Mel Blue

Sydney electronic pop duo Mel Blue have shared their hypnotic debut album Sanctuary Point (Nettwerk). Over the course of fifteen songs, Oscar Sharah and Luke Gerber capture the euphoric energy that led to their musical journey. Inspired by a writing trip on the coast of Australia, each song has an air of excitement and the feeling that anything is possible. Danceable beats coalesce with swirling synth lines, and floating vocals to create the perfect soundtrack to a late-night dance party or a summery coastline drive.

Mel Blue’s Luke Gerber elaborates: “Sanctuary Point feels like such a snapshot of our young adulthood. There is so much exploration and experimentation sonically, and this is paralleled in the album’s themes. Mel Blue is such a safe space for Oscar and I to lean on each other, and do so through a creative outlet. There is a huge spectrum of emotion in this album for us, and that’s so representative of our friendship. There is pure, unadulterated silliness and joy, but there is also devastating heartbreak. We have been there for each other for everything in between these experiences during our 20s, and Sanctuary Point is the sonic representation of that.”

To celebrate the debut album release, Mel Blue announces a run of tour dates in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney in April 2024.

Along with the new album, Mel Blue highlights “Swolsen’s,” one of the duo’s earliest compositions, and shares the accompanying music video.

At the core of Mel Blue are producers Oscar Sharah (vocals) and Luke Gerber (bass), who created the band as an alter-ego. Shortened from “melancholic blue,” Mel Blue grew out of a side project that captured Sharah and Gerber’s fascination with clashing emotions. Reminiscent yet present, lost yet grateful, melancholic yet content, Mel Blue is the point where all these feelings collide. Sharah and Gerber themselves are two sides of the same coin, one bringing pop sensibility and the other an indie-dance edge, together forming a uniquely personal sound.

Despite being relative newcomers to the indie-electronic scene, Oscar and Luke have been writing and producing together for the better part of ten years. After a period of experimentation and growth the duo found their voice in 2018. Luke describes this time as a moment of “clarity” for the two, an experience that ultimately sowed the seeds for their debut album.

“We went to the holiday home of an ex-boss of Oscar’s for about a week. This place is on New South Wales’ South Coast, in a suburb called Sanctuary Point. Having so much time to focus on music and be bold in our creative choices was totally liberating and life changing.”

It’s no surprise the duo’s debut takes its name from that defining moment in Mel Blue’s formation. “That trip really put us on our path musically,” Luke affirms. “And given that Mel Blue is such a sanctuary for the two of us, we felt there couldn’t be a more fitting title to our first body of work. The album ties together all the music we’ve released, and a way for us to round off the Pt.I EP.”