I first fell in love with Jean-Philip Grobler, also known by his stage name St. Lucia, after hearing, "We Got It Wrong" when he performed alongside Chiddy Bang, The Knocks and Savoir Adore at Santos Party House earlier in March. Think Peter Gabriel meets Depeche Mode on a beachy vacation. This South African-native, who currently resides in Brooklyn, has a new album that just hit iTunes, and is touring the US for the next few months.
Before he played at SXSW, we asked the stylish singer about the five things that he cannot live without:
1. Good cappuccino: I will readily confess that I'm a coffee addict. Often when you're on the road it's hard to find, but my day is made all the better when I can have a really good cappuccino made from really good espresso. These are first world problems though, so I can definitely cope with a good cup of drip coffee.
2. Bose Quietcomfort 15 Headphones: These headphones are a pretty serious investment, and I actually really don't like the way they look aesthetically, but they sound exponentially better than any other 'hi fi' headphones out there, in my opinion. Also, being able to cancel out ambient noise while you're on the road or in a plane helps your sanity a fair bit. As an added note, since I did this interview a week ago, I just left these in the setback pocket of a flight I was on. I am now a hollow man.
3. Spotify: This site has literally changed everything. We can now think of any song we want to listen to while we're on the road and as long as there's a 3G connection we can have in instantly.
4. Good food & exercise: It is very, very difficult to eat well or exercise when you're on the road. Often you need to drive for the whole day to get to a venue, and even when you're there have very little time to go get a good meal. So, when you can, it feels so good to get something good to eat. A good way to counteract this is just to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, which is a lot more accessible, but it definitely feels amazing to eat something that hasn't been through ten million food factories.
5. Facebook & Skype: My family still lives in South Africa, and I have a lot of friends back home and all over the world who I like to keep in touch with. Facebook can be an awful distraction, but it's also been an incredible way to stay connected with all of the people in my life that I unfortunately don't get to see very often. It's obviously not the same as a face-to-face conversation, but it's the closest you can get.
Check out St. Lucia's hits in our video slideshow below.
