Emperors
Genre:
Indie
Region:
Perth, WA
Emperors are fuelled by a love of combining infectious melodies with noisy guitars (3 of them, in fact), their sound is sweet and sour, slow and fast, epic and punchy, and we liked them so much we gave them a gig at the Perth Big Day Out 2010!
Interview: 4 January 2010
Tell us about your music – how did you develop your sound?
When we first started writing, Greg and I had a really clear idea that we wanted to write pop songs that were accessible and memorable. We tried to include as much melody as we could, and went for the huge chorus whenever possible. And while we've both got different musical leanings, our ideas seemed to be glued together by the music we listened to growing up in the 90's.
In terms of the Emperors sound, we only really started developing it when we put the band together. Zoe's a big Kim Deal fan and her harmonies added a lot, and Dave's got a really unique style of drumming. The beats are straight forward but we like to think there's a bit of an 80's punk edge - in the vain of The Replacements or Hüsker Dü. Vaughan was the last member to join the band as a third guitarist. He just came in and started wailing like a mad man underneath it all and we liked it!
The sound is still being developed, and it's bound to keep evolving as the band gets a bit more involved in writing. We have a goal of writing classic sounding 90's indie rock, but we also want to make it refreshing as well. Bands like Manchester Orchestra and Silversun Pickups are bands we admire because of their ability to do that.
What can the Big Day Out audience expect from your live show?
Vaughan might jump off something. Zoe might stare you down. I might punch a cymbal or two. Dayvid might take his shirt off. Greg might be a mass of head banging curly locks. And we’ll probably play some songs too.
Who are you most looking forward to seeing at Big Day Out?
Zoe: Kasabian. Quality catchy pop. Also they are sexy moody geezers.
Greg: The Decemberists because they're one of the more interesting indie rock bands from the last ten years and Sugar Army because they're a good band from Perth and they deserve the attention they're getting at the moment.
Vaughan: The Decemberists because I %#@*$ love them.
Dayvid: Lily Allen, She’s sweet and sassy. It’s pretty cool that a pop star fits on a festival bill.
Adam: I’m really looking forward to The Decemberists, Lily Allen and Ladyhawke. I sure hope they’re not all playing at the same time…
What’s coming up in the future?
We’re currently working on an album and are looking at getting that out this year which we’re pretty excited about! In the not so distant future we’ll be playing around Perth as much as possible and we'll do some east coast shows later in the year too.
Australian music is?
Going to take over the world. In the evil way.