did that internet persona come into existence? "You know, I've always had a great sense of humour about things and never take myself too seriously but it was all down to the fans. I can't take all the credit. I just leaned into it and embraced the memes! I'm incredibly lucky to have the fans that I do - my Lovelies. I could've totally faded into obscurity. Let's face it, I released a couple of songs over ten years ago with no album to my name. Who's checking for someone like that? I'm eternally grateful that I have a group of supporters that have seen my potential and have constantly rooted for me, keeping my name out there and spreading the word. When I went quiet for a bit, they kept the hype going. After things fell through with the first deal, it looked like I had just vanished overnight. The joke then became inserting pictures of me attending any and every event, making claims that I had invented this thing and that thing, that I had achieved this, that and the other! I wasn't putting content out so they were making up their own!"
You’re a London girl but your background is super eclectic. A Moroccan-Swedish father and an English-Serbian mother, you could literally be the only one of your kind which sort of plays into that online persona you’ve given yourself. How much of that cultural mix do you think shows up in your music, humour, style and even your worldview?"It's definitely the reason I am who I am in every aspect; humour, artistry, integrity, willpower - everything! I'm incredibly lucky to have travelled a lot and experienced many different cultures and worldviews at a young age, pre any sort of fame. That rich cultural exposure and background coupled with the melting pot of lifestyle and music that is London means that I was moulded into a very open and eclectic person. I can find joy and beauty in any sort of genre, fashion, cuisine. On the flip side, I also experienced the shittier things growing up like racism, classism, all those horrid 'ism' words. I had already grown a thick skin by the time I signed my first record deal. My whole upbringing was exposure therapy. All the crap that gets thrown your way when you first enter the industry, it can really shake people but to me it was all a drop in the ocean. I was like "Really? What else you got?" more than anything! I'm a tough cookie but with a big heart. I have a lot of time and compassion but I also know how to effectively filter out...'impurities', shall we say?"
It’s a crazy thing, I was born in Cuba to a Cuban mother and a Nigerian father but was raised in London from six months old. It’s way too complicated to give an answer when asked, so I just say “Oh, I’m a London girl” and I feel like that pretty much covers it. Did you ever go through that struggle of trying to figure out which side you fall on or how to identify yourself?"Babes, I could've just said 'I'm a London girl' to your last question and it could've saved a lot of time! That statement covers it, doesn't it? We experience and endure a
lot coming from that mad place! You know, I can't say I've
really struggled in terms of identity. The only time it makes me uncomfortable is when people mislabel me or debate my heritage. They're not quite sure of my background but they know I'm
'something' or I'm bluntly asked;
"What are you?" and stuff like that. That weirds me out. Why are strangers wanting to slap a label on me and my skin? I think coming from a line of hardworking immigrants, though, they love Britain more than a lot of the British. I know I've just pissed off an ugly section of the population by saying that. Good! So, while I love and embrace all my backgrounds, I have been raised to be grateful for living in the UK, to be that London girl, to lean into individualism and chase my dreams in the capital. Rather than stick to the one thing that defines me, I've just been raised with the ethos of being the best and most successful version of me that I can be, whatever shape or form that takes. That's definitely that 1980's immigrant mindset."
Girl, you’ve definitely just inspired me to book the next flight out of California and get myself back home. Let’s face it, London is where it all really began for you, taught you pretty much everything you needed to hustle your way into the industry you wanted to be part of. You started modelling at sixteen, purely just to fund your music ambition. That’s a laser-focused mindset, is that just something you always had inside of you, that determination and dedication?"Yeah, that's always been me. It's my whole family, really. Swear I'm not saying this to create another meme but I really do have quite a strong, focused work ethic. That's why I've found it quite easy and funny to lean into the jokes and how my album title came about. There's a tongue in cheek element to it all but there's a lot of truth there too. I could've easily given up a good 10 years ago but I've persisted because this is my calling. This is what I want to do and I'll move mountains, come hell and high water to be able to achieve my goals."
I love that sense of individual determination, cause girl at sixteen where we’re from, it’s purely about boys and trouble. Shit, I needed a friend like you to drag me down a better path!"Ha! Oh, babes, trust me I was getting involved with boys and all sorts of trouble too! I was just a bit more high maintenance about it. I had scheduled reckless time. Though how reckless you can be while sticking to a time limit is a bit of a head scratcher."
It all lead to your breakthrough in the industry. I feel like people forget but when your debut single landed, “Shine On” really put you on the scene. I was just getting into my early teens and you brought this reggae vibe and the music video, with the attitude, the style, the curls, and THAT speakerphone. I was sold, all my friends were sold and it felt like for weeks your name was everywhere. Endorsed by BIG names, a leaked track that I gotta admit now, took a lot of hunting down. There was a lot of hype around that debut release. Looking back, do you think that hype put the expectation around you too high too soon?"Yeah I do and as grateful as I was for all that support and hype straight out the gate, in the grand scheme of things, I found it to be more detrimental than anything. Signing to Hot Eye, I was immediately compared to Stephanie Fierce, one of the biggest artists on the planet at that time. I was also being likened to Tisha Jackson. It's one thing being compared to industry titans at such a young age but two feuding ones? I was unnecessarily caught in fanbase crossfire a lot of the time. Then there was the press back home calling me "Britain's answer to so-and-so!". All this with one song to my name. I'm so,
so grateful for all of the goodwill but many things were lost and got clouded over because of the fanfare."
We jump like twelve years ahead and it feels like you’re finally having the run that we expected. But it feels different, it feels like you’re doing things with freedom and a completely renewed energy. I’m a believer that things work themselves out in the right order and come to people at the right time. Maybe if the momentum had continued during your debut run you would have been too young to fully deal with all of it, let’s face it the industry was wild at that time. It felt very cut-throat, do you think you would have survived as a major player back then?"I like to think that I would've survived. I'm very strong-willed and determined but like you said hun, things work themselves out in the right order. I firmly believe in that too. Even though it was long-winded and downright frustrating at times, this is the path I was meant to go down. I wouldn't have the relationships that I do now and I wouldn't have this very album had things been different. Perhaps if I was more prominent through the 2010's, audiences and radio would be bored of me by now and I'd be struggling today instead! To still be a viable act in 2025 is such a blessing."
The biggest takeaway from your 2025 output for me, has to be the punchy, fiery, punk-pop vibe. A real guitar and drums energy that you don’t get a whole lot of these days, and a very open and honest songwriting style. It feels so different from your earlier R&B and Pop sound. What was the catalyst for that evolution in sound?"I've always had such a wild, varied taste in music and that comes through in both my listening choices and creative decisions. I truly believe I have an album of every genre inside of me. In fact, back in the day, the original plan was to market more pop leaning material in Europe and more R&B focused music in America for my debut. In terms of the material for "A Woman's Work", that's all come about because that's where I'm at right now. I've been exposed to a lot of punchy, punky, raw and offbeat & leftfield music lately with Erich and his friends. I've also always been a huge fan of the likes of Blondie, Joan Jett, The Clash. Sonically, all that kind of music has a really freeing feel to it. It's the sonic equivalent of zero inhibitions. That's also where I'm at personally. I feel incredibly unrestricted. My personal feelings and the genres are working hand in hand. You know, I'm probably going to be a very frustrating artist for fans to follow because you'll never know what you're going to get next, ha!"
You mentioned earlier that you’re spending most of your time on the Duke of Winchester these days, how much of that shift in your music evolution this year was influenced by the circle that you surround yourself with now. Especially your relationship with Erich Hess?"More than anything, I think it has inspired and encouraged me to lean into more experimentation and the whole DIY approach. I've always had a really broad listening taste even prior to hanging out with these incredible musicians. Singing along to already existing records and creating your own are two very different things though! I used to be a little more methodical with my writing and creating process back in the day but since moving in with Erich, I've learned the art of jamming. I'm far more spontaneous and open to just seeing where things go when I pick up an instrument. So many of the songs on this album were created pretty much on the spot because of this!"
As much as the sound and sonics of your music have evolved, lyrically it feels like you’ve really levelled up this year too. Your lyrics aren’t afraid to be confrontational, biographical and self-deprecating. From one-night stands to politics to calling people out. What made you decide to start writing in this bold style that we see from you now?"Life, ha! When I first started out, I really had nothing to say. I just wanted to have fun, make catchy music and live out that pop star fantasy. That was authentic to me then. I was young, naïve and just wanted a good time. What's true to me now, however, as a woman in her early 30's is completely different. I'm much more passionate about using my platform to speak up and out against things I don't agree with. I'm also no longer worried about how I'm perceived. I feel like when you're younger and also a newcomer in the industry, you aim to please. You want to do everything right, you want to be loved by as many people as possible and that often means censoring yourself and maybe even becoming a tad vanilla. You want to be palatable. I don't care about that these days. I've got people around me who love me and listeners who support and understand me. I'm a very happy and lucky girl. Anything outside of that I don't care about. So, yeah, I'm going to sing about feeling sleazy in a kebab shop and not worry about it!"
It’s obviously something that the general public have taken a likening too. Your run in 2025 has been nothing short of iconic, each of your singles all went to number. After an eleven year break, the success of this comeback must feel pretty special for you?"Oh, babes, I am truly so blessed! This really is the icing on the cake, the cherry on top. Coming back after such a long time away and to earn #1 records is the best possible outcome and I've somehow managed to do that. I can't ask for more. Genuinely have to pinch myself. I can't quite believe how everything has turned around. After everything that has gone on behind the scenes and the uphill battle of getting here, I couldn't ask for a more rewarding payoff. I truly appreciate everyone who has shown support for me this year."
And weirdly it feels like this is just the beginning. You’ve already announced that your next album “A Woman’s Work” is coming in the new year. We’ve already gotten a glimpse of just how great this album will be from the singles so far. But what can we expect from the album?"Aw thanks, hun! Hmmmmm, well I can definitely say that it's just as punchy and honest as the singles. There's more humour on there, more candid revelations, a couple more surprise guests so stay tuned for that! I also think the mix of singles gives you a good indication of the soundscape of the album. You know, even though it branches off into different pockets of indie rock, new wave, a bit of doo-wop, there's still that recurring throughline of punk energy with everything all self-penned and with loads of live instrumentation. It's quite a brash but empowering record. I like to think so anyway!"
And what does the rest of 2026 look like after the album’s dropped?"I'd love to be able to get a tour together and really just ride this wave. I've been away from it all for years and I think it'd be ridiculous to fall dormant again as soon as the album drops. I don't have any solid plans other than just embracing everything as it happens and making the most of it!"
After everything you’ve experienced in your career up to this point, your rise, the stall, how to handle the internal politics of the business, the memes, the self-discovery and how important it is to find that as an artist, and this year your absolutely colossal comeback. Would you change any of that for a different path throughout the industry, I feel like the lessons learned over the career you’ve had so far are more worthwhile than quick success and dominance would have given you."Sometimes I catch myself slipping thinking "Oh, what if..." but all of that is pointless. There's nothing you can do to change the past. Your path is your path. Yeah, there were times over the last decade that weren't great. Would I want to relive them? Absolutely not! Would I want to change them, though? Can't say I would. I don't think I would be here today, standing behind a self-penned album that I'm incredibly proud of if it wasn't for the journey that came before it. We'll never really know so there's no point dwelling and pining. All I know is that I'm incredibly fortunate to be where I am right now. It could be a very different story and I'm grateful that it's not."
You’ve certainly led a unique life up to this point, none of it has been straightforward, but I feel like the alternative would be just a little too boring for such a creative, talented and unique individual. The path we’re on is usual the path that’s meant for us and I so believe this is true for yourself. Mercedes, it’s been such a joy to finally get the chance to sit down with you properly and get deep into the weeds. I’ve loved every second of our chat today and hope we’ve become best friends as a result of this. Thank you so much for agreeing to have this conversation and you’re welcome back any time."Babes, the pleasure was all mine! I'm so glad that we finally got to do this. Anytime you need me, I'll be there, darling. Thank you so much for having me and all the best for 2026, babes!"
