TMN STAFF
EMPRA is a rock band from Melbourne that creates uplifting music filled with good vibes and euphoric sing-a-longs that will supercharge your heart and electrify your soul. With a sound that’s an amalgamation of alternative rock greats such as Foo Fighters, Royal Blood, Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys, Weezer and Queens of the Stone Age, EMPRA delivers with an undeniable street coolness and swagger that continues to lift spirits along the way.
The journey of EMPRA was born out of tragedy when Sanny Veloo’s (Lead vocals, lead guitar) best friend and former bandmate Wayne Thunder passed away suddenly. Through the dark times that followed, Sanny – whose personal rite of passage includes getting banned from performing in Singapore for swearing onstage and defying medical odds to play the guitar after an onstage accident required his elbow be replaced with a metal joint – struggled to overcome his grief.
Eventually, he decided the only way to cope was to write and record an album as a tribute to Wayne and to form a powerhouse rock band in his honour. He called the band EMPRA, which is an anagram of an ancient Sanskrit word “Prema” meaning “Universal Love”.
Sanny’s search for bandmates started with an online advertisement, which led to open auditions in his tiny apartment studio in Brunswick. Only one bassist turned up and that was Matt Agius who got the gig by default! Together they recorded the first EMPRA album and finally released it after a series of studio mishaps including Sanny spending his entire life savings on disastrous recording sessions with an alcoholic producer. Once EMPRA’s debut album was recorded properly, it was an instant underground rock hit, producing five singles, which were rotated on commercial rock radio and multiple community stations for almost nine months.
Over the next couple of years, the band spent much of their lives on the road performing 250+ shows in Australia and South East Asia, building their loyal fan base from the ground up. But life on the road wasn’t easy. The band went through multiple line-up changes including losing two long-time band members Matt Gault (rhythm guitar) and Matt Cattanach (drums) within three months in 2015.
But things happen for a reason and the departures allowed the band to find a brilliant new drummer, Georgia Flipo (G-Flip), who out drummed 24 guys in the auditions and breathed new life into the band with her energetic playing and fun loving demeanour. The new line-up allowed EMPRA to push themselves harder than they ever had before, further developing their sound and amassing a huge catalogue of unreleased music.
In September 2015 the band presented their new line-up for the first time with the release of the song ‘Rebecca’. Inspired by a beautiful Australian rock chick with self-esteem issues, the track overloads with fuzzy guitars, dirty bass lines, energetic drums, a vocal line which switches between falsetto and screams. Add in catchy lyrics and a huge chorus and ‘Rebecca’ is the sound of EMPRA, stronger and fresher than ever.
EMPRA has already released one album, two EPs, and three singles. In 2013 their single, ‘Strange Condition’ was shortlisted for the prestigious Vanda & Young Australian songwriting prize. EMPRA is constantly played on Australian community radio, stations in South East Asia and the band is starting to gain traction on College Radio across the USA. The band has performed extensively across Australia with a whopping 250+ gigs in the past four years.
EMPRA has toured overseas to South East Asia and performed alongside Dune Rats, Tired Lion and performed a full-blown arena show with Fall Out Boy whose bassist Pete Wentz remarked: “EMPRA were one of the first support bands on tour that could get the crowd singing along to their songs”. In 2013,EMPRA took part in an international band competition and was selected to represent Australia in the finals held at the House of Blues on the Hollywood Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. The band WON.
Back in Australia, the band has had the honor of supporting Australian rock luminaries such as British India, DZ Deathrays, Kingswood and Calling All Cars. They also recorded a song with Grammy award winner Gotye after Sanny (lead singer and guitarist) sent him an acoustic bedroom recording asking if he could come to the studio and do his “Gotye thing”.