He looks like a psychedelic emperor from a planet where the sun never actually sets. If you’ve seen a music video in the last fifteen years, you know the face. The towering headdresses. The metallic face paint that looks like it was applied by an alien shaman. The ornate, futuristic capes. But behind the theatrical mask of the Empire of the Sun lead singer is a guy named Luke Steele, and honestly, he’s one of the most fascinatingly singular figures in modern music.
Steele isn't just playing a character. For him, the line between reality and the "Empire" is incredibly thin. He doesn't just clock in, put on a crown, and then go home to watch Netflix in sweatpants. He lives in the aesthetic.
Who is Luke Steele, anyway?
Long before "Walking on a Dream" became the unofficial anthem of every summer festival on Earth, Steele was a bit of a wunderkind in the Australian indie scene. He grew up in Perth. His dad, Rick Steele, was a local blues legend, so music was basically in the DNA. It wasn't always synth-pop glory, though. Before the glitter, there was The Sleepy Jackson. That band was way more alt-rock, more grit, more "Brian Wilson having a breakdown in the 70s" vibe.
The Sleepy Jackson gave us a glimpse of what the Empire of the Sun lead singer would become. He was already obsessed with melody, but he was also famously difficult to work with. He’s a perfectionist. A total visionary who sees things in colors and shapes that most of us just don't get. When he teamed up with Nick Littlemore of Pnau to form Empire of the Sun in 2007, people thought it was a side project. A joke, maybe? Then the music dropped.
The sound was massive. It was "high-art-meets-dance-floor." While Nick Littlemore handles a lot of the production and studio wizardry, Luke Steele is the face, the voice, and the soul of the operation. He’s the one standing on stage under 40 pounds of headgear while hitting those crystalline falsettos.
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The weird truth about the costumes
People always ask if the costumes are just for show. They aren't. Steele has mentioned in several interviews, including chats with NME and Rolling Stone, that the visual element is a protection. It’s a suit of armor. When he becomes the Empire of the Sun lead singer, he’s tapping into a different frequency.
He draws inspiration from everywhere. Samurai films. Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain. Old David Bowie records. It’s a maximalist approach in a world that, for a long time, was obsessed with being "relatable" and "low-fi." Steele hates relatable. He wants magic. He wants the audience to feel like they’ve stepped into a portal.
Actually, the "Emperor" persona is so intense that it famously caused friction between the two members. For a long time, Littlemore didn't even tour with the band. It was just Steele and a troupe of dancers, carrying the entire weight of this imaginary world on his shoulders. That kind of commitment is rare. You see it in someone like Lady Gaga or Prince, but in the indie-electronic world? It’s almost unheard of.
Making the music: It’s not just synths
If you strip away the gold leaf and the dancers, the songs are actually incredibly well-crafted pop music. That’s the secret. You can have all the bells and whistles you want, but if the hook isn't there, nobody cares.
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- Walking on a Dream: That guitar riff? It’s iconic. It’s simple, but it feels like nostalgia you haven't lived yet.
- Alive: This track is pure adrenaline. It showcases Steele’s ability to write an anthem that works in a stadium but also sounds great in a car at 2 AM.
- We Are the People: This is where his songwriting shines. It’s melancholic. It’s got that yearning, "end of the world" feeling that he does so well.
He records in some pretty wild ways. For their third album, Two Vines, they recorded at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles—the same place where Fleetwood Mac made Tusk. Steele is obsessed with "the ghost in the machine." He wants the equipment to feel alive. He’s been known to spend days just trying to get a specific vocal take to sound like it’s floating in space.
The gap between albums and the 2024 comeback
There was a long silence. For years, fans wondered if the Empire of the Sun lead singer had retired to a desert island or perhaps ascended to another dimension entirely. Between Two Vines (2016) and their 2024 return with Ask That God, the world changed. Steele moved to Northern California. He started a family. He even released a solo acoustic album, Listen to the Water, which was a huge departure.
That solo record was important. It showed the man behind the curtain. No synths. No face paint. Just a guy with a guitar and some heavy thoughts. It proved that he didn't need the Empire to be a great musician, but it also made the eventual return of the band feel even more explosive.
When they finally dropped "Changes" in 2024, it felt like they hadn't missed a beat. The world was ready for some escapism again. We’re living in pretty heavy times, and the Empire offers a way out. It’s "imagination as a weapon," as Steele has put it.
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Why he matters in 2026
We live in an era of "playlist-core" music. Everything sounds a bit filtered, a bit safe. Luke Steele is the antidote to that. He’s a reminder that pop music can be weird. It can be grand. It can be slightly ridiculous and deeply moving at the exact same time.
The Empire of the Sun lead singer represents a breed of artist that is becoming a bit of a lost art: the totalist. Someone who controls the sound, the look, the stage, and the mythology. He’s not interested in being "the guy next door." He’s the guy from the temple on the moon.
What you should do next
If you really want to understand the depth of Luke Steele’s work, don't just stick to the hits. You have to look at the evolution.
- Listen to The Sleepy Jackson’s Lovers. It’s the raw version of his genius. You can hear the melodies trying to break out of the garage rock shell.
- Watch the "Music on the Desert" live performances. You’ll see that the theatricality isn't a gimmick; it’s an endurance sport. The way he moves and interacts with the dancers is choreographed but feels spontaneous.
- Check out his 2022 solo work. It provides the necessary context for his voice. When you hear him without the electronic layers, you realize just how unique his tone actually is. It’s thin, piercing, and incredibly emotional.
- Explore the 2024 album Ask That God. This is the modern evolution. It’s sleeker, but it still has that signature Steele "weirdness" that keeps it from feeling like generic radio pop.
Steele remains one of the few artists who treats the stage like a sacred space. Whether he's playing to 50,000 people at Coachella or recording in a shed in the woods, the commitment to the "Empire" is absolute. He hasn't compromised the vision for trends, and that’s probably why, nearly two decades in, people are still captivated by the man in the crown.
Take Action: Start by listening to the deep cuts on Ice on the Dune. Tracks like "Surround Sound" show a more experimental side of the band that often gets overlooked in favor of the big singles. Understanding the sonic architecture of those lesser-known songs is the best way to appreciate the true craftsmanship of the Empire of the Sun lead singer. After that, track down the music videos in chronological order; it's a visual masterclass in world-building that most modern artists can't touch.