st237

MUSIC INTERVIEW

visit jbhifi.com.au/stack

LUKE STEELE INTERVIEW

A breakup, a rekindling, Swedish partnerships, an eight year hiatus, mental fragility and a brother’s plea. But one thing’s for sure, the world needs Empire. THE WORLD NEEDS EMPIRE

as a band as we are so free love. It was such an important song to make. It’s understanding the precious things we have; we are all perfectly wonderfully carefully made, and we’ve got all these things in front of us that we have to realise what we have, rather than looking to the next life, it’s the blessing now, be the image of the best you can be now” This is the first time Empire of the Sun have worked with a group of Swedish writers, up until now they have been a pretty closed shop for 20 years. And this has just added yet another element to Empire. Mentioning to Luke that it’s been a long time between drinks, he gives us quite an honest response. “Empire is such a dramatic band, that right at the start of 2020 I said that’s it, band’s over. Never again. I released a solo album. I was pretty convincing to close friends and family, they were like ‘he’s done’. “The bold stance was a little like the ‘if you love something set it free’, which we did.” He then goes on to describe Empire of the Sun in a beautiful analogy about a castle. Driving away. Telling the workers to go home. Left ignored for months, then years. And it slowly getting overgrown with reeds. But there was always this little candle in one of the rooms, and piece by piece it slowly came back together. “Every time I would see my brother, as he was walking away he’d say ‘the world needs Empire...’ “But for us it gave us a chance to have a break, after having worked solidly for a couple of decades. It was a rebirth, a new era. We changed a few things. And I think we are closer than we have ever been. We’ve grown up. It’s just come a long way. We are older, content, and understand the dynamic of how we work.” Empire of the Sun start their 2024 tour in Sydney in October, and it’s not only going to be the new favourites. “The audience owns the songs. The minute I put them out there I don’t own them anymore. They come to listen to their favourite songs, and we take it really seriously when we are on tour. “The beautiful thing about music and songs is they take on a life of their own. It’s memories people have with them, it’s so precious. Memories are a treasure of the mind, and if you can be a soundtrack for that, it’s incredible.” Trista McConville

Ask That God by Empire of the Sun is out Jul 26 via Universal Music.

Nick Littlemore and Luke Steele

B eing in the company of brilliance is always humbling, and even with the gentle and articulate Luke Steele chatting away with guard down, and raw honesty, we’re still nervously trying to balance our voice. Ask That God , the long-awaited next record for Empire of the Sun, has been on and off in the works for almost eight years. The album has the familiar sound that Luke and Nick have previously shared, but Ask That God has unforced fluidity that’s both intriguing and captivating. “ Ask That God came from a place where you don’t ask the world, don’t ask the algorithm. Don’t be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of the mind.” Luke shares with us. Recently moving back to New Zealand, Luke reflects on the reasons why he has chosen the unsullied and serene Coromandel to be his home. “I’m so fragile, and after living in America for almost 12 years the tension, paranoia, and aggressions started seeping in, and it’s great to be back in such a good place. Like when you are depressed you understand the value of joy. I understand the value of peace”.

It’s interesting that Luke mentions fragility, as album closer Friends is as delicate as petals. “We have had that song for so many years. We first started the record in Tokyo way back in 2017. We were so influenced by the Japanese culture. We loved it, the record was going to be called Techno Tokyo and it took a lot of turns, But that song stayed with us.” As if to solidify the importance in the above statement, the third and most recent release from the album is Cherry Blossom . “We wrote it with Fat Max, one of Max Martin’s writers. I first met him and he said “All these people trying to get everyone into Heaven, when they should be getting heaven into people” I loved that. Pretty much the first thing he ever said to me. It resonated so importantly with us

First album: “Midnight Oil Beds Are Burning ” Most surprising go-to album. “Think this would have to be Pilot”. He then went on to sing a couple of lines of January . Swoon! First musical crush: “Maybe Björk?” First gig: “Midnight Oil. Although I was at their last show as well.” LUKE STEELE

JULY 2024

jbhifi.com.au

8