Five years ago, Adelaide-based Southern Empire created unbridled momentum with the release of their well-received Civilisation album. The band completed a tour of the UK and Europe that garnered them more attention, before a silence fell over recent years. That leads to the understandable question of what exactly happened.
“Well, it certainly wasn’t our intention,” recalls keyboard player and project leader Sean Timms. “Things were going really well for the band and we wanted to capitalise on that. We got back to Australia and then Covid hit, which took everybody out for a while.
“I have a recording studio and because musicians couldn’t play live, the studio got really busy. Anyway, we finally got the album completed. It was all recorded, everything was ready to go. All I needed to do were a few finishing touches on the mixes and master the album.”
At that point, the plans were somewhat placed on hold when it became apparent that not all the band were as enthused with the project as Timms. Specifically frontman Danny Lopresto, who was incommunicado from group discussions. “I wasn’t getting much of a response from Danny, so I chased him up,” he remembers. “Basically, he had decided to move on for a variety of reasons – and even though it was amicable, his reasoning was a little bit nebulous.
“I think that because it had been so long between doing the tour and finishing the album, he had lost a little bit of interest. He also had some other avenues that he was wanting to pursue with his covers band.”
With the album already fully recorded, the departure of Lopresto caused an understandable panic. A new singer was needed speedily to re-record Lopresto’s vocals. Guitarist Cam Blokland suggested that local frontman Shaun Holton could be the perfect addition.
Holton had a strong progressive background, having already released a well-regarded album under the moniker of Projected Twin in 2008. Stints in various Adelaide cover bands followed before the pandemic removed that source of income. With a young family to support, Holton had taken a financially enforced step back from the music scene.
“I got this job at a call centre,” he recalls with a sigh. “You would get up in the dark, drive an hour and a half to a dark call centre with no windows and then drive home in the dark. I basically spent nine months living in the dark.
To hear myself in the mix of this epic music was a dream realisation… I realised that this was just what I wanted to do
Shaun Holton
“I had completely signed myself off of music when I got a call from an unknown number. I wasn’t answering the phone at the time because I was avoiding debt collectors. Fortunately, Sean left me a message, I called him back and he gave me the rundown about Danny leaving the band.
“I had been a big prog fan for decades, but I really only knew of Southern Empire through my mate Cam. Although we never worked together, Cam has been a supporter of me for a long time and he kept putting my name forward for things.
“I was really hesitant. I didn’t know Southern Empire and I also didn’t really know who I was talking to either. I knew Sean was a local producer but I didn’t fully realise that I was talking to the musical genius that I’m working with now.
“I happened to be home from work one day and I put the album on. I was listening to it, but I was in a bad mood. My wife was listening and she said, ‘Are you going to do it?’ I told her that a year ago I would have, but that I didn’t really think I could get into this right now. She pretty much shook me and said, ‘You are doing this!’”
Domestically persuaded, Holton arranged to visit Timms’ studio and added his vocals to one of the tracks. “Sean gave me the opportunity to pick a song,” he says. “We bashed it out pretty quickly and then maybe a week or so later, he sent me back the mix. I got about halfway through the song and I just started crying.
With the first album and Civilisation, there were tracks on there that were initially written for an abandoned Unitopia project
Sean Timms
“When I started doing prog around 15 years ago, I loved Porcupine Tree and Opeth, and my dad had lots of Pink Floyd LPs. To hear myself in the mix of this epic piece of music was a bit of a dream realisation. That was the moment for me, when I realised that this was just what I wanted to do.”
Holton’s admission of emotion is entirely understandable. With Another World, Southern Empire have created an album that is replete with their usual lush keyboards and shrewd changes of tempo. Aside from a new singer, there are some other noticeable changes, with the production sounding particularly crisp and material benefiting from the input of members other than Timms.
“With the first album [Southern Empire] and Civilisation, there were tracks on there that were initially written for an abandoned Unitopia project,” he explains. “So, it was a mishmash of my style, writing for a different kind of band. With this album, I was specifically writing for this band. Essentially Southern Empire is a little heavier, so I pushed that a little further. For the first two albums, it was predominantly my writing but this time, I asked Cam if he had anything else.
“We sat in my studio and he played Hold On To Me and I just thought that was such a sensational piece of music. He also tracked a song called Butterfly, which I felt I could make into something, and that became the last track on the album. Brody [Green, drummer] came up with rhythmic ideas and he was very creative.
“Before he left, Danny had started to come up with some lyrical ideas and guitar sections, which is why he is credited with a co-write. So there probably is a little bit of a change in style – plus we have a brilliant, incredible, new lead singer.”
Aside from Unitopia, Timms is also known for his work with Guy Manning in Damanek, with both releasing albums this year. However, with those projects now appearing to come to an end, he states an intention to solely focus on propelling Southern Empire to write and record new albums. “My first passion and main priority has always been Southern Empire since it started,” he explains.
“It satisfies all of the musical ambitions and aspirations that I have as a keyboard player, writer and producer. It’s definitely not going to be another five years between albums. This is also the last Unitopia album that I will do and it was good to leave Unitopia on a positive note.
“I think that the Damanek trilogy is complete. That’s not to say there won’t ever be any other Damanek, but there’s nothing in the pipeline. That means I can concentrate wholly and solely on original music for the next Southern Empire record.”
For Holton, that excitement has also been tinged with a sense of nervousness as to how fans of Southern Empire would react to his involvement. Fortunately, the online reception to promo videos from the new album have been exceptionally positive. “I was quietly shitting my pants,” he laughs. “People love Danny both inside and outside of the prog community, so musically I’ve had a massive set of shoes to fill.
“Having been a rabid young fan of prog, I totally understand what it’s like when it’s not right. I was proud of my contribution and I love the album, but I had no idea if people were going to be happy. The reception has been awesome, which it didn’t have to be, so I’m very, very happy.”
