Topic Returns to His Roots with New Single Lucky Ones
The German producer teams up with newly formed duo carteblanche for a widescreen indietronic track built around summer freedom, friendship and doing nothing at all.
Topic is taking a different route on his latest single, Lucky Ones, teaming up with newly formed duo carteblanche for a track that brings his dance-pop instincts into a warmer, more indie-leaning space.
The release follows a run of successful collaborations and reworks, including TIK TAK with SARRA, an official rework of Fatboy Slim's Right Here, Right Now, Sorry Papi with Becky G, and Missing You with Shimza and A7S. Rather than continuing directly along the Afro-influenced and Latin-facing path explored across some of those releases, Lucky Ones turns toward something more expansive and melodic.
Built around an easygoing summer hook, the track combines driving dance production with widescreen synths and indie-pop songwriting. There is a clear indietronic character to the record, with the atmospheric, synth-led feel bringing to mind the broader territory of acts such as Empire of the Sun while retaining Topic's instinct for emotional melodies and club-ready momentum.
At the centre of Lucky Ones is a deliberately uncomplicated idea: escaping with friends or someone you love, having nowhere to be and nothing to prove. That sense of freedom gives the track its relaxed character, turning it into the kind of late-summer record that feels designed to extend the season for a little longer.
The song also represents something of a return to Topic's musical roots. Before exploring a broader range of Afro-influenced sounds, he became known for what was often described as “Melancholic Dance Music” — emotional or melancholic songwriting paired with a strong, driving beat. Lucky Ones brings that combination back while introducing the indie-pop influences that have increasingly caught his attention.
“Lucky Ones feels a little like going back to my roots. A few years ago, we used to call my sound ‘Melancholic Dance Music’ — emotional and sometimes melancholic lyrics, but always with a driving beat. After exploring a lot of Afro-influenced sounds over the last few years, I've recently found myself really drawn to indie pop. 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. I think that combination of where I came from and where my sound has evolved to feels very much like where I'm at right now.” — Topic
That original approach to the songwriting came from the collaboration itself. carteblanche met with Topic and A7S at the duo's London studio for several days of writing and experimentation, with Lucky Ones becoming the second song they created together.
The duo describe the track as an attempt to capture the feeling of a pressure-free summer escape — spending time with friends or someone close and simply being content with where you are. The timing of the writing sessions, just before the duo left for a holiday themselves, helped shape the mood of the song.
“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 and try out new vibes. Lucky Ones was actually the second song we wrote 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. We were just about to go on holiday ourselves which I think was probably influencing our mood. We've been big fans of Topic and also A7S for many years and we're excited about this collaboration.” — carteblanche
The result sits somewhere between Topic's established dance sound and a more band-oriented approach to songwriting. Rather than beginning with a dance production and building a song around it, Lucky Ones started as a song in its own right before Topic transformed it into a dance record.
That distinction gives the single its character. It retains the immediacy and rhythmic drive of Topic's productions while allowing more space for atmosphere, melody and the understated optimism at the heart of the song.
With Lucky Ones, Topic isn't simply revisiting an earlier sound. Instead, he is connecting the emotional foundations of his early work with a newer interest in indie pop, resulting in a track that feels both familiar and like a natural next step.
