Monday, August 26, 2013

Empra - Strange Condition

Speaking of strange conditions, yes I'm still here, trying to be there. Things are improving all the time. Just having to get back on the horse again.

 I get many promo types of e-mails containing videos, tracks etc. To be honest many are just not my type of tunes or groups. I say " thank you" and hit delete. This one is from a group that I've never been exposed to and I liked the videos animation and thought the tune was a little catchy.

 What do you think?


Here is what they have to say:

With a Vanda & Young songwriting award nomination, recent shows abroad with Fall Out Boy and global LiveNation band competition win under their belt, Australia’s EMPRA are stepping up to the next level with ‘Strange Condition’ and a national tour.

Not many bands have been banned from their home country. A tirade of swearing on stage, resulting in a riot shutting down a music festival is enough to do it in Singapore and for EMPRA’s Sanny Veloo, it was an interesting introduction to the music industry with his first band Boredphucks.

Banished from performing with them in his home country and heading to Melbourne (because it was the home of AC/DC of course), the scene for EMPRA’s creation was set. Veloo’s early years in the Australian scene were equally eventful, with the death of a best friend and bandmate, the embezzlement of his life savings by an unscrupulous studio owner, the shattering of his elbow after a fall off a Marshall stack and a number of false starts with various lineups, before EMPRA was born in 2010.

Obviously taking the easy way out with learning names, Veloo found three guys on an internet forum all called Matt (bandmates Matt Agius, Mat Gault, and Matt Cattanach) and EMPRA was born.

Their first self-titled LP turned heads, with its single “Doesn’t Make Much Sense” getting spins on radio across the country and resulting in showcases in the US. In April, it was announced that the band were the global winners of band competition hosted by global promoters LiveNation, pocketing some cash and international representation.

The band headed quickly into the studio with Haydn Ing (Calling All Cars), laying down what would become the new EP Strange Condition. With the band’s songs showing a new depth, while retaining the hooks and accessibility of their previous work, the EP is a new beginning for a band breaking free of the shackles of their influences and creating a sound based on great songs and the experience of relentless touring around Australia and beyond.

Strange Condition has already made waves, even before its release, with EMPRA shortlisted as a finalist for the prestigious Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition. The video for the track has been created by Oh Yeah Wow (Gotye, British India) and is an immediate head-turner.