february-2010

STAR STRUCK
EMPIRE OF THE SUN
“It’s amazing how much it [parenthood]
makes you become an adventurer. You can’t
pull out the same trick each day. You have
to invent. I’ve invented so many things: the
fl ying dummy, the tiger that comes out of the
kitchen… it’s the greatest thing to happen to a
guy and a girl.”
2010, he tells me, will fi nally see the family
move overseas, a plan which fell through two
28 FEBRUARY 2010
years ago, “when Snaps fell pregnant”. In March,
they’ll likely fi nd themselves in New York. “I’ve
always felt very at home there. I feel it’s the
right time to work with people that are a lot
better than me, who have been to a lot more
places and seen a lot more things than me.”
And so, Steele fi nds himself once more
on the verge of big things, only on a scale
infi nitely more grand. He’s just striving to keep
Photo: Getty Images
L to R: Tony Mitolo, Luke Steele and
Surahn Sidhu of Empire of the Sun
arrive with Jodi Steele (Luke’s wife)
at the 2009 ARIA Awards at Acer Arena
LUKE STEELE’S
FAVOURITE DESTINATION
Coromandel, New Zealand:
“It’s where all of my cousins live. Skiing,
fi shing, surfi ng, writing songs, drinking nice
New Zealand wines and teas — all of the
good things.”
up with his own mind.
“All of the visions and the imagination have
turned into this ocean. It’s great when you’re
months and months behind your mind, but
when it turns into years — you’ve got a lot
of work to do each day, you know?” He sits
up straight suddenly, eyes bright. “You wake
up thankful to talk and walk and you’re ready
to go.”