[Cover photo credit to Gabrielle Kannemeyer]
Led by husband-and-wife duo, Jean-Philip Grobler and Patti Beranek, Synth-Pop group St. Lucia has released their fourth studio album Utopia, via Nettwerk. In addition to the album release, St. Lucia’s music video for “Gimme The Night” has been revealed, directed by Nicole Lipp and starring model Ireland Basinger Baldwin. The duo are currently on tour in the USA.
Inspired by everyone from David Bowie, to The Weeknd, Daft Punk, and Parcels, St. Lucia enlisted the mixing talents of trusted collaborator Chris Zane (Passion Pit, The Walkmen) on the new album.
When referring to Utopia, frontman Jean-Philip Grobler says:
Our vision for ‘Utopia,’ that only emerged as we were working on it, was to make an album that was the antidote to the last few crazy years, while also acknowledging what we collectively went through. We could have just made a sad record. We could have pretended we were happy the whole time. But both of those would’ve been a lie. What we went through was one of the most extreme periods of our lives: extreme isolation, extreme intimacy, extreme sadness and, at times, moments of extreme elation and joy when reunited with loved ones. We needed to somehow process the ambiguity of that experience, and the making of ‘Utopia’ was our therapist.
On “Gimme The Night”, Grobler adds:
When we were doing a lot of DJ sets, I was watching what people would respond to when they’re on the dancefloor. In the back of my mind, I wanted to make music that spoke that language. Lyrically, ‘Gimme The Night’ is a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the lifestyle of influencer culture, which we lived at different points. Being in a band, you’re flying all over the place. Everyone thinks it’s a totally glamorous life on social media. It’s glamorous sometimes, but most of the time, it’s not the jet-set life you imagine.
On the “Gimme The Night” music video, Ireland Basinger Baldwin barricades herself in a local convenience store as she escapes from the relentless paparazzi. There, she meets the clerk, played by Jetta Juriansz, and the two drink and dance the night away together before the paparazzi join in on the fun.
Tour Dates:
10/7 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *
10/8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts *
10/11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Café & Music Hall *
10/13 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club ^ (SOLD OUT)
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 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up # (SOLD OUT)
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 (SOLD OUT)
11/16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
* with Caroline Kingsbury
^ with Blanks
# with Bayonne
