I first heard of Empire of the Sun a few months ago when a local bloghouse DJ started playing the heck out of their music - leading to many requests. The Australian duo contains members of indie/buzz-bands Pnau and Sleepy Jackson and could easily fit with other Australian bands signed to Modular (Presets/Cut Copy) yet they also have a sound similar to MGMT. In fewer words, dreamy and ethereal electronic pop rock.

"Walking On A Dream," their first single was a Billboard Club Chart, reached the top 10 of the UK pop chart, and sold Platinum in Australia. Cinematic videos for the three singles "Walking on a Dream," "We Are the People," and "Standing on the Shore," are all defintiely worth tracking down online.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: How are you doing today?
Nick Littlemore (Empire of the Sun): I'm alright man, how are you doing?

RS: Doing great. So how exactly did you meet up with Luke to form this band?
Empire of the Sun: I met Luke about nine, ten years ago and we did kind of connect well, and he dug what I was doing and I dug what he was doing and we started writing, but then we kind of got torn apart, you know, by the business, as tends to happen.

RS: Yes.
Empire of the Sun: And we've just got back together like gee, I don't know, eighteen months ago, I guess.

RS: And all this kind of exploded out of there.
Empire of the Sun: I guess it’s exploded, I mean everyone says it is. We’re number fourteen in the charts over here this week, it’s kind of cool.

I'm not really paying any attention to it, to be honest.

RS: Are you all gigging a lot or performing the album live, or how are you touring with it?
Empire of the Sun: No, I mean we’re never going to do any shows, we’re meant to be, you know, wait a couple of years, make a few more records and then do like a proper hour and a half show, you know. We've only got thirty-five minutes of music, so it’s not what one would call a body of work as such.

RS: I could see that. It seems also you're focusing more on like on a cinematic element with the music in the videos.
Empire of the Sun: Well, I think Luke and I connected pretty early on in the heart and music means a lot more to me than just notes on a stage, it’s an incredibly all-encompassing journey, you know, so the visual element is equally as important as the musical one.

RS: Because wasn’t one of the videos done in China and the other one done in Mexico?
Empire of the Sun: Yes.

RS: And I read also that it's all based on a movie – are these videos going to be part of a bigger film?
Empire of the Sun: Well yes, I originally wrote a thirty-page treatment for the record- about halfway through making the record I wrote this treatment out of the hero’s journey, for want of a better term. And yes, it all kind of does fit into place, but we have dreams and aspirations; being lowly convict folk from Australia we don't really have any true understanding of finances and how much money is required to make, you know, a cinematic event- something akin to Apocalypse Now or 2001. These things cost money, man, and contrary to popular opinion, we’re not that cashed-up. Although I did fly on my first Gulfstream just about a week ago...

RS: Wow.
Empire of the Sun: It wasn't mine, you know.

RS: The band name, was it inspired by the movie or the book?
Empire of the Sun: Neither. I mean, I like both, I always have and I think they're part of my consciousness, but actually the idea- and then coming back to the videos, it’s about traveling to all the places where the sun has been kind of a figure of worship since ancient times, to China or the emperors and then to Mexico to meet the Aztecs and then, you know, the journey continues onwards.

RS: Very cool. When the two of you collaborate on music, do one of you focus more on the music and the production and one on the vocals, or how do the two of you collaborate with your songwriting?
Empire of the Sun: Well, Luke’s the singer, but I write all the lyrics and we both produce with my business partner, Peter. And that's as strict as it gets, but making music is like making any kind of art form, it is a collision at best, you know. So you want to brace yourself, it’s like when you're teetering right up to the top of a rollercoaster, you just, you actually have to let go. It’s like when you're making love to a girl, if you want to come you have to give into the event, you know, so you just let it happen, let that ride happen, man.