Interview conducted by Mark Boardman and Scott Medina
Born from the ashes of Unitopia in 2016, Australia’s Southern Empire brought a harder edge to the terrain of symphonic progressive rock as Sean Timms introduced his new band to the world. Boasting world-class musicians in Cam Blokland on guitars and vocals, Jez Martin on fretless and fretted bass, Brody Green on drums and vocals, and Danny Lopresto on lead vocals, the quintet released an impressive debut of material originally meant for Unitopia. But it was their second album, “Civilisation”, which vaulted them into the spotlight and landed them on many “best of 2018” lists.
Several years later, work was being completed on album number three when lead singer Lopresto had a change of heart and decided to leave the band. Frustration turned into opportunity as the band quickly pivoted, finding a new front-man in Shaun Holton who recorded all of the lead vocals in time to release the album this September. And what an album it has turned out to be! (Check out our review HERE)
Amidst all of this change, Sonic Perspectives‘ prog-rock connoisseurs Mark Boardman and Scott Medina sat down for an in-depth conversation with both keyboardist and and band’s mastermind Sean Timms and new singer Shaun Holton, to discuss the impact of Lopresto’s unforeseen departure and the band’s subsequent decisions.
We also looked in depth at the material on “Another World”, as well as the touring potential and pitfalls for a prog band from Adelaide. Join us as we explore the new world of Southern Empire in their chat below, and remember that for more interviews and other daily content, Sonic Perspectives is on Facebook, Flipboard, Twitter and YouTube, where you can be notified about new content we publish on a daily basis.
