The Cat Empire began as a trio with McGill, Riebl, and Monro in late 1999, and started playing a wide variety of gigs in Melbourne. The band soon expanded in 2001, adding Angus, Hull-Brown, and Khadiwala.
THE Cat Empire's message, on stage and in the studio, has always been about breaking down borders: musical, geographic, lingual. But they have never done it so powerfully as they do on their new album, Cinema. The album serves up a set which captures the inexorable force - and sheer joy - of their live performances, delivered in a format perfect for lounge-rooms, backyards, BBQ’s, cafes, road trips and parties all over the world.
Cinema, the band's fourth studio album, is a dazzling statement of a band at a peak of its powers, music designed to move the body and the mind. Right from the opening track, Waiting, this is music that leaps from the speakers.
All the elements that people love about The Cat Empire are there but the result is brighter, bolder. And yes, more cinematic. What grabs the ear immediately is that this is not a band playing with genres. In the past, The Cat Empire dived in to any musical style which took their fancy, from reggae to salsa, Latin to hip-hop. Cinema reveals a band that has developed an emphatic voice that is all their own.
``That's a sound that has emerged out of nearly 10 years of playing on stage together,'' says singer and percussionist Felix Riebl. ”The result is an album that's much more integrated than anything we've done before, with a Cat Empire sound that runs consistently through it. The lyrics are perhaps darker, but they are accompanied by music that is uplifting which gives it a strange but powerful feeling.''
Riebl adds: “At times the album is thoughtful, at times it makes you just forget and dance. But it is an album that has more sonic depth than we've ever had before, experimental in parts but with really direct choruses. It's going to be a great album to play live, especially on big stages and at festivals.''
Of course, the stage is never far from the thoughts of this band. In an age when so much of selling music seems to be about celebrity and fashion, The Cat Empire have risen to be one of Australia and indeed the worlds favourite live acts through sheer musicality and the power of their interaction on stage. The band - Riebl, Vocalist and trumpeter Harry Angus, keys player Ollie McGill, bassist Ryan Monro, drummer Will Hull-Brown and Jamshid Khadiwala (aka ‘Jumps’) on decks - played their 700th show in Amsterdam last year, and will hit the 800 mark in 2010. While it is not well known in Australia, The Cat Empire are one of the country's most successful musical exports, doubling their audience numbers at every return stop.
They have headlined some of the world's biggest music festivals, including Summersonic (Japan), Rock am Ring (Germany) and V Fest (UK), playing Bonnaroo (US) as well as to an audience of 300,000 at the Montreal Jazz Festival. They have also played on some of world's highest rating entertainment shows, including Dave Letterman and Jay Leno. This year their worldwide tour in support of the international release of Cinema will see them return to Canada, US, Europe, Japan and the UK, where they will play to a full house at London's Brixton Academy.
The knowledge that they would be playing songs from the new album on so many big stages focused the song writing sessions for Cinema. The album was recorded close to home at Sing Sing studios in Melbourne with producer Steve Schram, and he encouraged them to make an album that was their most collaborative song writing effort yet.
``That was a deliberate decision from all of us,'' says the lion of the live show - Vocalist and Trumpeter Harry Angus. ``With six people in the band sometimes there will be a song on an album that not everyone wants to play live. This album certainly gets around that problem. And I think that after so many years playing together the guys are much more confident about contributing to the writing. Steve encouraged us to do that. That's been great for us.''
Of working with The Cat Empire, Schram says “it was the perfect studio scenario; amazing players open to trying anything and willing to take a back seat when required. Egos were left at the door.” He adds “In terms of musicianship, it's no secret that they don't come much better than The Cat Empire. Yet Cinema shows that simplicity and one well placed note packs more of a punch and serves the song far more than musical chops alone. We set out to explore in depth the mood and character of each song while maintaining a focus on performance rather than studio trickery. “
After taking their longest break from studio recording after the release of 2007's So Many Nights, the band reconvened feeling refreshed. ``In 2008 we took a break from touring for 8 months. Then in 2009 we released our (live album) Live on Earth” Riebl says. ``When we came back to the band, and then into the studio we all rediscovered what we loved about The Cat Empire in the first place; that it is a band that can do the unexpected, that we have great energy and make music that is always a lot of fun to play on stage. The feeling right now is just like when we were starting out. We're all very excited about that.''
Cinema will be released ...
JUNE 25, AUSTRALIA
JUNE 29, CANADA
JULY 6, USA
AUGUST 2010, EUROPE & JAPAN
See www.thecatempire.com for tours and information
Beyond All
The Cat Empire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We'll go wandering into the night
There's something underneath the beat of control
Something. A music that is beyond all
Something. A music that is beyond all
You go to sleep, you wake up, you do it again
And there's a beat, you make up inside of your head
And every street's a river. Be born or be dead
We are all singing this song, but nobody knows how
It's gonna end
Kiss me in the coolness of the night
Take me further from the fire-light
This jungle, no one really knows where to go
Searching for something that is beyond all
We're searching for something that is beyond all
You go to sleep, you wake up, you do it again
Then there's a beat, you make up inside of your head
And every street's a river. Be born or be dead
We are all singing this song, but nobody knows how
It's gonna end
Break me, up until I'm pieces of sand
Blow me up, and scatter me across the land
Our bodies, they're hairy and they're fat and they're old
I'm searching for something that is beyond all
Music, music that is beyond all.
You go to sleep, you wake up, you do it again
Then there's a beat, you make up inside of your head
And every street's a river. Be born or be dead
We are all singing this song, but nobody knows how
It's gonna end
The Cat Empire's "Beyond All" is a song that speaks to the human need for something more, something beyond the mundane routine of everyday life. The lyrics describe a desire to break free from control and seek out the unknown, to wander into the night, to kiss in the coolness of the night, to break into pieces of sand and scatter across the land, in search of something beyond all. The song highlights the hope, uncertainty, and excitement that comes with the unknown, the journey, and the search, metaphorically represented by the music that is beyond all.
The first two lines of the song set the tone for the rest of the song. The neon light symbolizes the flashy and superficial aspect of life, and the call to go wandering into the night is a call to break away from it. As the song continues, it describes the beat of control and the need to find something beyond that beat. The beat seems to represent the routine of everyday life, the tasks that we repeat every day. The song suggests that there is something more to life, something beyond that routine, represented by the music that is beyond all.
The line "Our bodies, they're hairy and they're fat and they're old" is particularly striking. This line suggests that no matter what we do, no matter how many times we try to break away from the routine, we are still human beings with physical limitations. Yet, we still search for something beyond all, for something that transcends our physical limitations. In the end, the song suggests that it's okay not to know how it's all going to end, to embrace the uncertainty and enjoy the journey.
Line by Line Meaning
Meet me. Underneath the neon light
Let's rendezvous at night, amid the colorful neon lights
We'll go wandering into the night
Let's embark on a journey into the obscurity of the night
There's something underneath the beat of control
Beneath the conformity of life, there is an element of rebellion
Something. A music that is beyond all
A transcendent form of music lies beneath the surface
You go to sleep, you wake up, you do it again
Life is a monotonous cycle of sleeping and waking up
And there's a beat, you make up inside of your head
We conjure up our own rhythm within our minds
And every street's a river. Be born or be dead
Life is a continuous flow, one must either thrive or perish
We are all singing this song, but nobody knows how It's gonna end
We all live our lives, but the outcome of it remains unknown
Kiss me in the coolness of the night
Let our lips meet in the tranquility of the night
Take me further from the fire-light
Lead me away from the warmth and comfort of familiarity
This jungle, no one really knows where to go
Life is an enigmatic maze, we all struggle with direction
Searching for something that is beyond all
We seek something beyond the mundanity of existence
Break me, up until I'm pieces of sand
Destroy me until I disintegrate into fine particles
Blow me up, and scatter me across the land
Disperse my remains into the vastness of the earth
Our bodies, they're hairy and they're fat and they're old
Our physical form is imperfect and subject to decay
I'm searching for something that is beyond all
I long for a state of being that transcends the limitations of this world
Music, music that is beyond all.
Music that surpasses the boundaries of the physical realm
Contributed by Sarah M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@remotlyclose3920
I'm listenning it again and again since one week... That's really great ! Even if it's really different compared to the cat empire and steal the light albums
@Fluffy-ys6rb
I have no idea why this song only has 30 likes