Mercury (in Latin Mercurius) is a god of Roman mythology with multiple attributes: he was considered the protector of commerce, travelers, thieves, eloquence, athletics, transformations of all kinds, speed, dexterity, and pharmacy. He is the son of Jupiter and Maia. Sacred to occultists and esotericists, the god Hermes (Mercury for the Romans) is the lord of magical wisdom and of the word. Comparable to the Egyptian god Thoth, he is a psychopomp deity, meaning he accompanies the souls of the dead on their journey to the afterlife.
Sandro Botticelli “La Primavera” (detail depicting the god Mercury) 1482 tempera on panel
In recent months, as SPETRAL UNIT we have been focused on developing new tracks for an album we plan to release in 2026 and have started an important collaboration with Michael Somerset. The summer was an important and fertile time to reorganize ideas and establish new creative horizons. Here Michael is engaged with percussion, gongs and bells. In this ongoing process, the figure of Mercury accompanies us, leading us to seek for each of our compositions not a definitive form, but in a certain sense infinite possible transformations of the same music.
Giorgio De Chirico “Meditation of Mercury” 1973 oil on canvas (backdated by the artist)
A body of new pieces is emerging that, between digital and acoustic, always strive for that intersection with visual arts and confirm our desire to seek in multimedia an expressive channel that is all-encompassing. Our attention, as is evident to those who have followed us for some time, is focused on American abstract expressionists of the 1950s and 60s. Names such as Pollock, Rothko, and Gottlieb have already been the subject of our reflections and references for our creative work.
Giambologna “Flying Mercury” 1578–1580 bronze
Having been immersed in this exploration for over a year now, the precious arrival of Michael Somerset has further enriched our compositions, and it was natural, in defining the final mixes of the tracks, to continue with the Mercurial Mutations, that is, to seek alternative possibilities to what we consider the definitive version of a piece.
If Mercury is a divinity tied to transformations, the process of multiplying possibilities in every creative act, of transforming it, is a methodology we do not intend to abandon, because each composition reveals different possibilities, sometimes radically different, distant from one another.
Giacomo Balla “Mercury passes in front of the sun” 1914 tempera on paper
For us, it is about imagining mutations, transformations that allow us to look at our work from a different perspective — pushing it toward more radical, unexpected, and experimental choices. Here, for example, returning to Mark Rothko, but from a darker perspective, pushing to the limit the encounter between electronic and acoustic instruments in a dreamlike atmosphere. We are seeking a sonic connection with a group of artists who, from different perspectives, opened new horizons for painting. There is never only one path to reach a destination, and indeed we are walking along several, carrying out transformations, since nothing is stable, nothing is definitive.
Adi Newton
Enrico Marani
Video: Adi Newton and Enrico Marani
Music: Adi Newton, Enrico Marani, Michael Somerset
October/2025
