New Empire (band)

New Empire was a rock band from Sydney, Australia. The band members were Jeremy Fowler, Kale Kneale, Kyle Lane and Nate Cairns.^[1] Up until late 2011 they also had a touring guitarist and keyboardist, Thom William.^[2][3] The band played at Black Stump Music and Arts Festival between 2005 and 2009, also appearing at Big Exo Day for a number of years. Their debut album, titled Come with Me Tonight, was released in August 2008. In 2009 they found themselves opening for headline act Relient K. In 2010 they opened for Stan Walker and Hillsong United as part of the Youth Alive tour. On 27 December 2010, it was announced on the band's Myspace and Facebook pages that Sam Walker had parted ways with the band.^[4] Throughout April 2011, they toured Australia as a supporting act for Good Charlotte.^[5]

Later that month, they served as a supporting act for Switchfoot at their Sydney show.^[6]

They played as the supporting act for Owl City for his "All Things Bright And Beautiful" tour, in Australia.^[7]

On Monday, 14 March 2011, the band released the song "Here in Your Eyes" from their upcoming album on YouTube and iTunes. On Wednesday, 29 June 2011, their second single from the upcoming album Give Me the World was released on YouTube and iTunes.

It was officially announced on Thursday, 7 July 2011 that Kyle Lane would be the newest member of New Empire, playing on bass.

On Saturday, 9 July 2011, whilst at their Brisbane concert, part of the Here in Your Eyes Tour, Jeremy unofficially announced the name of their upcoming second album. It was later officially announced on Thursday, 14 July that the new album was to be titled Symmetry. It was released on 16 September.

In October and November 2011, they toured Australia in support of their "Symmetry Tour" with supporting acts, For Our Hero, and A Sleepless Melody.^[8]

Late 2011 saw the departure of Thom William as their touring guitarist and keyboardist to work on his career as a producer and writer.

In January 2012, New Empire performed in New Zealand at the annual Parachute Music Festival, along with The Almost, The Rocket Summer, Relient K and Casting Crowns.

On 7 April 2012, while at Easterfest, Jeremy announced that their song "One Heart/Million Voices" had been selected as the official theme song for the 2012 Summer Olympics on Australian TV.^[9]

The band made a surprise appearance at the Black Stump Music and Arts Festival in 2012.

On Tuesday, 6 November 2012, New Empire officially released a statement regarding the departure of Peter Gillies from the band. Kyle Lane, who was originally the bass player, was also announced as the new lead guitarist as that is his preferred instrument.

Kyle Lane and Jeremy Fowler played a "secret" acoustic show at Easterfest 2013 at Bon Amici Cafe.

New Empire have now officially been signed with record label Tooth and Nail Records.

In April 2014, New Empire released their full 3rd Album entitled 'In A Breath'. As part of their promotions, New Empire will hold a concert tour 'In A Breath Australian Tour 2014' from June–July 2014.^[10] The band will also be joining the Hope Revolution Tour in North America as a front act artist.^[11]

On 11 August 2015, New Empire announced on Facebook that it was "time to call it a day for New Empire. The past ten years have been by far the best, most rewarding (and the most challenging) times of our lives." .^[12] A final tour - 'The Final Tour' was announced for October 2015.

New Empire's final tour, Give Me the World, concluded at the Factory Theatre in Sydney on the 24th October in front of a sellout crowd. The support act was 'Gus & Iggy', and 'I am Apollo'. The set list for New Empire included songs from each of the 3 albums, some of which were performed in their original, pre-recording formats. The final concert was officially filmed by Inaburra Media to make an upcoming live DVD, release date and official name TBD. This show also had a special guest performance from manager and former guitarist Pete Gillies in their song "Across the Oceans". The show finished with One Heart/Million Voices, their most famous piece. There was an official signing outside by the band members, past and present,with dedicated fans queuing for hours.

"From the day New Empire began as 19 year old kids in Kale’s Cronulla garage, we have seen the band totally as a gift from God to create music we love, inspire others to do likewise, and hopefully love everyone we encounter along the way. I can't begin to describe our love and respect for our fans and friends - you who have shared in this journey with us around the world - from road tripping in an RV around Nth America rotating night driving shifts and trying not to die, to touring with many artists we admire, to unforgettable weekends camping at Parachute and Easterfest festival communities back home. It's been a privilege to rock out with you in your car, through headphones during the morning run, or at a venue late into the night. We love you.

So now you are invited to join us for one last time, 'The Final Tour' as a final celebration together in Australia and New Zealand. We're determined to make this tour the best we've ever done, and we'll be playing many songs from all three albums this October. We're also really excited to be partnering with Love Mercy Foundation ^[13] who are an incredible charity organisation doing phenomenal work changing lives in Uganda, Africa.

Our final music video and single 'In a Breath' will be released today. It is dedicated to you, and especially anyone who has lost a loved one far too early in this life. To our parents - Robyn, Karen, Janice and Ross - we love and miss you. Thank you for your love and support. It's been wild. Jeremy, Kale, Kyle and Nate."

New Empire's songs "Across The Oceans" and "A Little Braver" were both featured as original soundtracks in the Korean drama "Uncontrollably Fond", which aired in 2016.

Band members

Discography

Albums

• Come with Me Tonight (21 August 2008)
• Symmetry (16 September 2011) No. 39 AUS, No. 23 NZ
• In A Breath (18 April 2014) No. 28 AUS

Come With Me Tonight (2008)

1. Take Me Back
2. Come With Me Tonight
3. Follow
4. The Voice
5. So Far Away
6. Colours From Black and White
7. If He Hurts You
8. Lucentia Uno
9. Hero
10. The Secret

Come With Me Tonight (Deluxe Version) (2010)

1. Take Me Back
2. Come With Me Tonight
3. The Summer Sky
4. Hero
5. Follow
6. So Far Away
7. If He Hurts You
8. Lucentia Uno
9. The Voice
10. Colours From Black And White
11. The Secret

Symmetry (2011)

1. Across The Oceans
2. Train On Time
3. Give Me The World
4. Ghosts
5. Tightrope
6. Worth The Wait
7. Starcaise
8. Long Way Home
9. Here In Your Eyes
10. Imagination
11. One Heart / Million Voices

(Bonus Tracks)

1. Give Me The World (Acoustic)
2. Staircase (Acoustic)

In A Breath (2014)

1. Tale of Jonah
2. Relight the Fire
3. The Sun Won't Sleep
4. Say It Like You Mean It
5. In A Breath
6. Wise Fox
7. Fallen Soldiers
8. Left Behind
9. A Little Braver
10. Outshine The Brightest
11. Relight The Fire (Acoustic)

Singles

• "The Summer Sky" (24 February 2010)
• "Hero" (9 March 2011)
• "Here in Your Eyes" (14 March 2011)
• "Give Me the World" (30 June 2011)
• "Ghosts" (12 September 2011)
• "O Holy Night" (12 December 2011)
• "One Heart / Million Voices" (30 April 2012)
• "Relight the Fire" (1 December 2012)
• "Relight the Fire (Northie Remix)" (12 April 2013)
• "Say It Like You Mean It" (Pre-release Streamed 6 Sept 2013)

Live Recordings

• Live DVD - Name TBD (Release Date TBD)

References

External links

• New Empire on Facebook