Empire of the Sun Photo Credit: William Barrington-Binns
It’s a new dawn for Empire of the Sun.
The alternative electronic duo of Emperor Steele (Luke Steele) and Lord Littlemore (Nick Littlemore) returns with “Changes,” their first new release in eight years.
Though it points to a new era, “Changes” is classic Empire of the Sun, underpinned by a slapping, dancey- beat and fueled by a joyful synth riff.
On it, Steele sings: “This time we’re going through changes/ This time like not before/ This time we’re going places/ Letting go.”
“Changes” represents “the shifting sands of time, empires rise and fall but the sun shall shine on,” says Littlemore, also a founding member of the Australian electronic trio Pnau. “Come once more into the world we’ve created, delve deeper within and be rewarded with its ever expanding story, each and every one is invited to explore the new era.”
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The new cut is supported with an official music video, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Michael Maxxis, in which our otherworldly heroes arrive via spacecraft on an earth-like planet, fully kitted-up and ready for dancing.
A young lad glimpses the landing and is first on scene, where he is greeted by some spooky ETs and the magic begins. Ominously, the music video wraps with the assurance “to be continued…”
The Empire of the Sun project first rose back in 2008 with the single “Walking on a Dream.” The recording cracked the top 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart (peaking at No. 10), and won single of the year at the 2009 ARIA Music Awards, one of their four victories on the night.
In the U.S., the song had a second life when it was synced to a Honda Civic commercial in 2016, driving it to No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 and powering it to No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs, their second leader on the tally after 2013’s “Alive”.
Career streams top 7.6 billion, including more than 1 billion streams for “Walking on a Dream.”
Empire of the Sun has released three albums, the 2008 breakthrough debut Walking on a Dream, 2013’s Ice on the Dune and 2016’s Two Vines, all of which cracked the Top 10 in Australia.
A fourth might not be too far away. “There’s a lot of great music in the bag. I’m hoping that will see the light of day,” Littlemore told Billboard in 2021. “I have great faith. I don’t feel we have exhausted that well by any stretch. The name still has a lot of goodwill. I really hope we can come together and finish it.”
