After an 8-year pause, when Empire of the Sun announced their new album, "Ask That God," many wondered why the band decided to start a new now and in this form. In response, one of the group's founders and lead vocalist, Luke Steele, said that all these years of silence were actually a process of passive preparation for a new stage, not just a pause:

"We worked together for more than 20 years and built this tower called Empire of the Sun.. Then we realized it was time to rest.. It was like giving up on dreams, but it was necessary then, so that later we could return and see why we loved all of this so much."

To understand how this tower or empire was built, which became a shelter for millions of people years ago, we must return to the initial pages of history.

Empire of the Sun is an Australian musical project that combines the creative visions of Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore. Luke Steele was also the vocalist of the rock band The Sleepy Jackson for years, while we know Nick Littlemore from the well-known trio Pnau. Their musical visions first intersected in 2007, when Luke Steele worked with a friend on Pnau's composition "With You Forever." After this, it was decided that the creative synergy discovered between the two musicians should grow into a longer and more interesting collaboration.

"They say our band couldn't exist without David Bowie's influence, but that's not true.. If there was no Bowie, there would be someone else from whom we would receive inspiration, because we look for sources of inspiration in everything" – says the duo, besides Bowie's style, at the early stage of their collaborative project, Empire of the Sun was also influenced by Phoenix and Daft Punk, which is why in their music we equally find elements of electronic music, synth pop, and electro rock.

Initially, another PNAU member, Peter Mayes, was actively involved in the project, but due to the chaotic work environment, he couldn't contribute to the studio work. In 2007, Steele and Littlemore worked intensively on their debut studio album, which saw the light of day soon after. "Walking on a Dream" - that was the name of the duo's first album, where we find compositions such as "We Are the People," "Without You," and of course "Walking on a Dream."

This album immediately became a hit,  not only by its very relevant sound for that period (electropop, alternative rock), but also by the theatrical and visually meaningful statement that the band had. Littlemore always noted that beyond sound and visual style, the message that music should carry is very important:

"When creating music, we always have the intention that there should be a spark of hope in it, a ray of light that will help people"

It's strange, but despite an unimaginably lucky start, the band found it very difficult to maintain stability, which was mainly due to Nick Littlemore. He believed that when music reaches an audience, it no longer belongs to the author. Consequently, he didn't have much motivation to perform his own compositions with the band. Because of this, Luke Steele noted in an interview with Australian media that his colleague "left him alone with the child."

While Littlemore was developing his ideas with Elton John and Cirque du Soleil, Luke Steele began appearing with the band at various concert venues and festivals. This continued until 2011, when Empire of the Sun announced that the duo was ready for new studio challenges, which could even grow into a big tour.

The soundtrack for this announcement turned out to be the composition "Alive," which was a very big gift for fans of "Walking on a Dream," as it was a fact that the band had not abandoned the musical identity with which they made the audience fall in love with them. The group members noted that the emotion coming from the listeners did not allow them to forget the main mission of Empire of the Sun:

"When you hear stories from people about how important your music is to them, then you feel why what we do is special"

Finally, in 2013, we saw the album "Ice on the Dune," which, in addition to the band's characteristic traditional sound, also placed great emphasis on the aesthetics of disco and glam rock. In an interview with NME at the time, Luke Steele even compared the album to Daft Punk's record "Random Access Memories": "They have a better marketing campaign, we have better songs."

It's worth noting that despite many interesting compositions, "Alive" overshadowed all other elements of the album; it was played in various video games, commercials, films, and TV shows. After this, they didn't delay and in 2016 published another album, "Two Vines," where we find collaborations with various musicians:

"Over the years, both Luke and I have worked with different musicians, which was a very big experience for us. This gave us the opportunity to invite strangers into our space and involve them in that sacred process called writing music"

One of the album's compositions, "High And Low," became the soundtrack for the computer game FIFA 17 and reached millions of people's rooms. This allowed the band to become relevant to a new generation and offer their musical vision to the younger generation as well.

However, as often happened, Empire of the Sun surprised listeners once again with their unexpected decision - they disappeared without a trace for several years. However, it should be noted that the Covid-19 pandemic played its part in this, because as the musicians noted, it was unimaginable for them to share musical ideas and create something interesting through video calls. Consequently, in 2022, Luke Steele released a solo album, and a year later, the band recorded "AEIOU" with Pnau, but this wasn't what their fans were expecting from them. It seems the main surprise was still ahead - the album "Ask That God," which became the beginning of a big return.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, the band evaluated the new record as follows: "This album and journey is radically different from anything we've done before. This is the meeting point of our inner and outer worlds, which expresses the big changes that have happened in our consciousness in the recent period.

The album earned positive reviews from critics. They said that alongside traditional musical visions, the band still manages to maintain musical intrigue, which doesn't give the listener a chance to get bored. Their shows are a separate topic, which, as Luke Steele says, finally resembled what they had been trying to achieve for years.

The best opportunity to see, hear, and experience all of this on an emotional level will be this year at the Black Sea Arena's Front Stage in Shekvetili.

Follow The Stars on 27 August, Black Sea Arena Front Stage | Tickets