After a decade of consistent output and steady artistic growth in the reggae scene, veteran Saint Lucian singer-songwriter Semi Francis has unveiled his latest release: *In the Mood*, a warm romantic track pulled from his archives of uncompleted work, written years earlier for a past project.
In an exclusive interview with the St Lucia Times this week, Francis opened up about the unexpected origin of his new single. He explained that the song was initially crafted for his previous album *Love Strong*, but got pushed aside as the project wrapped up, never getting the final touches it needed to release. It remained stored away in his personal files until a recent deep dive into his backlog of work led him to revisit the forgotten track.
“This is a song that I wrote a few years ago. It was supposed to be on my *Love Strong* album but when we got to the crunch, we never got a chance to finish it,” Francis said. “So I was going through my files recently and I said, ‘hey, let me revive this song’. So it was just the right time.”
When asked about the core inspiration that drove the writing of *In the Mood*, Francis shared that the track mirrors his long-held personal outlook on life, centered around intentionally cherishing quiet, meaningful moments with loved ones. For Francis, the song captures the magic of building a soft, romantic atmosphere, rather than chasing grand gestures.
“I always look for the best things in life, so even if you don’t have it, you can imagine it and this is what *In the Mood* is all about,” he said. “It is about creating that special moment. You don’t want to do too much talking, you just want to have that nice romantic evening with the person that you love. So, yeah, that’s how the song actually came about.”
For Francis, who has built a reputation as a prolific songwriter over 10 years of continuous music releases, the process of turning a raw idea into a finished song remains one of the most fulfilling parts of his career. He compared the experience of completing a new track to two major life milestones: welcoming a child and earning an academic degree, emphasizing the deep sense of pride that comes from seeing an idea come to fruition alongside collaborators.
“Every song feels like birthing a child,” he said. “Every song feels like a degree, even. It gives you a really good feeling to know that something was a thought and to see the finished product – the process, the people that you actually worked with – when you hear the finished product, you feel really, really good.”
Francis’ musical journey began with a childhood steeped in reggae classics, and he cut his teeth in the industry with the release of his debut reggae single, a cover of Ken Lazarus’ *Put Yourself in My Place*. Today, *In the Mood* stands as the latest milestone in that ongoing evolution, showcasing his consistent growth as an artist.
As the new single begins to gain streaming traction across digital platforms, Francis is already hard at work on his next release, which he teased will lean into the conscious reggae subgenre. True to his annual tradition, he also confirmed that a new Christmas track is in the works for this year, a staple release he puts out for fans every holiday season.
*In the Mood* is available globally now on YouTube, all major music streaming platforms, and Francis’ official website semimusic.com.