Empire of the Sun

Taking their name from the J.G. Ballard novel that became a 1987 Steven Spielberg film, Australia's larger-than-life electro-glam-pop duo Empire of the Sun feature the Sleepy Jackson's Luke Steele and Pnau's Nick Littlemore. Steele had previously worked with Pnau on "With You Forever," a track from the band's 2007 self-titled third album, and the pair enjoyed collaborating so much that they started their own project, drawing inspiration from the likes of Phoenix and Daft Punk. In fall 2008, Empire of the Sun released the debut album Walking on a Dream, which the musicians described as "a spiritual road movie." Featuring songs co-written by Pnau's other half, Peter Mayes, the album went platinum in Australia and the title track became a hit single across the globe. After time spent touring, and a period when Littlemore went AWOL to write music for Cirque du Soleil, the duo regrouped in the studio to work on their second album. The unguardedly pop Ice on the Dune was released in early summer of 2013.