The return of the mighty Empirion

I spoke to Leeroy Thornhill and Giuseppe Morena ahead of their joint show at Chelmsford’s Hot Box this coming Saturday (10 May). During the conversation, another news story emerged: they had both remixed tracks from Empirion’s most-recent LP.

Please feel free to listen to my chat with them at the end of this article.

So, Giuseppe put me in touch with Jamie Smart, one half of the legendary industrial Essex duo. Jamie kindly and, promptly, replied, no doubt hastened by his desire to go fishing!

Please enjoy my interview with Jamie below.

First album since 2019’s Resume

Empirion released Beats from the Underworld in February 2024. It follows the last studio album Resume (2019). With the luxury of a bit of time between the two albums, would you say the feel and style of the two recordings differ?

Jamie: Yes, a massive difference. From 2010, when we started writing Empirion material again, we’ve had great support from the industrial scene. We love and respect them for everything as we pushed to regain our place in the dance scene, which really had changed since the late 90s when we were involved. We ended up signing to a German label, which pulled us even further away from our roots musically, 100% the worst thing we had ever done as Empirion. The last five years have been pure hell trying to get off the label. The new material is where we want to be with our music moving forward, with nothing or nobody telling us what to do. FREE !

Beats from the
Underworld – Remixed!

Next up is a remix LP featuring reworkings of tracks from Beats… Please tell us how this came about?

Jamie: The Beats… remix album is something we have wanted to do for many years, but it all got complicated with money and bullshit when working with and through record labels. We put this remix album together with artists who have remixed for us in the past, so no money changes hands. We all do it for the love and passion for music by swapping projects to cut out the industry bloodsuckers.

You have been DJing and making music (most of) your entire adult life? What continues to inspire you/inform your music writing?

Jamie: Music has been part of me all my life as you say, growing up when the rave scene kicked off instilled a passion in me like you just can’t explain, only my memories could tell the story, people that were there and part of it, know what I’m saying? Unforgettable. Unbelievable times that no words can really describe.

Looking forward – but rightly proud of legacy

Clearly, you wouldn’t wish to simply retread old ground to keep it fresh for yourselves and your fans?

Jamie: No, we are trying to keep things fresh as we move forward. The dancefloor bangers will come in the form of remixes by ourselves or other artists for sure. We are trying to move away from the industry and moving more towards TV/film. We aimed the Beats… album in that direction through Lift Music, a production company servicing TV/film and media.

That said, it would be perfectly proper to tip a nod to bona fide classic singles like Narcotic Influence (I and II). Indeed, the reimagining of NI (part II) did just that?

Jamie: Yes, Narcotic has done us proud over the years, it’s got some legs, 30 years down the line and still gets a dancefloor jumping.

When the Empirion debut LP Advanced Technology came out in 1996, you cannot have imagined that you’d be asking questions about a new release nearly 30 years later?!

Jamie: Well, I guess not at the time, but I can’t think of anything else we would have been doing if we had the choice. Now, we do have the choice and will continue to do what we both love to the best of our ability.

Bob Glennie RIP

Especially with the untimely and tragic death of Bobby Glennie.

Jamie: Bob’s death was a terrible time in our lives. He became unwell just as we were going off to tour America in 96. Shockingly sad times and at that point we all thought it was all over. Bob insisted that Oz and I carried on flying the Empirion flag after his passing. Will never forget the day we laid him to rest, he had designed and customised his own coffin with EMPIRION full length both sides.

And, also, the rise of the internet and streaming. Luckily, or not (!), you grew up professionally with it so you could adapt and survive. How did you navigate the landscape then and how it is now?

Jamie: Luckily I would say. I grew up with it all, so now I have the power and capabilities at my fingertips to not give up 80% of sales to a label that doesn’t do enough to warrant taking nearly all the sales revenue. Yes, it’s all about streaming now, sales are low if you distribute through all the available outlets online. We are focusing on our Bandcamp page for our genuine supporters of our music, taking it back to basics. 

Current faves

Obviously, you don’t operate in a bubble, and you have an Empirion vision, but what music currently out there excites you?

Jaimie: We have a real love for Corvad. He is a brilliant artist from Russia. The makers of The Batman movie (2022) used his track ‘Tesla’. He has just remixed ‘Slave’ from our album. We are also working with him on a future single release on our label Wanted Records, which we set up in 92 to release our own music. We are back home and feeling good.

The future

Please let us know about your plans. You won’t be thinking about too much until after the remix LP I guess?

Answer: Future plans, our next single release after the remix album is a collab with Saffron from Republica. We have just remixed a track called ‘Together’. Release dates coming soon.

We also have the next single after that, which is a track called ‘FAKE’. Some massive remixes in the bag for that one. Earth shaking! Looking forward to getting all the new material out to the musical people.

Thanks Jamie! Appreciated.

Love and respect from myself and Oz. 

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Head over to Empirion’s Bandcamp page to find out more.

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Listen to my interview with Giuseppe and Leeroy below, including an airing of a banging track they had pretty much forgotten about and exclusive plays of a couple of Empirion remixes. The chat is about 30 minutes in, but please stick around to listen to an eclectic range of music.