''Walking on a Dream'' is the debut studio album by Australian

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

duo Empire of the Sun, released on 3 October 2008 by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. The album was produced by band members Luke Steele and

Nick Littlemore Nicholas George Littlemore (born 6 May 1978) is an Australian musician, record producer, singer, songwriter and tour manager. As a musician, he is the frontman of the electronic project Pnau, an ex-member of the art-rock band Teenager and one p ...

, along with Peter Mayes and Donnie Sloan. It was recorded and mixed by Peter Mayes at Soundworks Music Studio in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

at various times throughout 2007, with additional recording by Chris Vallejo at Linear Recording, also in Sydney. In 2010, the song “Half Mast” was sampled on rapper

Mac Miller Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...

’s song “The Spins”, which was featured on his breakout mixtape '' K.I.D.S.''. " Walking on a Dream" was released on 30 August 2008 as the album's lead single, going on to be the Empire of the Sun's biggest hit worldwide. The second single, " We Are the People", was released on 20 September 2008. The album reached number six on the Australian Albums Chart and number 19 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

, whilst hitting number one on the UK Dance Albums Chart. The album has been certified

triple platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in Australia and

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in both the United Kingdom and the United States. ''Walking on a Dream'' received generally favourable reviews. It received 11 nominations at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009, winning seven, including Album of the Year. It was also nominated for Best International Album at the 2010 BRIT Awards. In 2010, the album was ranked at number 29 in the book '' 100 Best Australian Albums''. A special edition of the album, containing a bonus disc of remixes, B-sides, and unreleased tracks, was released on 20 November 2009.

Background and release

The album was recorded and mixed by Peter Mayes at Soundworks Music Studio in

at various times throughout 2007, with additional recording by Chris Vallejo at Linear Recording, also in Sydney. According to

EMI Music Australia EMI Recorded Music Australia Pty Ltd (called EMI Music Australia until May 2013) is an Australian imprint of Universal Music Australia, formerly a subsidiary label of EMI Recordings Ltd and, between 1979 and 1996, that of Thorn EMI. It is Austr ...

's website, the painting of Steele and Littlemore that comprises the album artwork was based on the iconic film posters for ''

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...

'' and ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

''. ''Walking on a Dream'' reached number six on the Australian Albums Chart and number 19 on the

. The album has been certified triple platinum in Australia and gold in the United Kingdom. " Walking on a Dream" was released on 30 August 2008 as the album's lead single. The video features Steele and Littlemore, wearing faux-oriental costumes and makeup inspired by

Peking Opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines instrumental music, vocal performance, mime, martial arts, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became ...

, on location along

the Bund The Bund is a waterfront area and a protected historical district in central Shanghai. The area centers on a section of Zhongshan Road (East Zhongshan Road No.1) within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the wester ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China between 21 and 27 July 2008. The second single, " We Are the People", was released on 20 September 2008. The video for the song was shot in Mexico, and used the ancient Mexican festival

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

(''Día de Muertos'') as its inspiration. Locations included the gardens of Sir Edward James at Las Pozas,

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

and García.

Critical reception

''Walking on a Dream'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 61, based on 19 reviews. Andrew Leahey of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote that Empire of the Sun " estoontheir music with oddball flourishes, androgynous lyrics, and a general sense of theatricality that borders on schizophrenia", concluding, "Like the music it promotes, the cover art is purposely ludicrous, but listeners who have a palette for such whimsy should walk away happy." Martin Robinson of the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' described the duo as "silly but their songs demand to be taken seriously, just like

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which wa ...

and Bowie." ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

''s Tyler Gray stated, "Acoustic guitar strummed in time with dance beats, tinny vocals and tons of slap-back reverb—it's like some magical pop formula concocted long ago by aboriginal Australian and parceled out ever since to

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by H ...

Outback Steakhouse Outback Steakhouse is an American chain of Australian-themed casual dining restaurants, serving American cuisine, based in Tampa, Florida. The chain has over 1,000 locations in 23 countries throughout North America, South America, Asia, and Aus ...

jingle makers and now this turquoise-loving duo." Andy Gill of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' opined that the songs "Walking on a Dream" and "We Are the People" "rather resemble The Beloved or

Air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

, sharing with those duos the impression that the music just seems to have settled, like snow, around the melody." Mike Orme of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' wrote that "at their indulgent best he duostrike a trenchant middle ground between fantasy and historical revisionism", but expressed that "although Empire tries mightily, they collapse underneath too many ideas before the record is even half over." Michael Cragg of

musicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...

felt that the album "offers little in the way of musical experimentation" and that " st of it sounds like a strange amalgam of

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

and

MGMT MGMT () is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by singers and multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser, Ben Goldwasser. Originally signed to Cantora Records by the nascent ...

, as if the latter had been transposed from the slightly grubby streets of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

to the beaches of Australia." Christian Hoard of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' noted that the duo "have lots of straightforward pop chops, but they prefer to get wonky with cheesetastic, Eighties-flavored keyboards and nonsense rhymes like 'Hotdog belt donut melt/Magpie knelt by itself'", adding that the album "sounds like

Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

on Special K". At ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Dorian Lynskey commented that "the slick, pastel-wardrobed MOR of the title track and 'We Are the People' demonstrate melodic agility and sun-dazzled charm", but viewed the album as "a ripe cheese, best not consumed whole." Alex Denney of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' remarked that "the record settles upon a cooler hue, favouring minor-key shuffles that, at their best, sound like prime Bangles cuts, but tend towards pedestrian 1980s pop hackery at their worst." Tyler Fisher of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' concluded that, "despite the well-developed '80s image, the music emulated is not anything worth reviving."

Accolades

The album was listed at number 29 in the book '' 100 Best Australian Albums'', published in October 2010.

Awards

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards of 2009 nominations were announced on 8 October 2009. Empire of the Sun received more nominations than any other artist, with a total of 11. The winners were announced on 26 November 2009. , - , rowspan="11",

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, rowspan="3", ''Walking on a Dream'' , Album of the Year , , - , Highest Selling Album , , - , Best Pop Release , , - , rowspan="3", "Walking on a Dream" , Single of the Year , , - , Highest Selling Single , , - , rowspan="2", Best Video (directed by Josh Logue) , , - , "We Are the People" , , - , Empire of the Sun , Best Group , , - , Empire of the Sun and Donnie Sloan with Peter Mayes , Producer of the Year , , - , Aaron Hayward and David Homer from Debaser , Best Cover Art , , - , Peter Mayes , Engineer of the Year ,

Brit Awards

, - , rowspan="2",

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Empire of the Sun , International Breakthrough Act , , - , ''Walking on a Dream'' , International Album ,

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Walking on a Dream''. * Empire of the Sun – production * Debaser – artwork, illustrations * Mike Marsh – mastering * Peter Mayes – mixing, production, recording * Donnie Sloan – production * Chris Vallejo – additional recording

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walking On A Dream 2008 debut albums ARIA Award–winning albums Capitol Records albums Empire of the Sun (band) albums Virgin Records albums