Empire of the Sun releases new effervescent song ‘High and Low’

Electronic music duo Empire of the Sun shared their latest pulsating single “High and Low” on KROQ and Zane Lowe’s shows on Beats 1. “High and Low” is the newest song from their forthcoming LP, “Two Vines,” which will be out on Oct. 28 via Astralwerks.

The lead single, “High and Low,” is a slow-building elation with “the summer and the late nights last forever.” It’s complete with big drums, grand synths and magical ambient sweeps that even Luke Steele sings wistfully: “If I had my way / Never let you go.”

“It was about this girl I knew when I was a kid called Alice D who was kind of a wild child,” Empire of the Sun’s Nick Littlemore spoke to Stereogum about it.

“She did all kinds of crazy things. There’s an Australian film called 'The Year My Voice Broke,' I don’t know if you’re familiar with it, but there’s a girl in that that kind of lives a mysterious life. We wanted to write a song that captured the innocence and bravery of youth, and being a teenager, and having these kinds of experiences where you throw caution to the wind and you try things for the first time. ”

The album “Two Vines” features prolific and well-known artists such as pianist/arranger Henry Hey and bassist Tim Lefebvre, two musicians who worked on David Bowie’s “Blackstar.” The new LP also features contributions from Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and Prince and the Revolution's Wendy Melvoin.

“Two Vines” was recorded partly at Honolulu, Hawaii’s Avex Studios, where rapper and composer Kanye West worked on 2010’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”

“Going to Hawaii to record was the best idea,” Steele told Rolling Stone. “That was the catalyst for me. I’d spend the morning surfing, then roll in and make music into the night.”

“Two Vines” will be released on Oct. 28.