Dreams, nightmares of an Australian duo
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Çetin Cem Yılmaz
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Nisan 15, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL -One of the year’s most eagerly anticipated new acts, Australian pop duo Empire of the Sun sings about dreams and recreates a science-fiction-movie-like atmosphere on its debut record, ’Walking on a Dream.’ But the band has some nightmares too.
Like every other band, Australian pop duo Empire of the Sun has big dreams. But Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore like to take their relations with dreams a little too far. Releasing its debut record, "Walking on a Dream," to international acclaim earlier this year, Empire of the Sun distinguishes itself with pop music tinged with retro elements and occasional musical references to ’70s-style psychedelic sounds.
The duo’s appearance is also a key factor in the band’s image. They wear grotesque costumes and weird make-up to give them the look of belonging in a science-fiction movie set in an unknown place and time. That’s not a surprise, given that their name clearly evokes the J.G. Ballard novel or the Steven Spielberg movie of the same name, but Steele had something else in mind when coming up with the moniker.
"Partially, yes," Steele responded, when Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review asked him if the band name came from being a fan of Ballard or Spielberg. "But the main thing was we liked huge, colossal things. We wanted to come up with a title that makes you think of big things."
Boring comparisons
If not from films or novels, then, from where does the band draw its influences?
"I get my inspiration from dreams. Dreaming is important for me, like everybody else," Steele said. "Young people dream of the future, old people dream about the past. Everybody dreams!"
Steele wants to recreate the mystic atmosphere of dreams with his songs - and saying that Empire of the Sun comes close to achieving that several times does justice to the band’s music. From the moody "Country" to the sad closing track, "Without You," the Australian duo has created a handful of heartfelt tunes that are likely to leave the listener with that same inexplicable feeling as waking up from a good dream. However, Steele wants to do better. "I dream of composing the best song ever written," he said.
Â
So, when did he come closest to that?
"I would say ’Without You,’" Steele responded after a long pause. "It is a sad, dramatic, but really beautiful song for me."
"On the other hand, I could say ’Walking on a Dream,’ too," he added.
After all this talk of dreams, the subject turned to one of the pair’s biggest nightmares. Almost every review of the band mentions MGMT, a duo that enjoyed massive success last year. Similarly to Empire of the Sun, MGMT dwells in the points where electronic pop converges with psychedelic music and has a distinctive image, but Steele is not a big fan of that comparison. "Aah, it’s boring," he said. "I find those comparisons boring, and I think they are a result of lazy journalism. Yes, we are two people making electronic music and wearing different clothes, but we are not the same band. Last time I checked, the page views on Empire of the Sun’s MySpace page had already passed those of The Sleepy Jackson after all those years."
The duo’s appearance is also a key factor in the band’s image. They wear grotesque costumes and weird make-up to give them the look of belonging in a science-fiction movie set in an unknown place and time. That’s not a surprise, given that their name clearly evokes the J.G. Ballard novel or the Steven Spielberg movie of the same name, but Steele had something else in mind when coming up with the moniker.
"Partially, yes," Steele responded, when Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review asked him if the band name came from being a fan of Ballard or Spielberg. "But the main thing was we liked huge, colossal things. We wanted to come up with a title that makes you think of big things."
Boring comparisons
If not from films or novels, then, from where does the band draw its influences?
"I get my inspiration from dreams. Dreaming is important for me, like everybody else," Steele said. "Young people dream of the future, old people dream about the past. Everybody dreams!"
Steele wants to recreate the mystic atmosphere of dreams with his songs - and saying that Empire of the Sun comes close to achieving that several times does justice to the band’s music. From the moody "Country" to the sad closing track, "Without You," the Australian duo has created a handful of heartfelt tunes that are likely to leave the listener with that same inexplicable feeling as waking up from a good dream. However, Steele wants to do better. "I dream of composing the best song ever written," he said.
Â
So, when did he come closest to that?
"I would say ’Without You,’" Steele responded after a long pause. "It is a sad, dramatic, but really beautiful song for me."
"On the other hand, I could say ’Walking on a Dream,’ too," he added.
After all this talk of dreams, the subject turned to one of the pair’s biggest nightmares. Almost every review of the band mentions MGMT, a duo that enjoyed massive success last year. Similarly to Empire of the Sun, MGMT dwells in the points where electronic pop converges with psychedelic music and has a distinctive image, but Steele is not a big fan of that comparison. "Aah, it’s boring," he said. "I find those comparisons boring, and I think they are a result of lazy journalism. Yes, we are two people making electronic music and wearing different clothes, but we are not the same band. Last time I checked, the page views on Empire of the Sun’s MySpace page had already passed those of The Sleepy Jackson after all those years."