Building an Empire

Toronto Band Young Empires Aims for Perfection

Fringe ArtsHilary Sinclair — Published January 30, 2012

With the release of their EP Wake All My Youth, the band is finding its footing and embarking on a Canadian tour backed by a soundtrack of synthesized indie pop that occasionally incorporates the magic of the pan flute, and conjures up words like chillwave, disco, world beat and haute rock.

The Toronto-bred quartet, comprised of Robert Aaron Ellingson, Jake Palahnuk, Taylor Hill and Matthew Vlahovich are building their own type of empire, and making music is only the starting point.

“We have a sub-thing called the House of Young Empires,” said guitarist Ellingson. “It’s like an umbrella […] the House of Young Empires could branch into other things. We are interested in fashion so we could do our own t-shirt line that’s under the House of Young Empires or we could be doing music videos and remixes.”

They have already begun a foray into fashion, collaborating with Handsome Clothing, a company out of Toronto, to create a line of band t-shirts, as well as furthering their reputation for sartorial pursuits by performing at charity fashion event Rock the Runway.

But Young Empires aren’t focused on the kind of rapid expansion that sees bands fall into the feared one-hit wonder track—or emperors ultimately exiled to Mediterranean islands.

The band is holding out for flawlessness—they carefully considered record labels before settling on Pirates Blend, an imprint started by Toronto reggae-poppers Bedouin Soundclash, and they’re perfecting video concepts.

“The hardest thing is being patient and waiting for material that is perfect,” said Ellingson. “We wait until something resonates with all members, when we can look at each other and know that something connected.”

The recent addition of a drummer is something that will help them make that same kind of connection with the live audiences. Drum machines guarantee that you will sound the same as what has been released, but you don’t have the ability to change it up for the crowd, says Ellingson.

“Having a drummer frees us up so we can do that and do different songs different ways. We do it a little longer here and a little shorter there depending on how things are going that night. We have the freedom to mix it up,” said Ellingson.

Playing shows with the likes of Chromeo, Jamiroquai, Dragonette, Japandroids and Sleigh Bells, the group has begun to feel the gratifying but “weird feeling” of having people scream out the names of their songs and know their lyrics by heart.

“You want something to be really good on a first listen that grabs people, but you want it to be equally good on the hundredth listen,” said Ellingson. “We like making music that makes people feel sexy, that makes people feel confident and has that balance of being fun but at the same time has some substance behind it.”

Young Empires / Feb. 9 (w/ Honheehonhee) / Le Divan Orange (4234 St. Laurent Blvd.)