On Friday, September 9, St. Lucia, a synth-pop band led by husband-and-wife duo South Africa-born, Jean-Philip Grobler and Germany-born Patti Beranek, return with their new single, “Take Me Away.” After four years, St. Lucia will be releasing their fourth studio album, Utopia, on Friday, October 7 via Nettwerk.
“Take Me Away” bops along on claps and a falsetto hum with uncontainable energy and a twist of trip-hop production. Its core message depicting how to deal with depression and mental health is enhanced by a colorful fusion of synth-pop, yacht rock, and electronica. With an emphasis on productivity and pop purity, the track was inspired by the chill-out music scenes from the late 90s and early 2000s, influenced by artists such as Bent, Zero 7, and a few Café Del Mar compilation records.
“I’ve struggled with depression and mental health throughout my life, but I’ve found that the best way out of that cycle is through speaking my mind and talking to someone about it,” says frontman Grobler. “When you’re in a depressed place, it’s easy to feel ashamed and feel like, somehow, you’re a bad person or not good enough because you feel that way. The worst thing, I’ve found, is to keep that thought cycle bottled up inside yourself because that way it festers and goes into a feedback loop of negativity. But when I talk to people about it and allow those feelings to air, I realize that everyone deals with those things and that it’s totally normal– the feelings have a purpose, they’re not there for nothing. So that’s where the lyric ‘When you’re walking alone, tell me all of your secrets’ comes in. When someone is walking, alone or depressed, it is important to help them speak their minds. It’s part of why therapy is so valuable.”
Renowned for their energetic live shows, St. Lucia will embark on a six-week tour starting on Thursday, October 6th, which will mark their first full headline run in four years. Supporting on select dates will be Dutch musician and YouTube star, Blanks, synth-rocker, Caroline Kingsbury, and electronic musician, Bayonne. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit
here.
Stream “Take Me Away” here.
Photo Credit: Mauricio Alvarado
St. Lucia Tour Dates as follows:
10/6 – Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theatre
10/7 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
10/8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
10/9 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
10/11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Café & Music Hall
10/13 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
10/14 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
10/15 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
10/16 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
10/18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
10/19 – Kansas City, MO @ The Truman
10/21 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
10/24 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
10/25 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
10/26 – Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre
10/28 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
10/29 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall
10/30 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
11/1 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
11/2 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up
11/4 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
11/5 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
11/7 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
11/8 – Dallas, TX @ The Studio at The Factory
11/9 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
11/11 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
11/12 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
11/13 – Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
11/15 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
11/16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
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