Empire Of The Sun Announce Highly-Anticipated Second Album 'Ice On The Dune'
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Written by Elliott Batte
Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun have announced their long-awaited and hugely-anticipated return to music today, with new album ‘Ice on the Dune’.
In 2008, two of Australia’s leading musician/producers - Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore - created a vision that seemed to come from an alternative reality: a post-apocalyptic psychedelic adventure known as Empire of the Sun.
The resulting album 'Walking on a Dream' went on to sell over a million copies worldwide, spawning the singles 'We Are the People', title track 'Walking on a Dream', 'Standing on the Shore', 'Without You' and 'Half Mast'. Two BRIT nominations (including Best International Album), eight ARIA awards (including Album of the Year), and many more accolades followed.
Now, five years later, and the band have returned with their latest LP offering ‘Ice on the Dune’, and they’ve unveiled this statement ahead of it’s release in June later this year.
'Once, the world was pure. It was the Emperor and the Prophet who kept it thus. Each day, they charted the sun’s course across the sky, guided rivers down from mountain peaks, brought rains to quench raging fires.
With the aid of their four priests, who possessed spirits of wild animals, they travelled the world tirelessly, maintaining nature’s delicate balance, allowing all things to grow and flourish -- always with the aid of the sacred jewel held atop the Emperor’s crown...
But one night, as the Emperor slumbered, recovering from his labours, true darkness appeared. The King of Shadows, ever the bitter foe of the Empire, and all it had achieved, crept into their temple. Craving the Emperor’s power, he stole the jewel from his crown-- and in an instant the world was changed.
Robbed of the bulk of his power, the Emperor and the Prophet watched helplessly as their temple was torn asunder, and their priests cast far out into the world.
But even in that moment, when all appeared lost, there was one thing that the King of Shadows black heart simply could not have imagined... The Emperor and the Prophet have never abandoned hope.'
Empire of the Sun became equally known for their colourful and creative music videos, having chalked up a total in excess of 40 million YouTube views. This time around, the duo have taken their vision to another level as seen in the trailer (entitled ‘Discovery’) for the forthcoming album which was revealed today - you can check out the trailer below!
As well as their music and it’s videos, the Empire live show became the highlight of many summer festivals with its larger-than-life production featuring jaw-dropping visuals, dancing swordfish girls, cryo-bazookas, and other-worldy special effects. SPIN praised the band’s 2011 Coachella performance, observing: “The easiest way to blast off wasn’t with MDMA, LSD, peyote, or any other mind-expanding drug. It was with sci-fi Australian dance outfit Empire of the Sun, whose set at the Outdoor Theatre was out of this world.”
The show will hit the road again from May 2013 and the band have been confirmed as headliners for UK arts-led Wilderness Festival on 9th – 11th August 2013. Stick with Stereoboard to stay up-to-date on the band - we’ll let you know their plans for the summer! For now, check out their website here.
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