The Empire Strikes Back

In an era where cardigans and skinny jeans are seen as the height of fashion, it’s refreshing to know that a band like Empire Of The Sun exists in this world. Looking like they’ve crash-landed from space and stolen David Bowie’s old cast-offs to clothe their naked alien bodies, the Australian duo consisting of former Sleepy Jackson frontman Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore of Pnau are like a never-ending acid trip full of colour, glamour and glitter. This month they release their debut album Walking On A Dream and if you thought they looked a little strange, then wait ‘til you hear their music.

“The album is a journey,” begins Luke. “One day at the beach we wrote a script about Nick and I travelling around the world. It’s like a superhero road movie where we meet different cultures and talking animals. Once we latched onto that concept we decided to also make a feature film as well as a record and so far we’ve been able to visit Shanghai and Mexico.”
Fusing elements of MGMT and Tegan and Sara (their current single, also called ‘Walking On A Dream,’ echoes the Canadian twins’ song ‘The Con’) Empire Of The Sun have a huge sound that Luke likes to think is reminiscent of that important time in every young lad’s life – getting your first feel.
“The record is about trying to portray that magical moment when you discover girls,” he smiles. “It’s like when you reach an age where your tongue gets a bit wild and stirs up trouble.”
While their outlandish songs and “strange, transvestite uncle” image might make you think otherwise, the first time Luke and Nick met was a pretty normal affair down at their local boozer.
“We met back in 2000,” recalls the singer. “I’d just signed to EMI and my A&R guy suggested we should hook up, so we met in a bar in Sidney. We got in the studio the next day and did a great session and that was it. We were both kinda nervous but it worked.
“Chemistry is really important with musicians,” he continues. “The problem with songwriters is you might not see eye to eye with people on where a song can go and it can get like a bad science experiment where tables are on fire and the Bunsen burner is burning a hole in your wrist, but this experiment is a good one and it’s been one of those one in a million relationships.”
Even though their debut is only just hitting the shelves, Empire Of The Sun seem like the kind of band who’ve known each other forever. Just take a look at their videos for their singles and you’ll see what we mean.
“We shot our videos in Shanghai and Mexico and it was pretty crazy. As soon as we went to Shanghai I found a dress maker on the third floor of this clothing market and he was this guy with three fingers and his whole family worked there. He made my costume in two days and it was the most beautiful garment I’d ever seen. It was one of those times where I felt like God’s hands were on the project because things worked out so effortlessly.”
For Luke and Nick, image and visuals are just as important as sounds and when Hot Press suggests that perhaps it was a subconscious decision to distance themselves from their previous bands, he completely agrees.
“I always use the example of Tom Hanks. If you met him you’d say ‘oh look, it’s Forrest Gump’. Once the character’s born, it’s not you anymore. It’s a different entity altogether.”
While most of their peers might snub the idea of courting the mainstream and (shock, horror) actually making some money, Empire Of The Sun are refreshingly honest about their plans in ’09.
“I think it’s great that people are tipping us for big things,” he concludes. “We’ve both been trying to make it for years and we see this as our chance. We want to make a huge impact and pump out whatever the deficiency is in the music industry. It’s going to be a fun year.”