…NEW ALBUM LAUNCH AT INFEST 2018!
Empirion began life in 1993 at the pinnacle of the acid house scene in the UK.
Having met while out and about on the party scene, Oz Morsley, Jamie Smart and Bob Glennie decided to release their first track upon the unsuspecting public. Jamie was already touring the world as a tour support DJ with fellow Essex boys The Prodigy and was inspired to release the track on their newly created label Wanted Records.
The track “Narcotic Influence” went on to be voted in to the top 100 dance tracks of all time, according to dance music bible Mixmag. They followed this up with 3 more superb slices of techno with “Quark” and the double A side “Ciao & Advanced Technology.”
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The trio were now hot property and it wasn’t long before bigger labels came knocking. Empirion signed with XL Recordings in 1995 and released their debut album “Advanced Technology” in 1996.
They were fast gaining a reputation not only for the strength of their own material but also for their remixes for other bands. Remixes for bands like Front 242, Fluke, Praga Kahn, China Drum, Cubanate and the immense remix of The Prodigy’s “Firestarter” put the band on the front foot towards the late 1990’s.
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They supported the Prodigy throughout Europe as well as racking up many live appearances across the continent before touring America in 1997 as a part of Megadog’s “Big Top Tour” alongside acts like Moby, 808 State, Eat Static, System 7 and DJ’s Grooverider, Derrick May and BT. Touring America was a bitter-sweet moment for the band as member Bob Glennie was diagnosed with cancer shortly before the tour. Being unable to join the band on the road and in the studio, had a huge effect on the band as a whole and as a result Empirion was in a state of limbo. Bob’s battle with cancer ended in 2005. He is sadly missed by all.
This seemed to be the final straw for the band with Oz starting a new band Kloq and Jamie stepping away from the music scene for a while before coming back alongside Victory Pill’s Pete Crossman, in their joint project Controlled Change’ in 2001.
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But it couldn’t end like that…
Fast-forward 5 years to November 2010 and a phone call that would prove to bring Empirion out of hiatus. Jamie was asked to DJ at a Megadog reunion party in Manchester and wheels began to turn. The time just seemed right to move forward and he contacted Oz about turning the DJ set in to an Empirion live show. Oz jumped at the chance and so it began.
With renewed vigour Empirion have reformed and are now setting themselves up to record new material and already have live shows lined up across Europe in the next year.
It seems only fitting that the first new Empirion material to be released for 13 years was a remix for Victory Pill and long time friend of Empirion, Pete Crossman from Pistol Productions at the Carbon Room studio… and how they delivered! Once again the trademark squawks of analogue madness are on show along side pulsating beats and awesome breakdowns.
Empirion are back…and it’s a great feeling!
Since coming out of hiatus Empirion have played some high profile live shows including a headline slot at INFEST in 2015, support for FRONT 242 at Koko London, and exclusive UK dates with newly reformed and long term friends CUBANATE on their Brutalism tour in 2017, where they got the chance to present some of their new material.
Initial plans were to release an EP of the new material but after a heart warming reaction it was obvious that a full length album was immanent, so they headed back into the studio and crafted the rest of the forthcoming album “RESUME”, which is due for release in August 2018, just in time for their welcome return to Bradford…
“RESUME” [rɪˈzjuːm], verb:
To begin again or continue after a pause or interruption.