Empra

Released: 06/04/2011

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Reviews

“Puts your mind on the edge, then serves it up with glorious RAWK!” The Age

“The moments of rock genius are prolific and almost overwhelming” Rave Magazine

“Every track is absolutely amazing and phenomenal” The Hard Rock Show

“A stage presence reminiscent of Guns N’Roses with a down-to-Earth likability” Forte Magazine

Achievements

This album gave me my first song on national rock radio rotation in Australia, “Doesn’t Make Much Sense“. We then followed up with “Like A Runaway“, “Only Love“, “I Won’t Give Up” and “One of these Days“. Five singles stayed on the radio for a combined total of NINE months!

Behind the Music

This album launched EMPRA’s 7-year career! We began to tour across Australia, South East Asia, and later in the USA. But completing the album was a nightmare.

We had to record the album twice! On the first try, we didn’t know what the hell we were doing and ended up in a studio in Brunswick working with a producer who was a drunk! It was an absolute shithouse of an experience! But since we had waited so long for his lazy arse to mix the album, we had written better songs and solidified a kick-ass band lineup that was performing these songs way better than in the initial recordings.

It made sense to re-record it, but this time, we went straight to Melbourne’s rock legend producer, Ricky Rae, who saved this album’s life! Working with a professional, we recorded everything in just ten days and mixed it over another two weeks at his Lighthill Sound Recording studios. One of the highlights on the album was having multiple Grammy winner Wally de Backer aka GOTYE playing amazing keys and creating atmospheric soundscapes on the closing track, “Sabrina“. The other highlight was recording a “hidden” track about the producer that screwed us over together with other singers from bands he screwed over as well! It was a hugely cathartic experience and the perfect way to end the amazing sessions.