Expatriate derive their name from the collective experiences of their youth.
Front man Ben King grew up in the midst of Jakarta, behind the walls of a United Nations meets ‘Dazed and Confused’ international school - he was living the contradiction of isolation in a big city.
It was here King first cut his teeth on politics, watching the corrupt regime of Indonesian President Suharto from behind the utopian society of a school without nationalities, flags or borders. At lunchtime students traded cassette tapes, recipes and languages. Argentinean friends introduced him to The Cure. A student cover band introduced him to Nirvana at assembly.
It was a stark contrast when he returned to Australia at 15 to attend a traditional boarding school. King left behind friends and loves, later studying politics at Sydney University before pursuing music full time.
Drummer & percussionist Chris Kollias - also an expatriate in many ways - spent his formative years grappling with colliding cultures. The son of migrant parents, his early musical influences came from his father’s transistor radio. The sounds of the Greek Underground 'Rembetika' - a style of music which originated from the forced immigration of 2 million Greek refugees from Asia Minor - would sing out, while on the TV screen unfit athletes would hit a shiny red ball and VB beer advertisements would bring a smile to his face.
Years later Chris performed at Sydney’s Opera House and Entertainment Centre supporting the artists that seemed a world away on his father’s radio.
A change of scene and as fate would have it, Chris bumped into Ben at Sydney’s Annandale Hotel. It soon became clear that they share a similar experience - it wouldn’t take long for Ben’s songs to strike a chord with him and the band’s other founding member, Damian Press.
When it came time to put down the songs that had been floating around in Ben’s head it was Damian (guitar/keyboards/production) and Ginsberg Studios that he called upon.
With a background in sound design including Hollywood movie trailers, Damian has always had a love for the subtleties of sound. Constantly evolving his own sound as a musician and that of his studio as a producer, his sensibility to the atmosphere and ethereal space found in music was a quality that Ben welcomed with open arms.
It just so happened that Chris was sharing a house with Damian at the time and so Expatriate was formed.
They recorded their debut EP in Ginsberg, spending weeks mixing the tracks and creating the space that is their trademark. Entitled Lovers le Strange the five-track EP was released on October 31 2005. The first single, The Spaces Between spent six weeks on high rotation on Australian national broadcaster Triple J. Expatriate ended the year with a performance at the prestigious Homebake Festival in Sydney, pretty special for a band only one year old! At the close of 2005 the band had toured the nation three times and played to enthusiastic crowds who took their EP home to sleep in their stereos for the summer.
The year 2006 would see the band build on its blossoming start. The second single off their EP - Killer Kat - gained high rotation on Triple J. A sell-out national headline tour (their first) took place in February. A short trip overseas in March to London and Toronto piqued the attention of many international artists and critics – culminating
in Jim Kerr personally inviting the band to support Simple Minds (UK) on the Australian leg of their world tour that May.
June, July and August saw Expatriate in Seattle recording their debut album with John Goodmanson (Death Cab for Cutie, Blonde Redhead, Wu Tang Clan) at Robert Lang Studios. Upon their return, long time touring bassist Dave Molland (Bass) joined the band.
Dave’s connection with music has been a life long one. As a music teacher, he is forever practicing, performing or listening to music and his ability to collaborate with musicians coupled with his high spirited nature inevitably led him to Ginsberg Studios - soon after the Expatriate line up was complete.
Their debut full-lenth, In the Midst of This, was released in April 2007 and features earlier successes "Only Wanna Love Ya", "Play a Part","Crazy" and new single "The Spaces Between".
Gotta Get Home
Expatriate Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's someone coming over the hill someday
He doesn't know your name
But he knows just what you've done
So I've thought all about the end of us
The divide that would come to break out love
Through bullet holes everything is clear
I call your name
When I sleep I'm seeing your face
Cos I gotta get home tonight
I gotta get home tonight
If it's the last thing I ever do in my life
I've gotta get home tonight
Illumination of the heart
On the battlefield, in the dark
The radio waves, they speak over you
Time after time, over again
The boys on the front line, they turn into men
I pray that I'm gonna get get get out of here alive
I call your name
When I sleep I'm seeing your face
Cos I gotta get home tonight
I gotta get home tonight
If it's the last thing I ever do in my life
I've gotta get home tonight
Cos I gotta get home tonight
I gotta get home tonight
If it's the last thing I ever do in my life
I've gotta get home tonight
[voice-over until end]
In the song "Gotta Get Home" by Expatriate, the lyrics seem to tell the story of a soldier who is fighting in a war and desperately wants to return home to his loved one. The first verse describes the soldier running far away from the war, emphasizing the danger of someone coming over the hill someday who knows what he has done. In the second verse, the soldier reflects on the potential end of their love due to the divide caused by the war, and how through the bullet holes, everything seems clear. The soldier believes that if he can just make it home tonight, it will be worth risking his life for.
The chorus repeats the phrase "I gotta get home tonight," emphasizing the soldier's urgency and determination to make it back to his loved one. The third verse mentions the "boys on the front line" turning into men and the soldier praying for his survival. The song ends with a voice-over, possibly reinforcing the idea that the soldier is reflecting on these thoughts while in a state of war.
Overall, the lyrics of "Gotta Get Home" convey a sense of urgency and desperation, as the soldier longs to be reunited with his loved one and escape the dangers of war.
Line by Line Meaning
Run, run, run, run far away
Flee as fast as you can
There's someone coming over the hill someday
There's a looming threat ahead
He doesn't know your name
The danger is unknown and impersonal
But he knows just what you've done
The danger is aware of the actions and consequences
So I've thought all about the end of us
I've contemplated our potential separation
The divide that would come to break out love
The rift that could ruin our love
Through bullet holes everything is clear
In intense situations, clarity emerges
I call your name
I long for your presence and security
When I sleep I'm seeing your face
Even in sleep, your image brings me comfort
Cos I gotta get home tonight
I urgently need to return home
If it's the last thing I ever do in my life
I'm willing to risk everything to get there
I've gotta get home tonight
Getting home tonight is my top priority
Illumination of the heart
An epiphany from the heart
On the battlefield, in the dark
In the midst of conflict and uncertainty
The radio waves, they speak over you
Communication is vital
Time after time, over again
Repeatedly
The boys on the front line, they turn into men
The horrors of war lead to maturity
I pray that I'm gonna get get get out of here alive
I hope to survive this ordeal
[voice-over until end]
Additional commentary until the end
Contributed by Lincoln Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Cat McKeegan
perfect. perfect song. perfect sentiment. perfect band.
lili7678
Découvert à la première partie du concert de Placebo a Rouen en octobre 2009...Des Australiens...j'en sais pas plus ;-) lol Blackbird est un de mes titres favoris de ce même groupe...je t'invite a aller le voir...une tuerie aussi ;-)
tashi tash
sounds a bit like mando diao, but i like it ^^
Cat McKeegan
you are very correct