Tag Archives: Empire of the Sun

Video: Favored Nations – “The Setup”

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The record features sounds as diverse as the bouncy basslines and disco vibes of the title-track to the gentle acoustic guitar strumming and mellifluous vocals found on “That’s Not Who We Are.” – Spin

“Amazon explores a diverse range of style and beats within three tracks while managing not to disrupt the flow of the album as a whole.” – In Your Speakers

Back in June, I posted about my newest love, Favored Nations. And I am thrilled to share the music video for another one of their tracks. Check out “The Setup” below.

“The Setup” will be familiar to anyone who made it to the end of Grand Theft Auto V. Where GTA is all sun, people, and action, the music video for the game’s finale track is foggy, dazed, and striking. However, what the two have in common is powerful, memorable visuals of fantasy.

The product of a night out in the city of angels, Favored Nations has accomplished quite a bit since they cut their first demos in early 2012. Their accomplishments thus far aren’t too surprising since the trio is made up of some very familiar and beloved men on the dance music scene. James Curd is one of the most sought after remixers in the genre and he founded the group with singer Morgan Phalen, whose voice was featured on Justice’s psychy second LP Audio Video Disco. Curd then added Surahn Sidhu, touring bass and guitar player for Empire of the Sun, to the mix.


On July 1st Favored Nations released their second EP Amazon via Jupiter Clique.

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Newest Love: Intergalactix

Photo credit: CJ Brion

Photo credit: CJ Brion

Hailing from Australia, multi-instrumentalist production duo Intergalactix consists of longtime friends & collaborators Kristian Attard & Serg Dimitrijevic. An interstellar combustion of music, space travel & vintage devices, the two collided at the beginning of 2013 in Los Angeles. Intergalactix have just announced their debut EP, IWSOM – set for release August 12th! IWSOM is a rich & melodic electro-indie record that propels the listener deep into otherworldly dimensions where futuristic-synth-visions reign supreme. You’ll enjoy it if you like Empire of the Sun.

Intergalactix Tuesday

Listen: Intergalactix – “Tuesday”

IWSOM EP cut “Tuesday” is surefire summer dance hit, filled with infectious vocals, layers of beats & a deliciously catchy anthemic chorus.

Intergalactix have been working behind the scenes for more than a decade on projects with the likes of Cool & Dre, Good Charlotte, Jason Mraz, Heart, Earth Wind & Fire, Kelis, Allen Stone, Ariana Grande & Pras Michel (The Fugees), as well as Aussie heavyweights Jimmy Barnes & PNAU.

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Newest Love: Favored Nations

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“It’s a joy; it’s a breeze. Blast it”  – Stereogum

“With a sound that’s ideal for hazy afternoons spent spinning in the sun or warm nights with the wind in your hair, Favored Nations deserves a prominent spot in your summer playlist.”  – BlackBook

“Musically it’s as smooth as the flesh on a lady’s inner thigh—100% Steely Dan vibes on a kicky nu-disco tip. We love.“  Noisey

The product of a night out in the city of angels, trans-Atlantic trio Favored Nations has accomplished quite a bit since they cut their first demos in early 2012. They release of their first EP, Blame Game, was met with critical acclaim. Then, Rockstar Games used their song “The Setup” for the finale in their hugely popular video game Grand Theft Auto V.

Their accomplishments thus far aren’t too surprising since the trio is made up of some very familiar and beloved men on the dance music scene. James Curd is one of the most sought after remixers in the genre and he founded the group with singer Morgan Phalen, whose voice will sound familiar to anyone who listened to Justice’s psychy second LP Audio Video Disco. Curd then added Surahn Sidhu, touring bass and guitar player for Empire of the Sun, to the mix.

For the past few months the three have been working through touring commitments, solo projects, and the space of an ocean to construct a new EP. On July 1st Favored Nations will be releasing their second EP Amazon via Jupiter Clique. Yesterday, Stereogum premiered the lead single “Amazon,” which they deemed “a joy” and “a breeze.” This lead single will soon be receiving a music video before the EP is released.

Listen: Favored Nations – “Amazon”

“Amazon” is an energetic track, built on frantic rhythms and soaked in catchy guitar riffs. The song blazes its way through the fun-filled three minutes fifty leaving you with no other choice than to play it again. If “Amazon” is L.A, then “That’s Not Who We Are” is definitely the Bahamas – sun soaked rhythm guitar accompanied by sample heavy drums and an infectious summer vibe. The EP is then finished out with “The Setup,” a track familiar to those who were able to play their way through Los Santos. All in all, the whole EP is cause for a cold drink and a good time.

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Elton John vs. Pnau project

The album Good Morning To The Night came out via Casablanca on July 17th, and now Casablanca is putting out the deluxe edition on September 25th. The Australian duo Pnau (also known from their breakthrough side-project, Empire Of The Sun!) has re-invented some early classic 70’s Elton John on Good Morning To The Night. Elton John signed Pnau after listening to their record a few years ago, and now with his blessing, a selection of Elton’s old masters have been re-imagined into an album featuring their recreations of his classic songs between 1970-1976.

Check out two brand new remixes from the project below!

 

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Video: MIKA – “Celebrate” ft. Pharrell

MIKA has just released the video for “Celebrate”, from his forthcoming album The Origin of Love, due out on Universal Republic on October 16. “Celebrate” is an epic slice of cool modern pop that is already a hit in Europe. The song was written by Mika and produced by Nick Littlemore from Empire of the Sun and features Pharrell Williams on vocals. Mika recently performed it at the Olympics.

Mika has commissioned a short film to accompany one of the songs from the new album. “Make You Happy” which can be seen by clicking here. Another track from the album Elle Me Dit was released in France last year, reaching #1 and becoming one of the biggest tracks of summer there.

A further Mika composition from the album writing sessions ‘Gang Bang’ features exclusively on Madonna’s new MDNA album, a track which she has widely praised as her favorite song on the record.

Mika spent most of 2010 and 2011 on a massive Global tour playing hundreds of shows to sell-out audiences across Europe, Asia and North America. He will be debuting songs from the new album at his shows this summer. There will be a US tour this fall.

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Empire of the Sun & Jay-Z!?!

Empire of the Sun’s debut album Walking on a Dream (which I reviewed here) has done extremely well, especially in the UK. Now, Jay-Z has asked frontman Luke Steele to collaborate on his new album, The Blueprint 3.

From Spinner.com:

It’s pretty impressive for a band that has yet to play its first show. They’re finally going to add that to their resume as well, at the end of this month when Empire of the Sun performs a string of festival dates across Australia, beginning Sept. 26 in Brisbane.

“I’ve kind of designed the show like a movie,” Steele tells Spinner. “It’s like a 3-D movie. There’s narration and there’s lots of dance, and so it kind of takes you on a journey like the record does and goes to a lot of different places. It’s a cross between a movie and a live band show.”

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Remember My Last Post?

Ha! Well, silly you…if you don’t — it’s right underneath of this one!

Anyways, I wrote a bit more about Empire of the Sun on Pop Damage’s website. You can check it out here!

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The Whitest Boy Alive on the Empire of the Sun

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Today I’m going to tell you about 2 tracks that I haven’t gotten enough of for the past few days.

I expect that the first one, you may know about. Empire of the Sun’s “Walking on a Dream”. It’s been on the blogs the past few months. I actually wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first, but now I love it. You know what I love even more? The Van She remix. If you are a Hype Machine user/lover, go plug it into the search on their site and give it a listen. Or just click here, lazy ass.

NEXT order of business:

The second song that I have (both are on constant repeat) for you to check out is The Whitest Boy Alive’s “Golden Cage” (Fred Falke remix). Yeaaaaah! This one I expect less people to have heard, but if I may say, I love it more than the previously mentioned Van She mix.

So, today after work when I get home…I will be a dancing fool. Out of my golden cage, and walking on the sun…getting ready to party and bring in the New Year.

Hope everyone does the same. Dance to only those two songs. But, if not; more importantly, have fun and be safe!

Cheers! Happy New Year!

This is you tomorrow: happynewyear-2000

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