The dynamic duo of Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore met in the year 2000 having both been signed to EMI and being introduced by A&R representative Simon Moor. The pair collaborated on their solo projects with Littlemore providing songwriting assistance on Steele’s band The Sleepy Jackson’s debut album, and Steele assisted on Littlemore’s art-rock project Teenager.
Littlemore is also of the electronic dance outfit Pnau alongside guitarist and producer Peter Mayes. Pnau’s self-titled album reunited Steele and Littlemore and the three crafted a luscious vocal-centred album, which led to the creation of Empire of the Sun.
The band’s name which has long been attributed to the J.G. Ballard novel “Empire of the Sun” or the Spielberg film of the same name, actually refers to empires of civilisations where the sun is the theme of worship, that the band feels connected to.
Despite living in different parts of Australia the two entered the recording studio with Peter Mayes and produced their debut album “Walking on a Dream” in October 2008. The album debuted at No. 8 and peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Albums Chart, led by the singles “Walking on a Dream” and “We Are the People”. Empire of the Sun earned mainly positive reviews for the album, drawing comparisons with MGMT.
The band’s follow-up, 2013’s “Ice on the Dune” was led by the single “Alive”, which featured a music video produced by Kelvin Optical, Inc., of Bad Robot. The album received slightly poorer reviews than its predecessor however along with the release the band announced they would be scoring the soundtrack for the Jim Carey sequel “Dumb and Dumber To”.
I've seen Empire of the Sun twice now, once at Virgin Mobile Freefest 2011 in MD and once at EDC Chicago 2013. During my first encounter, I was just waiting for them to finish their performance so the artist that I really wanted to see could come on stage. Long story short, I fell in love with these artists, and it was my fate to be at that stage early so I could be moved by such beautiful music. These artists are definitely unique, with beautiful costumes and sets that made me wish I discovered Empire of the Sun much sooner. My second encounter was much more magical, because I actually knew who these people were, yet I was still swept off my feet by a most enchanting spectacle. It's hard to describe what it means when something is magical, but all I can say is that these performances are so worth any sacrifices one might have to endure. What I enjoyed most about the show was when the lead singer, Luke Steele, jumped off stage and stood over the railing that held back the crowd. Hearing his voice so close would be enough to drive even the shiest person wild, in a good way! I still remember his metallic silver costume, and I will never forget how amazing the show was. I won't be any more specific for fear of spoiling the show for true fans who have yet to watch Empire of the Sun perform. I will just give one more insider, and it is that Empire of the Sun shows these days are PACKED. So one might not have as much room to dance as he or she hoped. My advice is to arrive early if you want to be close to the stage, otherwise be ready to watch them from far away.
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