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
Nothing
The Cat Empire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The sky looked sweet
When we dropped
A big bomb at our feet
And sometime soon
We all might zoom
To space and continue
With another zoo
Work and pace
For paper face
Spend it wisely
And keep it safe
Because the human race
Is a non-stop race
With too many trials
But no real case
Something about this second
Something about this hour
Take away the money
Then the time becomes the power
A moment just to swim
And to shower and to sing
And to brighten and to dim
And to sleep and to wander in
Nothing
Oh sweet nothing
Today we're doing nothing at all
Yesterday
I climbed a hill
Then cycle down speedy
On a great big wheel
Feeling ill
Laboured still
Grinding and stressing
In that giant mill
Drove a car
Stop and start
Round and round in circles
Never got too far
Running barefoot
On the hot hot tar
'cause if you stop
Then you burn
Then your feet get scars
Something about this instance
Something about this minute
Striving for the future
But don't realise that we're in it
A moment just to float
To ponder and to dote
To dry and to soak
And to take a little toke of that
Nothing
Oh sweet nothing
Today we're doing nothing at all
The song “Nothing” by The Cat Empire reflects on the value that our society gives to achieving and acquiring things. The first verse compares the destruction of a bomb to the possibility of humans going to space and building another zoo. The second verse speaks about how people work and pace themselves for paper money and how too often, the human race is involved in a non-stop race with many trials but no real case.
The chorus encourages the listener to appreciate the present moment and enjoy doing nothing at all - to take a break from the never-ending cycle of life and just experience the simplicity of the present moment. The third and final verse speaks about how the tiniest moment can hold great power, and reminds the listener to take a little break to swim, to shower, to sing, to brighten or to dim, to just sleep or wander in.
This song conveys a valuable message to its listeners; a lot of the time people view success from an economic standpoint, but "nothing" can be incredibly valuable, simply because it allows us to reconnect with ourselves and the beauty of the present moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterday
The past
The sky looked sweet
The view of the sky was beautiful
When we dropped
When we caused destruction
A big bomb at our feet
By our own doing
And sometime soon
In the near future
We all might zoom
We may travel at speed
To space and continue
Go to another world
With another zoo
With different surroundings
Work and pace
Toil and effort
For paper face
For money
Spend it wisely
Use it prudently
And keep it safe
Store it securely
Because the human race
All of us
Is a non-stop race
Is a never-ending competition
With too many trials
With too many challenges
But no real case
But without any real purpose
Something about this second
Something about the present moment
Something about this hour
Something about the current time period
Take away the money
Remove material possessions
Then the time becomes the power
Time becomes more valuable
A moment just to swim
A moment to relax
And to shower and to sing
And to experience simple, enjoyable activities
And to brighten and to dim
And to experience the ups and downs of life
And to sleep and to wander in
And to enjoy peaceful solitude
Nothing
Indicates an absence of activity
Oh sweet nothing
Indicates the pleasure of not being busy
Today we're doing nothing at all
We are taking a break from the usual routine
Yesterday
The past
I climbed a hill
I exerted myself physically
Then cycle down speedy
Then enjoyed a thrilling ride
On a great big wheel
On a large, impressive machine
Feeling ill
Feeling unwell
Laboured still
Working hard
Grinding and stressing
Experiencing difficulties
In that giant mill
In the world of industry
Drove a car
Drove a vehicle
Stop and start
Encountering traffic
Round and round in circles
Going through the motions
Never got too far
Never advancing too much
Running barefoot
Going without protection
On the hot hot tar
On the scorching ground
'cause if you stop
Because if you cease moving
Then you burn
Then you experience pain
Then your feet get scars
Then you bear the marks of hard work
Something about this instance
Something about the current moment
Something about this minute
Something about the current time
Striving for the future
Working towards achieving goals
But don't realise that we're in it
But not fully appreciating the present moment
A moment just to float
A moment to relax and be carefree
To ponder and to dote
To reflect and appreciate
To dry and to soak
To experience contrasting sensations
And to take a little toke of that
And to enjoy the moment
Nothing
Indicates an absence of activity
Oh sweet nothing
Indicates the pleasure of not being busy
Today we're doing nothing at all
We are taking a break from the usual routine
Contributed by Chase E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@WashyTakahashi
God these songs are so underrated
@Fluffy-ys6rb
I was planning on commenting that sort of thing till I saw this
@theonlyfry
One of my favorite songs
@pretizell9861
i wish more people would talk about how awesome this band is!
@evafuentes1888
What a niiiiiiiice song!!!!!!!! ☺☺☺
@Pancake_Batter
The people who disliked this are really something
@dezao2421
Hahahahahaha
@Idk-wm1bc
I wish you guys got more recodnization
@boxatron8010
They do but not in America they are really popular in Australia because that's were they do all there shows and are from
@aisthesis_
Immortal