Topic & carteblanche deliver indietronic new single ‘Lucky Ones’ on Universal Music: Listen

The single arrives off the back of a stacked release stretch. Furthermore, Topic‘s recent catalogue includes ‘TIK TAK’ with SARRA, his official rework of Fatboy Slim‘s ‘Right Here, Right Now’, ‘Sorry Papi’ with Becky G, and ‘Missing You’ with Shimza and A7S. Meanwhile, ‘Lucky Ones’ deliberately pulls in a different direction.

On the surface, the record delivers the warm, feel-good dance-pop Topic is known for. However, the arrangement leans widescreen and synth-driven, drawing comparisons to Empire of the Sun. Crucially, the song was written as a band song long before it became a dance record. In turn, the indie-pop instincts remain audible under the production.

“‘Lucky Ones’ feels a little like going back to my roots,” Topic said. “A few years ago, we used to call my sound ‘Melancholic Dance Music’, emotional and sometimes melancholic lyrics, but always with a driving beat. We actually wrote ‘Lucky Ones’ almost like a song for a band first, without thinking about the dance production at all. I only turned it into a dance record afterwards.”

carteblanche added: “We met up with Topic and A7S at our studio in London where we had set aside a couple of days to write songs together. In the song we were trying to capture that feeling of no pressure escaping with your friends or someone that you love in the summer and just being content.” As a result, the track carries a warm end-of-summer weight throughout.

Recently, WRY covered Moby’s own return to melodic, emotionally-driven live moments this summer. Beyond that, WRY also revisited Lykke Li and The Magician’s summer collaborative moment as part of the wider melodic dance conversation. In turn, Topic‘s new pairing with carteblanche lands as another huge step in his ongoing sonic evolution.

Stream Topic and carteblanche‘s ‘Lucky Ones’ on all major platforms via Universal Music now.