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JJ Abrams Co Helping Empire Of The Sun Build A Mythology

08/08/2013
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(Radio.com) "We have lofty ideas." That's what Nick Littlemore of Australian duo Empire Of The Sun tells Radio.com during a recent interview. Those "lofty ideas" include not only a striking visual identity, but also a mythology that runs throughout their songs�albeit one the Australian duo (Littlemore and singer/guitarist Luke Steele) tends to avoid explaining.

"We wanted to do something that just extended your dreams," is how Littlemore explains his and Steele's elaborate costumes, video storylines and overall visual presentation. "We wanted to create something that kids could believe in."

It's fitting, then, that the band has aligned with J.J. Abrams' production company, Bad Robot. Abrams, after all, has enjoyed creating mythologies of his own, most notably in the TV series Lost.

Bad Robot produced "Alive," the group's first video from their new album, Ice On The Dune. "They're starting to branch out into the music world," Steele explains about Bad Robot, "and our recording studio in Santa Monica was just down the road, and we started hanging out a bit. We started working with their screenwriters to help develop the next part of [our] fantasy and journey."

The band's latest release is Ice On The Dune, and Littlemore adds that they could wind up doing as many as five more videos from the album. To him, Abrams' sense of wonder and mystery is one of the reasons he likes to be in business with the filmmaker.

"I loved seeing this TED talk by JJ," says Littlemore. "He's talking about the concept of a 'mystery box' that his uncle gave him for his tenth birthday. It's just a cardboard box � it says if you open this box, everything you ever wanted is going to be inside it. So he's never opened it! It's still on the shelf in his office." How does Elton John and Iron Maiden figure in their vision? Find that out and watch the video.

Radio.com is an official news provider for antiMusic.com.
Copyright Radio.com/CBS Local - Excerpted here with permission.

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