Australia’s Empire of The Sun

Australian duo Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore make up Empire of the Sun. Steele, formerly from pop-rock band The Sleepy Jackson, and Littlemore from Teenager come together in what The Times is calling;

a lucid dream-suite of lush melodies and airy beats that recalls Fleetwood Mac, Prince, Bowie and Brian Wilson.

Taking their name from a JG Ballard novel and drawing inspiration from the 1973 cult film The Holy Mountain, Empire of the Sun’s colourful, feather-donning, bead-laden look is part of an indie music backlash.

Littlemore explains:

It’s not about trying to be cool or fashionable or to sell loads of records. It’s about joy and colour and that’s what the world needs right now. They don’t need another set of guys in cardigans singing about how bad the City is.

Instead EOS intend to present their music as part of a visual and theatrical package, releasing a book and playing their tunes alongside dancers and performers.  According to Steele their flamboyant appearance is nothing to hide within Australia’s typically macho-male culture: “Australia is a dark place, built on murder, rape and imprisonment… Someone said: ‘If you want to change the world stop acting like the world.’  We want to be otherworldly.”

Times Online: Empire of the Sun are space cadets from Oz. Cosmic, says Paul Lester

City Life: Empire Of The Sun – a scattering of Ziggy’s stardust