Luke Steele missed his Empire of the Sun bandmate Nick Littlemore when he went solo.
The 'We Are the People' hitmakers are back with their first new album for eight years 'Ask That God' and Luke revealed that things weren't the same without his collaborator after he decided to walk away from the partnership during the coronavirus pandemic.
Luke told The Sun newspaper: "We are recharged and ready to go. After 'Two Vines' (2016 album) we got quite exhausted and everything stopped working. Nothing was gelling.
"At the start of the pandemic, I was instrumental saying, 'That's it, I'm done, I'm leaving.' I told Nick, management, the record company that the band was over. That I was never doing another record. And I left."
The 44-year-old artist continued: "I made a solo record and moved to northern California, but then piece by piece, I started to realise what I was missing and what was so beautiful about Empire in the first place.
"I'd work with people and think, 'That's cool, but it's not working with Nick,' and then start falling back in love with Empire again.
"Then Nick and I got back in the studio, and it really has been great. The hardest part of being in a band that's had success is there really is extreme pressure.
"With Empire, when the spirit is right, we sound like nothing else. We've made a few albums now and so we've broadened the palate with this record and it feels good."
Luke has promised fans that it won't be another eight-year wait for the electronic pair's next album as his relationship with Littlemore is stronger than ever.
He said: "Our relationship is the best it's ever been. We both now have families, so when we get into the studio, it's down to business. Our earlier years were the hardest – there was so much built-up emotion, ambition and ego.
"But I love the way we work now – we are hungrier more than ever and we know what we are doing now. We've made four records but we've made hundreds of songs. We have three or four folders of Empire rarities. We have a real work ethic and I am so proud of us. We are always trying to find the next rare gem.
"And that's why fans won't have to wait another eight years for another album after 'Ask That God'. We are trying to keep the train moving."
