EMPIRE OF THE SUN
Space Cadets
EMPIRE OF THE SUN are a synth-pop dream team on a mission to take over the music world. TIM NOAKES dons a psychedelic poncho and takes a trip inside their minds to find out more…
Some people think that Empire of the Sun is a novel by J.G.Ballard. Others think that it is a slightly ropey film by Steven Spielberg. And then there are those who think it is a musical spaceship piloted by two odd looking Australians on a mission to save planet pop. In truth, Empire of the Sun is all of these things, but only one of them is capable of making three and half million people dance around their laptops (hint: it’s not Ballard’s audio-book).
What began in 2007 as a musical side project between Luke Steele of The Sleepy Jackson and Nick Littlemore of Pnau, has since transformed into an internet monster thanks to their insanely contagious debut single “Walking on a Dream”, which finally gets released this month across Europe and America. They are convinced the album of the same name will live up to the blog buzz and take over the world. However, some disgruntled YouTubers think that these two blissed out synth popsters are just another MGMT clone with an unhealthy obsession for Fleetwood Mac and prog rock oil paintings. So, what’s the deal? Are they simply glammed up charlatans with their eyes on the filthy lucre?
“Well, we are much more likely to reference Francis Bacon than Rumours,” Littlemore explains from underneath an epic mop of curly brown hair and feathers. “We don’t really listen to records when we are making music. Of course we grew up with it, but we would never try to plagirise Fleetwood Mac. We are making something completely different. This is not a joke. Our heart is in it one hundred percent. This is the birth of a civilisation, the start of everything. We’re giving back everything that is good and taking away everything that is evil. We’ve traveled to Mexico, Shanghai, Iceland, and Africa to learn from their cultures. It’s a continuing evolution for us both spiritually and intellectually. We want to give knowledge back to our audience.”
Such grandiose, slightly preposterous statements are thrown out every minute in EOTS land. And to make matters even more surreal, the dreamy duo are explaining their masterplan infront of a huge green screen in a dingy film studio in dreary Hendon. The closest they’re going to get to another planet today is by popping into Comet on the other side of Edgware Road.
“I got my clothes from a guy called Magic Abdul from Afghanistan,” Littlemore says after selecting a poncho for me to wear for the duration of the interview. “Next time you’re in Kabul we’ll hook you up.”
Outlandish fashion is a key part of their revolutionary plans. Today Mr Steele is rocking a blue kimono and ornate headdress from the Chinese Opera, while Mr Littlemore sports an Arabic tunic and a massive pair of false eyelashes that would make Beyonce green with envy. Contrary to how it may appear in real life and in these specially commissioned paintings for Dazed, Empire of the Sun haven’t spent the day knocking back LSD sugar cubes thinking of elaborate ways to make themselves appear more cosmic. They’ve actually been shooting scenes for a film that will accompany the album – a different a video for each of its 10 tracks. They began by shooting the promo for “Walking on a Dream” in Shanghai (also the setting for Spielberg’s film), with Steele walking along the city streets, releasing doves amidst confused Chinese pedestrians, while Littlemore prayed and pulled at his hair as confetti rained down from the heavens. They then flew to a desert in Mexico to film a piece for their next equally addictive single, “We Are the People”. They chose the location because it was where abstract film director Alejandro Jodorowsky filmed his legendary tale of cowboy dwarf love, El Topo.
“It was nothing but deserts and mountains,” Littlemore recalls. “You know what they say, in the distant mountains is where you find the best peyote…”
“Yeah, but it was a bit freaky,” Steele continues with a frozen look of fear across his face. “We had to get into a ditch. It was where the animals go to die. It was ten feet down with softened edges, so once you’re in you can’t get out. There were these tunnels bearing off where the cougars and coyotes go. It was horrible. If we get into another situation like that we’re are going to have to say something to the director.”
Luckily, today’s shoot only involved CGI animals. They’re particularly proud of a scene where they flew across the sky on the back of a giant eagle.
“There’s been a suffocation of imagination,” Steele says. “What was that Hendrix quote… ‘Music doesn’t lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.’”
It’s quite intense talking to two people dressed like outcasts from a Star Wars convention who quote Hendrix and are hell bent on world domination. When asked if they think Empire of the Sun could ever be mistaken for an MOR band stuck in a K-hole, Steele responds by quoting a long verse from Matthew 16. He explains that he wants to keep his treasures in heaven, not on earth. Quite. But when pushed about the depths of his religious reverie, the bleach blonde singer looks slightly bewildered.
“Religion’s a bad word to us,” he drawls laconically. “We never went to church. Religion is like jail gates. It’s not really about us, we’re just vessels. We are just the ones bringing the cult...”
What, like David Koresh and Jim Jones?
After so many years playing in Pnau and The Sleepy Jackson with moderate success, you can’t help but wonder how the people in their other bands feel about their close-knit partnership and unshakable self-belief in Empire of the Sun.
“Pnau is a band, so that’s cool,” Littlemore says quietly. “I just go and jump around on stage and yell into the mic, whereas Empire of the Sun is a different kettle of fish. We don’t know how epic this can be, but we already know it is starting out to be a big affair. Luke sings melodies like no-one I’ve ever heard or met – there is so much colour. We’ve both reached a point where we wanted to make something better. Before, other members of the band secretly wanted to be the star. This isn’t really like that; it’s much more about creating something much bigger than us. There’s no competition between us.”
“This changes everything. Our other projects are going to have to get better,” Steele says with conviction. “With the past there’s been a lot of negativity. We’ve had to be the leaders of bands and had to be the ministers who keep everyone’s bank accounts happy and all their problems in order. Now I don’t have to worry about that. It clears a lot of space for the art. It’s great to work with some I mutually respect. Nick is like a modern day Kerouac. It’s almost like when your wife makes you a toasted sandwich – it’s always better than when you make it. Unless your wife can’t cook that is…”
Their assistant comes in and tells them that a cab is waiting outside. Taking off his headdress and exposing a platinum hedgehog barnet, Steele picks up his matching white acoustic guitar and runs off some blues riffs while the make-up artist takes off Littlemore’s eyelashes. Squinting into the studio light, he looks completely different, normal perhaps. Tomorrow he will start a UK tour with Pnau, while Steele flies back to Perth to see his wife and daughter Tiger, for whom he wrote the penultimate song on Walking on a Dream, “Tiger By My Side”.
“There’s a great line in that song that says ‘I’m healing scars with my guitar,’” Steele says with the most natural smile of the day. “My daughter is a big fan of ours; although she’s quite subtle with her appreciative dance moves. She’s only four weeks old after all...”
“I don’t know where this is all going to end,” Littlemore says as he swaps his Magic Abdul clobber for some Pnau-friendly jeans and scuffed up white high tops. “You can’t prophesize how things are going to turn out, you just have to go with it. It’s been such a wonderful trip so far and it’s only really just begun.”
©TIM NOAKES 2009
Here’s a video I made of the interview...
