Artist
Empire Of The Sun
Why we feature this artist A private dream on a very bright stage Empire of the Sun put fragile melodies inside extravagant electronic scenery. The visual world is deliberately theatrical, but the best songs do not need it to work. Luke Steele’s voice can soun…
- From
- Australia
- Sound
- Electropop, synth-pop, dance-rock, electro-rock
- Active
- 2007–present
Start with the music
Tracks to explore
The artist, in context
The story of Empire Of The Sun
Why we feature this artist
A private dream on a very bright stage
Empire of the Sun put fragile melodies inside extravagant electronic scenery. The visual world is deliberately theatrical, but the best songs do not need it to work. Luke Steele’s voice can sound exposed even when the production around him is glowing, giving the music an interesting distance between spectacle and feeling.
The first shared world
Steele and Nick Littlemore brought different musical backgrounds into the Australian duo, with the first album Walking on a Dream arriving in 2008. The title track and “We Are the People” made the central appeal clear: light rhythmic movement, bright synth colour and melodies that carry a little uncertainty inside their lift.
The album is more varied than those two singles suggest. Its quieter passages make the large choruses feel like places the songs have travelled towards, while the production mixes contemporary electronics with older pop and soft-rock textures.
Making the picture wider
Ice on the Dune in 2013 took a more forceful dance-pop direction, with “Alive” acting as a particularly direct introduction. Two Vines followed in 2016, continuing the interest in warm harmonies and an unusually polished electronic landscape.
The first two albums work well together because they show the change in scale without losing the emotional centre. Empire of the Sun can make a song feel immense, but Steele’s phrasing often leaves a small, vulnerable figure inside it. That contrast gives the music something more lasting than its spectacular first impression.
Essential releases
Walking on a Dream
The first complete world, with the title track and “We Are the People” as clear entry points.
Ice on the Dune
A brighter, more forceful expansion into dance-pop.
Two Vines
Warm harmonies and layered studio detail broaden the palette.