Luke Steele has been Walking On A Dream since he penned the 2008 single that would launch his music career and later become an official anthem for Western Australian tourism.
Forming one half of visionary electronic project Empire of the Sun, the Perth-raised musician acts as the group’s international touring frontman, with his creative partner Nick Littlemore doing his best work in the studio.
However, just like dreams, the pair’s journey has not been predictable, or even linear.
In the past two years, Steele, 46, has been on a tear through Europe and North America, preaching the gospel of their 2024 album Ask That God in two separate tour iterations.
Currently rolling out Ask That God: Afterlife, the latest instalment will see the ethereal leader and his supporting band deliver a five-show Australian tour early next year, with a finale at Perth’s RAC Arena on March 6.
But there was almost no second coming of Empire of the Sun, with Steele and Littlemore — The Emperor and The Prophet — taking an eight-year hiatus after 2016 album Two Vines.
Despite penning earlier hits We Are The People, High & Low and Alive, the West Aussie admits he wasn’t sure if they would ever professionally reunite or, if they did, whether they’d catch fire again.
“There were many concerns, I sort of thought everything was over,” Steele tells PLAY from his Texas hotel room.
“I told everyone around the world, all the labels, managers. But that’s always the amazing thing about Empire, Nick and I have this very powerful chemistry and a powerful connection.”
Littlemore also forms half of electronic Aussie group PNAU, and has achieved chart success without his West Aussie collaborator.
Steele says the pair’s magic formula is not necessarily their musical compatibility, but rather a trust in the other to admit when things don’t sound quite right.
“I think you have to surrender everything in a way . . . I’ve worked on vocals for six months sometimes, and Nick’s gone, ‘There’s something about it that’s not working’, and you have to honour that other person’s instincts,” he adds.
Steele likens Empire’s collective force to a “bowerbird” — always picking up new sources of inspiration and material to draw from.
The eccentric performer credits his vibrant outfits and complex artistic tapestry to travel, “doomscrolling” on Pinterest boards, Gaudi’s architecture, other musical genres, and even meals at Michelin-star restaurants.
He admits not everything he absorbs is useful, though.
“The artist is the filter and the one that decides and directs, like a conductor with the symphony, how it all plays out to the world,” he says.
Before he was appreciated beyond our shores, Steele was raised in Perth by a family of musicians after emigrating from New Zealand.
His sister Katy fronts four-piece rock band Little Birdy, brothers Jesse and Jake played alongside him in alternative group The Sleepy Jackson, and late father Rick was a revered blues musician and WA Music Hall of Fame inductee.
Steele says healthy competition at home encouraged him to dream big.
However, he was almost urged to “get a haircut and get a real job” by his father when the reality every battling musician fears became irrepressible.
Ironically, Steele’s prayers were answered when they were directed at someone else.
“On and on and on we are calling out, and out again,” those famous Walking On A Dream lyrics read.
“I had a warehouse over in Osborne Park, and we wrote that song as a prayer for Nick’s girlfriend at the time, who was dying in the Amazon jungle, and the prayer was answered,” Steele recalls.
“She was right on the verge of not making it, and the song became a worldwide phenomenon, and it still is to this day. It just goes to show the power of God, that he can bestow a song on you that can change your whole life.”
Since 2022, his words have been reimagined as the musical embodiment of life in WA, and a promotional message broadcast across the world.
Naturally biased, Steele recognises the State as a “paradise” on Earth, and his professional connection to it as a privilege.
“To be given that honour of the State being named after it is just such a great honour, and we really are Walking On A Dream in WA,” he beams.
Sharing the sentiment of many travelling West Aussies, the notion “there’s no place like home” still rings true for a man who’s seen a lot.
It even formed the basis of his 2026 World Cup tune Llego with Danny Ocean, a song about belonging that anyone, anywhere could connect to.
“One line I wrote in there was like, ‘Beauty always breaks the rules. I was staring at a picture of you’,” Steele says.
“When I came back to Perth from being away for so long, the birds were so vibrant, and it was so sonically stimulating, and the sunset was so crisp and powerful and dramatic, and the nature of Australian people is so calm and relaxed, and the way the country is built with the government, everyone’s quite looked after, it just feels . . . it’s quite a beautiful country.”
Today, dreaming as big as he ever has, Steele is adamant he and Littlemore will not willingly give up what they feel is sacred.
Believed to be working on their fifth studio album, a swathe of new music will likely follow Empire of the Sun’s 2027 tour plans.
For now, the group’s priority is to deliver on their spiritual promise to fans and, in doing so, their responsibility to themselves.
“I think that’s why Nick and I, we just work probably 10 times harder than we’ve ever worked now,” Steele says.
“It’s because when you catch the dream, then you have to honour it and treat it with care. Like they say, the Holy Spirit is like a dove that sits on the shoulder.
“You don’t want to do anything too drastic that you’re going to scare him away, so you treat it with kid gloves.”
Empire of the Sun will be supported by The Jungle Giants and Roi Turbo in Perth.
Empire of the Sun play RAC Arena on March 6. Tickets from Ticketek.
Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.
Sign up for our emails