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
Til the Ocean Takes Us All
The Cat Empire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Coming down hard
Need you so fast
Need you so right away
Like a road train
I need you babe
Let's burn it all away
But I love you like water
It's getting hotter
Believe me when I say
That like a spring rain
I need you babe
But nothing last forever after all ....
I'll love you til the ocean takes us all
This is the story of two lovers like twins
They would do lovers things blame original sin
Look into their eyes only for the meaning of the hour
As if there only everything existed in their power, yet
Lo and behold they drifted of a stream humming
How does it go? Oh 'Life is but a dream'
Well the steam became a river and the river start to tow
They, they didn't notice at all
I love you like oil
Coming down hard
Need you so fast
Need you so right away
Like a road train
I need you babe
But nothing last forever after all ....
I'll love you til the ocean takes us all
And on this black day the people shouted from the shore
Screaming, 'Stop gazing and swim to save us all!'
But the twins they didn't hear at all they whispered nothings
Down the waterfall
And for what? Why did love become this void?
When the ones we love are the one we would destroy
Have you heard about the phrase says 'Ignorance is bliss'?
Well, what bliss could lead to this.
When I need you like water
You give me order
It's getting hotter
Believe me when I say
That like a spring rain
I need you babe
But nothing last forever after all ....
I'll love you til the ocean takes us all
Bridge
I love you like oil
Coming down hard
Need you so fast
Need you so right away
Like a road train
I need you babe
Let's burn it all away
But I love you like water
You give me order
It's getting hotter
Believe me when I say
That like a spring rain
I need you babe
But nothing last forever after all ....
I'll love you til the ocean takes us all
The lyrics of Til the Ocean Takes Us All by The Cat Empire tell a story of two star-crossed lovers who fall deeply in love with each other. The first two verses of the song introduce the passionate love between the two individuals where the singer compares their love to oil and water. The singer needs their lover as quickly as possible, and it’s as important to them as a road train. They are burning for each other and want it to continue, but they know that nothing lasts forever.
As the song progresses, the lyrics describe how they both get lost in their love for each other, and they lose track of time, much like how they drift off into a stream humming. They become so enamored with each other that they don’t hear the warnings of people shouting from the shore, telling them to swim to safety. They are so lost in their love that they don’t notice their surroundings, and this causes them to fall down a waterfall.
The final verse repeats the same lyrics as the first verse, where the singer compares their love to oil and water. But they reassure their lover that they will love them until the ocean takes them all. The bridge repeats the same lyrics, but it reminds the audience that nothing lasts forever.
Line by Line Meaning
I love you like oil
My love for you is as intense and powerful as oil pouring down uncontrollably
Coming down hard
My love for you is relentless and unyielding, like a force that cannot be stopped
Need you so fast
I have an urgent and desperate need for you that cannot wait
Need you so right away
My desire for you is so strong that I require your presence immediately
Like a road train
My love for you is as big and powerful as a massive truck thundering down the road
I need you babe
I crave your company and your love more than anything else in the world
Let's burn it all away
Let's forget about everything else and just focus on the intensity of our love
But I love you like water
Despite the intensity of my love, I also need you to sustain me like water sustains life
You give me order
Your presence in my life brings structure and stability to the chaos of my emotions
It's getting hotter
Our passion for each other is increasing with every passing moment
Believe me when I say
Trust me when I speak about the intensity and sincerity of my emotions
That like a spring rain
My need for you is as vital and refreshing as a spring rain that brings new life to the earth
I need you babe
I cannot exist without you and your love in my life
But nothing lasts forever after all ....
Even though our love is intense, it will not endure the test of time indefinitely
I'll love you til the ocean takes us all
Despite the impermanence of our love, I will continue to love you until the end of time
Contributed by Cooper K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jeffery Mistich
I love you like oil
Coming down hard
Need you so fast
Need you so right away
Like a road train
I need you babe
Let's burn it all away
But I love you like water
You give me order
It's getting hotter
Believe me when I say
That like a spring rain
I need you babe
But nothing last forever after all ...
I'll love you til the ocean takes us all
This is the story of two lovers like twins
They would do lovers things blame original sin
Look into their eyes only for the meaning of the hour
As if there only everything existed in their power, yet
Lo and behold they drifted of a stream humming
How does it go? Oh 'Life is but a dream'
Well the steam became a river and the river start to tow
They, they didn't notice at all
I love you like oil
Coming down hard
Need you so fast
Need you so right away
Like a road train
I need you babe
But nothing last forever after all ...
I'll love you til the ocean takes us all
And on this black day the people shouted from the shore
Screaming, 'Stop gazing and swim to save us all!'
But the twins they didn't hear at all they whispered nothings
Down the waterfall
And for what? Why did love become this void?
When the ones we love are the one we would destroy
Have you heard about the phrase says 'Ignorance is bliss'?
Well, what bliss could lead to this.
When I need you like water
You give me order
It's getting hotter
Believe me when I say
That like a spring rain
I need you babe
But nothing last forever after all ...
I'll love you til the ocean takes us all
I love you like oil
Coming down hard
Need you so fast
Need you so right away
Like a road train
I need you babe
Let's burn it all away
But I love you like water
You give me order
It's getting hotter
Believe me when I say
That like a spring rain
I need you babe
But nothing last forever after all ...
I'll love you til the ocean takes us all
Nadejda G
Hey! I've been listening to your songs for 5 years or even more. You're great!
That Scented Gal
This song is so perfect
William Morris
Not once has this song failed to bring me to tears.
Fry
Great song
Elisabeth Bruchet
💛!
Lukas Paul
Dogs are cooler
Bonnie Dow
Trumpethero no way