New Empire is an rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band from Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, Australia. The band members are Jeremy Fowler, Peter Gillies, Kale Kneale and Kyle Lane. They also have a touring member, Thom Williams.

History

Fowler and Kneale were friends in high school, Walker is Kneale's cousin and they met Gillies at church. They lived around the Cronulla area, and formed New Empire, under its initial name Freedom1, in 2005. It was discovered that a group in America already had the name Freedom 1, so they came up with New Empire, as the words "sounded good together". The band played at Black Stump Music and Arts Festival

Black Stump Music and Arts Festival

The Black Stump Music and Arts Festival is a four day Christian festival that is held in the Greater Sydney Metropolitan region over the labour day long weekend, often the first weekend in October.-Features:...

 between 2005 and 2009, also appearing at Big Exo Day for a number of years. Their debut album, entitled Come with Me Tonight was released in August 2008. And in 2009 they found themselves curtain opening for headline act Relient K

Relient K

Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Brian Pittman, and Matt Hoopes during the band's junior year in high school and their time at Malone University...

. In 2010 they opened for Stan Walker

Stan Walker

Stan Walker , is an Australian recording artist and actor. In 2009, Walker was the winner on the seventh season of Australian Idol. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia....

 and Hillsong United

Hillsong United

The Hillsong United band is an Australian praise and worship band that originated as a part of Hillsong Church. The band tours the world, performing at the various Hillsong church locations as well as general concert venues. They compose the songs for their own performances and for the other...

 as part of the Youth Alive

Youth Alive

Youth Alive is a not-for-profit multi-denominational Christian organisation dedicated to reaching the youth of Australia with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is run on a state-based structure with offices in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia...

 tour. On 27 December 2010, it was announced on the band's Myspace

Myspace

Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

 and Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 pages that Sam Walker had parted ways with the band. Throughout April 2011, they toured Australia as a supporting act for Good Charlotte

Good Charlotte

Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 1998, the band's constant members have been lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Benji Madden, bass guitarist Paul Thomas and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin...

.

Later that month, they served as a supporting act for Switchfoot

Switchfoot

Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...

 at their Sydney show.

They played as the supporting act for Owl City

Owl City

Owl City is an American electronica musical project by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young formed in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. Young created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement...

 for his "All Things Bright And Beautiful" tour, in Australia.

On Monday, 14 March 2011, the band released the song "Here in Your Eyes" from their upcoming album on YouTube and iTunes.
On Wednesday, 29 June 2011, their second single from the upcoming album Give Me the World was released on YouTube and iTunes.

It was officially announced on Thursday, 7 July 2011 that Kyle Lane would be the newest member of New Empire, playing on bass.

On Saturday, 9 July 2011, whilst at their Brisbane concert, part of the Here in Your Eyes Tour, Jeremy unofficially announced the name of their upcoming second album. It was later officially announced on Thursday, 14 July that the new album was to be titled Symmetry. They band has said they hope to release it by the end of September.

In October and November 2011, they toured Australia in support of their "Symmetry Tour" with supporting acts, For Our Hero, and A Sleepless Melody.

Discography

Albums

• Come with Me Tonight (August 2008)
• Symmetry (16 September 2011) #39 AUS

Singles

• "The Summer Sky" (February 2010)
• "Here in Your Eyes" (March 2011)
• "Give Me the World" (June 2011)
• "Ghosts" (12 September 2011)

External links

• New Empire on Facebook
  Facebook
  Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...