Empire of the Sun (band)
Encyclopedia
Empire of the Sun is an Australia
n electronic music
duo that formed in 2008. The duo is composed of Luke Steele of The Sleepy Jackson
and Nick Littlemore
of Pnau
. The two met in 2000 after both being signed to the same record label. Luke and Nick knew that they instantly had a chemistry like no other. However, their commitments to The Sleepy Jackson (Luke Steele) and Pnau (Nick Littlemore) caused them to take different paths in their musical careers. It wasn't until 2008, after Luke had finished touring for the second Sleepy Jackson album (Personality: One was a Spider. One was a Bird) that Nick called Luke and asked him to be part Pnau's third album. Nick and Luke both admit that the two had something between them, which allowed them to work so well together, it was then that they created Empire of the Sun.
The duo achieved chart success with their first single "Walking on a Dream
" which peaked at number ten on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart
and reached number sixty four on the UK Singles Chart
.
Their debut album, also titled Walking on a Dream
, was released in October 2008, and to date has been certified platinum in Australia and has spawned the top 25 hit "We Are the People
". Empire of the Sun has gained mainstream media attention for gaining fourth position on the BBC
’s annual Sound of Music poll 2009. They are currently signed to EMI
Australia
and Virgin
UK.
met in 2000 after being introduced by Steele's A&R executive, Simon Moor, in a bar in Sydney
. Both were at the time signed to EMI
and had already been working on their own independent projects, however they instantly became friends and almost immediately decided to begin a collaborative music project together. Their first collaboration was "Tell the Girls That I'm Not Hangin' Out", which appeared on The Sleepy Jackson
's 2003 debut album, Lovers.
However, the pair fell out when Steele chose to use a different version of the song. Littlemore later told Rolling Stone Australia
"I’m a very intense person and I take things to heart." They reunited for two songs on Pnau
's self-titled album Pnau
in 2007 - "Freedom" and opener "With You Forever". Littlemore has commented "when [Peter Mayes and I] wrote 'With You Forever', I knew straight away I had to send it to Luke. A day later, he called me up and sang the whole thing over the phone to me." These initial sessions sparked what would later become Empire of the Sun (under the working title of Steelemore).
As Steele was living in Perth
at the time and Littlemore was in Sydney
for the next few months the pair independently continued to write songs for the project and organized meetings in Sydney where they decided on the album's musical direction and style. Eventually the pair went into the studio with Peter Mayes to record the final material, all of which was entirely produced by themselves.
Although the name of the project has been attributed to the 1984 novel of the same name
by J. G. Ballard
, Littlemore denies this and offers an explanation, saying, "the name comes more from the idea of (and you'll see this in the ongoing videos) the fact that we're traveling around the world going to all the places of empires of the civilization where the sun has been a theme of worship. It's not based on the Ballard novel nor the Spielberg film of the same name."
, the album was released on 4 October 2008. Prior to its release six tracks were put up on the social networking site MySpace
for fans to listen to.
The album debuted at number eight on the ARIA charts
and eventually peaked at number six.
Their first single titled "Walking on a Dream
" was released digitally on 30 August 2008. The single received airtime from many Australian radio stations and has since reached #10 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart
, breaking the record for the longest time taken for a single to reach the top 10. It has as well been released as a free single on 21 April 2009. The second single released off the album, entitled "We Are the People
", peaked at number twenty-four on the ARIA Charts. In September 2009 this song was used in an American advertising campaign for Vizio
televisions. The third single, "Standing on the Shore
" was released on iTunes
on 12 June and for general release on 23 June. The video was filmed in Lancelin in April 2009. After an article released lately, it was announced that "Without You
" will be the 4th single for Empire of the Sun. The video was filmed in FOX Studios in Sydney, Australia and has gained positive responses due to its changed tempo and strong emotion. The single is due to be released in late September.
Critical response to the album has been mixed, generating a score of 60 on the review aggregator Metacritic
. Martin Robinson in his review for NME
described their debut as "silly but their songs demand to be taken seriously, just like Prince
, Ultravox
and Bowie
. And yes, they're like MGMT
– in that they're great." Under the Radar also rated it favourably describing it as "a highly visual experience".
Rolling Stone Australia
awarded the album a positive 3.5 out of 5, describing it as "gorgeously plaintive electro-pop", but noted "the gold is harder to find in the record’s hazy second half".
However some critics were less satisfied with the pair's debut. Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian
rated it 3 out of 5 stars, applauding the duo's unpredictability, but wished "they would calm down a bit". Popmatters were also underwhelmed by the album, claiming "Unfortunately, despite the well developed '80s image, the music emulated is not anything worth reviving."
's Sound of 2009 poll.
Empire of the Sun appeared for the first time in a Triple J Hottest 100
with two entries in the 2008 countdown
: "We Are the People
" at number 68 and "Walking on a Dream
" at number 4. On 22 July 2009, Empire of the Sun made a special broadcast in conjunction with the solar eclipse that occurred on that day, which included a sneak preview of their forthcoming performance at the Parklife Festival in Australia. Luke Steele performed "Breakdown" and "Swordfish Hotkiss Night".
Contrary to previous suggestions that they would remain a studio band, Empire of the Sun performed live, alongside Lady Sovereign
and La Roux
, at Australia's Parklife Festival during September/October 2009.
In September 2009 Luke Steele revealed that his Empire of the Sun bandmate Nick Littlemore had been missing for five months and that he would also be performing a series of upcoming shows in the duo's native Australia solo. Asked whether Littlemore was still a member of the band, Steele said: "I really don't know, hey, he's just left me with the baby." However on 26 November 2010, Littlemore, in an interview with internet music site The Music Network, said, "I talked to Luke (Steele) the other day; we’re doing a new record. We’ve already written a couple of tunes. You know when it’s right I guess."
In July 2011 Nick Littlemore announced that Empire of the Sun had gone into the studio at the end of June to begin working on a second Empire of the Sun album. In an interview with Confidential, he explained that he and Steele had not, as reported, fallen out, but that Littlemore had been heavily involved in writing music for Cirque du Soleil and was therefore unable to tour. However, while playing a track from the new album to the interviewer, Littlemore confirmed he would "come on board this time, actually come together and tour."
"Walking on a Dream" had been nominated as Song of the Year at the 2009 Australian Performing Rights Association awards.
Empire of the Sun were nominated for 6 awards at the 2009 ARIA Awards
. They were nominated for Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Best Group, Best Pop Release, Best Selling Single and Best Selling Album, winning all but the Best Selling awards. Luke Steele also performed "Walking on a Dream" at the event. Empire of the Sun also received an additional 5 nominations (for Producer of the Year, Engineer of the Year, Best Video and Best Cover Art) as part of the Artisan Awards section of the 2009 ARIA Awards, the winners of which were announced on 10 November, prior to the official ceremony. They won all but 2 of these awards, one nomination of which (for "We Are the People") was in the same category (Best Video) they won in for "Walking on a Dream".
In October 2010, "We Are the People" was used as the soundtrack for a Vodafone TV commercial in Germany and went to No. 1 on the Official Media Control Charts.
The group played their first American show at Lollapalooza
in Chicago's Grant Park on 6 August 2010 and are set to play their first South American show in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
"We Are the People" is included on the soundtrack for the 2011 film The Roommate
and "Walking on a Dream" is included on the soundtrack for the 2011 film Hall Pass
.
According to an 25 October 2011 article in Prefixmag.com, Luke Steele confirmed that work is already underway on a new Empire of the Sun album with Nick Littlemore and Donnie Sloan.
nominations were announced on 8 October 2009. Empire of the Sun received the most nominations of any artist, with a total of eleven. The winners were announced on 26 November 2009 with Empire of the Sun winning in seven categories.
|-
| rowspan="11" | 2009 || rowspan="2" | Walking on a Dream || Album of the Year ||
|-
| Highest Selling Album ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | "Walking on a Dream" || Single of the Year ||
|-
| Highest Selling Single ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | Best Video (directed by Josh Logue for Mathematics www.xy-1.com) ||
|-
| "We Are the People" ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | Empire of the Sun || Best Group ||
|-
| Best Pop Release ||
|-
| Empire of the Sun and Donnie Sloan with Peter Mayes || Producer of the Year ||
|-
| Aaron Hayward & David Homer from Debaser || Best Cover Art ||
|-
| Peter Mayes || Engineer of the Year ||
ARIA AWARDS 2010
The Aria Awards 2010 nominations were announced on 28 September 2010. The winners are announced on November Sunday 7 November 2010.
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2010 || rowspan="1" | Half Mast || Best Pop Release ||
|-
| rowspan="1" | "Walking on a Dream" || Most Popular Australian Album (Fan Voted) ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | Accidents Happen Soundtrack - Luke Steele, Empire of the Sun and The Middle East || Best Original Soundtrack/cast/show album (Fine Arts Award) ||
are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA).
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2010
|| "We Are the People" || Song of the Year ||
|-
| Luke Steele, Jonathon Sloan, Nick Littlemore – Empire of the Sun || Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year ||
|-
| "Walking on a Dream" || Dance Work of the Year ||
Surahn Sidhu - Guitar, Backing Vocal and Percussion.
Tony Mitolo - Drums.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
duo that formed in 2008. The duo is composed of Luke Steele of The Sleepy Jackson
The Sleepy Jackson
The Sleepy Jackson are an Australian alternative rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia. The band's name was inspired by a former drummer who was narcoleptic. The band revolves around the distinctive vocal style of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Luke Steele...
and Nick Littlemore
Nick Littlemore
Nick Littlemore is an Australian musician and producer, known as frontman of electronic act Pnau and one part of electro pop-duo Empire of the Sun . He is also member of art-rock band Teenager Nick Littlemore is an Australian musician and producer, known as frontman of electronic act Pnau (with...
of Pnau
Pnau
Pnau is an Australian dance music duo originating from Sydney, Australia. The duo consists of musicians Nick Littlemore and Peter Mayes...
. The two met in 2000 after both being signed to the same record label. Luke and Nick knew that they instantly had a chemistry like no other. However, their commitments to The Sleepy Jackson (Luke Steele) and Pnau (Nick Littlemore) caused them to take different paths in their musical careers. It wasn't until 2008, after Luke had finished touring for the second Sleepy Jackson album (Personality: One was a Spider. One was a Bird) that Nick called Luke and asked him to be part Pnau's third album. Nick and Luke both admit that the two had something between them, which allowed them to work so well together, it was then that they created Empire of the Sun.
The duo achieved chart success with their first single "Walking on a Dream
Walking on a Dream (song)
"Walking on a Dream" is a song by the Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released as the lead single from their debut album, Walking on a Dream. The full Sam La More remix was made available as a free download on the band's official website. The single was successful on the Australian...
" which peaked at number ten on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
and reached number sixty four on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Their debut album, also titled Walking on a Dream
Walking on a Dream
Walking on a Dream is the debut album by Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released in Australia on 4 October 2008 by EMI. The album was produced by band members Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore along with Peter Mayes....
, was released in October 2008, and to date has been certified platinum in Australia and has spawned the top 25 hit "We Are the People
We Are the People (Empire of the Sun song)
"We Are the People" is a song by the Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released as the second single from their debut album, Walking on a Dream. It was released in Australia on 20 September 2008 and debuted at number eighty-five on the ARIA Singles Chart before peaking at number...
". Empire of the Sun has gained mainstream media attention for gaining fourth position on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
’s annual Sound of Music poll 2009. They are currently signed to EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Virgin
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
UK.
Formation
Luke Steele and Nick LittlemoreNick Littlemore
Nick Littlemore is an Australian musician and producer, known as frontman of electronic act Pnau and one part of electro pop-duo Empire of the Sun . He is also member of art-rock band Teenager Nick Littlemore is an Australian musician and producer, known as frontman of electronic act Pnau (with...
met in 2000 after being introduced by Steele's A&R executive, Simon Moor, in a bar in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. Both were at the time signed to EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
and had already been working on their own independent projects, however they instantly became friends and almost immediately decided to begin a collaborative music project together. Their first collaboration was "Tell the Girls That I'm Not Hangin' Out", which appeared on The Sleepy Jackson
The Sleepy Jackson
The Sleepy Jackson are an Australian alternative rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia. The band's name was inspired by a former drummer who was narcoleptic. The band revolves around the distinctive vocal style of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Luke Steele...
's 2003 debut album, Lovers.
However, the pair fell out when Steele chose to use a different version of the song. Littlemore later told Rolling Stone Australia
Rolling Stone Australia
Rolling Stone Australia is an Australian-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published monthly, it is the Australian edition of the United States' Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone was initially released in Melbourne in May 1970 as a supplement in Revolution, an...
"I’m a very intense person and I take things to heart." They reunited for two songs on Pnau
Pnau
Pnau is an Australian dance music duo originating from Sydney, Australia. The duo consists of musicians Nick Littlemore and Peter Mayes...
's self-titled album Pnau
Pnau (album)
-Awards:*The song "Wild Strawberries" placed at #100 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2007*The song "Embrace" placed at #12 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2008*The song "Baby" placed #54 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2008-External links:***...
in 2007 - "Freedom" and opener "With You Forever". Littlemore has commented "when [Peter Mayes and I] wrote 'With You Forever', I knew straight away I had to send it to Luke. A day later, he called me up and sang the whole thing over the phone to me." These initial sessions sparked what would later become Empire of the Sun (under the working title of Steelemore).
As Steele was living in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
at the time and Littlemore was in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
for the next few months the pair independently continued to write songs for the project and organized meetings in Sydney where they decided on the album's musical direction and style. Eventually the pair went into the studio with Peter Mayes to record the final material, all of which was entirely produced by themselves.
Although the name of the project has been attributed to the 1984 novel of the same name
Empire of the Sun
Empire of the Sun is a 1984 novel by J. G. Ballard which was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Like Ballard's earlier short story, "The Dead Time" , it is essentially fiction but draws extensively on Ballard's experiences in World War II...
by J. G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
, Littlemore denies this and offers an explanation, saying, "the name comes more from the idea of (and you'll see this in the ongoing videos) the fact that we're traveling around the world going to all the places of empires of the civilization where the sun has been a theme of worship. It's not based on the Ballard novel nor the Spielberg film of the same name."
Walking on a Dream
After several months of consulting on the material for the album, Littlemore and Steele went into the studio to record their debut album. Titled Walking on a DreamWalking on a Dream
Walking on a Dream is the debut album by Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released in Australia on 4 October 2008 by EMI. The album was produced by band members Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore along with Peter Mayes....
, the album was released on 4 October 2008. Prior to its release six tracks were put up on the social networking site MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
for fans to listen to.
The album debuted at number eight on the ARIA charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
and eventually peaked at number six.
Their first single titled "Walking on a Dream
Walking on a Dream (song)
"Walking on a Dream" is a song by the Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released as the lead single from their debut album, Walking on a Dream. The full Sam La More remix was made available as a free download on the band's official website. The single was successful on the Australian...
" was released digitally on 30 August 2008. The single received airtime from many Australian radio stations and has since reached #10 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
, breaking the record for the longest time taken for a single to reach the top 10. It has as well been released as a free single on 21 April 2009. The second single released off the album, entitled "We Are the People
We Are the People (Empire of the Sun song)
"We Are the People" is a song by the Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released as the second single from their debut album, Walking on a Dream. It was released in Australia on 20 September 2008 and debuted at number eighty-five on the ARIA Singles Chart before peaking at number...
", peaked at number twenty-four on the ARIA Charts. In September 2009 this song was used in an American advertising campaign for Vizio
Vizio
Vizio is a privately held producer of consumer electronics, based in Irvine, California, USA. It was founded in October 2002 as V Inc. Vizio's major partner in the consumer electronics arena is AmTran Technology, a Taiwan-based OEM/ODM that manufactures more than half of the televisions sold...
televisions. The third single, "Standing on the Shore
Standing on the Shore
"Standing on the Shore" is an alternative electroacoustic song performed by the Australian electronic music duo Empire of the Sun and will be the third single from their debut album Walking on a Dream. The single was released in June 2009, along with a cover of the Black Box Recorder song "The Art...
" was released on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on 12 June and for general release on 23 June. The video was filmed in Lancelin in April 2009. After an article released lately, it was announced that "Without You
Without You (Empire of the Sun song)
"Without You" is the fourth single released by Australian electropop duo Empire of the Sun from their debut album Walking on a Dream. The single was digitally released on the Australian iTunes Store on 25 September 2009. The CD single was released in late September...
" will be the 4th single for Empire of the Sun. The video was filmed in FOX Studios in Sydney, Australia and has gained positive responses due to its changed tempo and strong emotion. The single is due to be released in late September.
Critical response to the album has been mixed, generating a score of 60 on the review aggregator Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. Martin Robinson in his review for NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
described their debut as "silly but their songs demand to be taken seriously, just like Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
and Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
. And yes, they're like MGMT
MGMT
MGMT is an American alternative rock band founded by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. After the release of their first album, the members of their live band, Matthew Asti, James Richardson and Will Berman, joined the core band in the studio...
– in that they're great." Under the Radar also rated it favourably describing it as "a highly visual experience".
Rolling Stone Australia
Rolling Stone Australia
Rolling Stone Australia is an Australian-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published monthly, it is the Australian edition of the United States' Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone was initially released in Melbourne in May 1970 as a supplement in Revolution, an...
awarded the album a positive 3.5 out of 5, describing it as "gorgeously plaintive electro-pop", but noted "the gold is harder to find in the record’s hazy second half".
However some critics were less satisfied with the pair's debut. Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
rated it 3 out of 5 stars, applauding the duo's unpredictability, but wished "they would calm down a bit". Popmatters were also underwhelmed by the album, claiming "Unfortunately, despite the well developed '80s image, the music emulated is not anything worth reviving."
In the media
In the UK, they gained fourth position on the BBC News websiteBBC News Online
BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....
's Sound of 2009 poll.
Empire of the Sun appeared for the first time in a Triple J Hottest 100
Triple J Hottest 100
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll, based on the votes of national Australian radio station Triple J listeners, in order to determine their favourite song of the year. Voting is conducted by the internet and begins roughly two weeks prior to the new year for the previous year's songs...
with two entries in the 2008 countdown
Triple J Hottest 100, 2008
The 2008 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on Australia Day, 26 January 2009. It was the sixteenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station, Triple J....
: "We Are the People
We Are the People (Empire of the Sun song)
"We Are the People" is a song by the Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released as the second single from their debut album, Walking on a Dream. It was released in Australia on 20 September 2008 and debuted at number eighty-five on the ARIA Singles Chart before peaking at number...
" at number 68 and "Walking on a Dream
Walking on a Dream (song)
"Walking on a Dream" is a song by the Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released as the lead single from their debut album, Walking on a Dream. The full Sam La More remix was made available as a free download on the band's official website. The single was successful on the Australian...
" at number 4. On 22 July 2009, Empire of the Sun made a special broadcast in conjunction with the solar eclipse that occurred on that day, which included a sneak preview of their forthcoming performance at the Parklife Festival in Australia. Luke Steele performed "Breakdown" and "Swordfish Hotkiss Night".
Contrary to previous suggestions that they would remain a studio band, Empire of the Sun performed live, alongside Lady Sovereign
Lady Sovereign
Louise Amanda Harman , better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is an English rapper & grime artist. She is noted for her professional success in performing styles of music generally dominated by males...
and La Roux
La Roux
La Roux are an English electropop duo made up of singer, keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Eleanor Kate Jackson, and co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid. Jackson describes their relationship as "very much a half and half sharing situation... not like a singer producer outfit", but also...
, at Australia's Parklife Festival during September/October 2009.
In September 2009 Luke Steele revealed that his Empire of the Sun bandmate Nick Littlemore had been missing for five months and that he would also be performing a series of upcoming shows in the duo's native Australia solo. Asked whether Littlemore was still a member of the band, Steele said: "I really don't know, hey, he's just left me with the baby." However on 26 November 2010, Littlemore, in an interview with internet music site The Music Network, said, "I talked to Luke (Steele) the other day; we’re doing a new record. We’ve already written a couple of tunes. You know when it’s right I guess."
In July 2011 Nick Littlemore announced that Empire of the Sun had gone into the studio at the end of June to begin working on a second Empire of the Sun album. In an interview with Confidential, he explained that he and Steele had not, as reported, fallen out, but that Littlemore had been heavily involved in writing music for Cirque du Soleil and was therefore unable to tour. However, while playing a track from the new album to the interviewer, Littlemore confirmed he would "come on board this time, actually come together and tour."
"Walking on a Dream" had been nominated as Song of the Year at the 2009 Australian Performing Rights Association awards.
Empire of the Sun were nominated for 6 awards at the 2009 ARIA Awards
ARIA Music Awards of 2009
The 23rd Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards took place on 26 November 2009 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. The ceremony was telecast on the Nine Network at 8:30pm that night...
. They were nominated for Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Best Group, Best Pop Release, Best Selling Single and Best Selling Album, winning all but the Best Selling awards. Luke Steele also performed "Walking on a Dream" at the event. Empire of the Sun also received an additional 5 nominations (for Producer of the Year, Engineer of the Year, Best Video and Best Cover Art) as part of the Artisan Awards section of the 2009 ARIA Awards, the winners of which were announced on 10 November, prior to the official ceremony. They won all but 2 of these awards, one nomination of which (for "We Are the People") was in the same category (Best Video) they won in for "Walking on a Dream".
In October 2010, "We Are the People" was used as the soundtrack for a Vodafone TV commercial in Germany and went to No. 1 on the Official Media Control Charts.
The group played their first American show at Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
in Chicago's Grant Park on 6 August 2010 and are set to play their first South American show in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
"We Are the People" is included on the soundtrack for the 2011 film The Roommate
The Roommate
The Roommate is a 2011 thriller film directed by Christian E. Christiansen and starring Minka Kelly, Leighton Meester, Cam Gigandet, Danneel Harris, Matt Lanter, and Aly Michalka. It was theatrically released on February 4, 2011. The film is a unofficial remake of the 1992 film Single White...
and "Walking on a Dream" is included on the soundtrack for the 2011 film Hall Pass
Hall pass
A hall pass is a pass or token used in American and Canadian public schools to show that a student has been authorized to be out of his/her classroom while lessons are in progress. They are commonly issued to students if they need to visit the Toilet, if they have been asked to run an errand for a...
.
According to an 25 October 2011 article in Prefixmag.com, Luke Steele confirmed that work is already underway on a new Empire of the Sun album with Nick Littlemore and Donnie Sloan.
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... ) |
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| AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
NZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
FRA Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
NET MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
SWI |
AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
BEL |
ITA Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
IRE Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
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| 2008 | Walking on a Dream Walking on a Dream Walking on a Dream is the debut album by Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released in Australia on 4 October 2008 by EMI. The album was produced by band members Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore along with Peter Mayes.... Released: 4 October 2008 Label: EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... (2354032) Format: CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
6 | 37 | 19 | 60 | 31 | 70 | 15 | 31 | 27 | 25 | 17 |
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Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... ) |
Album | |||||||||||||||
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| AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
NZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
IRE Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
BEL Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
ITA Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
NLD Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
JPN Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
DEN Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
FIN Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
POR Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
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| 2008 | "Walking on a Dream Walking on a Dream (song) "Walking on a Dream" is a song by the Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released as the lead single from their debut album, Walking on a Dream. The full Sam La More remix was made available as a free download on the band's official website. The single was successful on the Australian... " |
10 | 14 | 64 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 21 | 30 | — | 52 | 55 | 13 | — | — | — | — |
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Walking on a Dream |
| "We Are the People We Are the People (Empire of the Sun song) "We Are the People" is a song by the Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released as the second single from their debut album, Walking on a Dream. It was released in Australia on 20 September 2008 and debuted at number eighty-five on the ARIA Singles Chart before peaking at number... " |
24 | — | 14 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 22 | — | 12 | 40 | 1 | — | 33 | 20 | 17 | 2 |
IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... : Platinum IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... : Gold |
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| 2009 2009 in music The following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year... |
"Standing on the Shore Standing on the Shore "Standing on the Shore" is an alternative electroacoustic song performed by the Australian electronic music duo Empire of the Sun and will be the third single from their debut album Walking on a Dream. The single was released in June 2009, along with a cover of the Black Box Recorder song "The Art... " |
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| "Without You Without You (Empire of the Sun song) "Without You" is the fourth single released by Australian electropop duo Empire of the Sun from their debut album Walking on a Dream. The single was digitally released on the Australian iTunes Store on 25 September 2009. The CD single was released in late September... " |
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| 2010 2010 in music 2010 in music may refer to:*2010 in American music*2010 in Australian music*2010 in British music*2010 in Canadian music*2010 in European music *2010 in Irish music*2010 in Japanese music*2010 in New Zealand music... |
"Half Mast (Slight Return) Half Mast (Slight Return) "Half Mast " is a 2010 single release by Australian electro-pop/electronica band Empire of the Sun, released as a digital download available through the iTunes Store in Australia only. The song was taken as the fifth single from their debut album Walking on a Dream... " |
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Music videos
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Walking on a Dream Walking on a Dream (song) "Walking on a Dream" is a song by the Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released as the lead single from their debut album, Walking on a Dream. The full Sam La More remix was made available as a free download on the band's official website. The single was successful on the Australian... " |
Filmed in Shanghai, China. Directed by Josh Logue. |
| "We Are the People We Are the People (Empire of the Sun song) "We Are the People" is a song by the Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun, released as the second single from their debut album, Walking on a Dream. It was released in Australia on 20 September 2008 and debuted at number eighty-five on the ARIA Singles Chart before peaking at number... " |
Filmed at Real de Catorce Real de Catorce The village of Real de Catorce , often shortened to Real is located north of San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and presently has a full-time population of under 1,000 residents... , and Xilitla, San Luis Potosí in Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... . Directed by Josh Logue. |
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| 2009 | "Standing on the Shore Standing on the Shore "Standing on the Shore" is an alternative electroacoustic song performed by the Australian electronic music duo Empire of the Sun and will be the third single from their debut album Walking on a Dream. The single was released in June 2009, along with a cover of the Black Box Recorder song "The Art... " |
Filmed at Lancelin Lancelin, Western Australia Lancelin is a small fishing and tourist town 110 km north of Perth, Western Australia. It is located in the Shire of Gingin at the end of Wanneroo Road , and a few kilometres from the start of the Indian Ocean Drive.... , north of Perth Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000.... , Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... . Directed by Josh Logue. |
| "Without You Without You (Empire of the Sun song) "Without You" is the fourth single released by Australian electropop duo Empire of the Sun from their debut album Walking on a Dream. The single was digitally released on the Australian iTunes Store on 25 September 2009. The CD single was released in late September... " |
Filmed at FOX Studios, Sydney, Australia Fox Studios Australia Fox Studios Australia is a major movie studio located in Sydney, Australia, occupying the site of the former Sydney Showground at Moore Park... . Directed by Josh Logue. |
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| 2010 | "Half Mast Half Mast (Slight Return) "Half Mast " is a 2010 single release by Australian electro-pop/electronica band Empire of the Sun, released as a digital download available through the iTunes Store in Australia only. The song was taken as the fifth single from their debut album Walking on a Dream... " |
Filmed in New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... , USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... . Directed by Nash Edgerton. |
B-sides
| Year | Title | Notes | A-side |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "The Art of Driving" | Cover of the song originally performed by Black Box Recorder, for use in advertising for the BMW Z4 BMW Z4 The BMW Z4 is a rear-wheel drive sports car by the German car maker BMW. It follows a line of past BMW roadsters such as the BMW Z1, BMW 507, BMW Z8, and the BMW Z3. The Z4 replaces the Z3. First generation production started in 2002 at BMW USA's Greer, South Carolina plant, with production of both... . Released in June 2009. |
"Standing on the Shore Standing on the Shore "Standing on the Shore" is an alternative electroacoustic song performed by the Australian electronic music duo Empire of the Sun and will be the third single from their debut album Walking on a Dream. The single was released in June 2009, along with a cover of the Black Box Recorder song "The Art... " |
Other releases
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Romance to Me" | Available as a free download for members of the official Empire of the Sun forum. |
| "Breakdown" | Available on iTunes Australia as an exclusive bonus album track. | |
| "Etude" | Available on Nokia Music Australia as an exclusive bonus album track. | |
| "Girl" | Available on the deluxe 2-disc edition of Walking on a Dream, released on 20 November 2009. |
ARIA Awards
The ARIA Music Awards of 2009ARIA Music Awards of 2009
The 23rd Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards took place on 26 November 2009 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. The ceremony was telecast on the Nine Network at 8:30pm that night...
nominations were announced on 8 October 2009. Empire of the Sun received the most nominations of any artist, with a total of eleven. The winners were announced on 26 November 2009 with Empire of the Sun winning in seven categories.
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| rowspan="11" | 2009 || rowspan="2" | Walking on a Dream || Album of the Year ||
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| Highest Selling Album ||
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| rowspan="3" | "Walking on a Dream" || Single of the Year ||
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| Highest Selling Single ||
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| rowspan="2" | Best Video (directed by Josh Logue for Mathematics www.xy-1.com) ||
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| "We Are the People" ||
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| rowspan="2" | Empire of the Sun || Best Group ||
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| Best Pop Release ||
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| Empire of the Sun and Donnie Sloan with Peter Mayes || Producer of the Year ||
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| Aaron Hayward & David Homer from Debaser || Best Cover Art ||
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| Peter Mayes || Engineer of the Year ||
ARIA AWARDS 2010
The Aria Awards 2010 nominations were announced on 28 September 2010. The winners are announced on November Sunday 7 November 2010.
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| rowspan="3" | 2010 || rowspan="1" | Half Mast || Best Pop Release ||
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| rowspan="1" | "Walking on a Dream" || Most Popular Australian Album (Fan Voted) ||
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| rowspan="2" | Accidents Happen Soundtrack - Luke Steele, Empire of the Sun and The Middle East || Best Original Soundtrack/cast/show album (Fine Arts Award) ||
APRA Awards
The APRA AwardsAPRA Awards
The APRA Music Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia and New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually....
are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
(APRA).
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2010
APRA Awards of 2010
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2010 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards...
|| "We Are the People" || Song of the Year ||
|-
| Luke Steele, Jonathon Sloan, Nick Littlemore – Empire of the Sun || Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year ||
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| "Walking on a Dream" || Dance Work of the Year ||
Live Performance Band Members
Luke Steele - Lead Vocal, Guitar and Keys.Surahn Sidhu - Guitar, Backing Vocal and Percussion.
Tony Mitolo - Drums.