“We had enough songs to make a full length record, but we wanted to release an EP first, to introduce the band,” explained Jake Palahnuk. Palahnuk, Toronto based musician and one third of indie-up-and-comers Young Empires, caught up with The Cord prior to the band’s Jan. 25 show at Starlight Lounge, to talk about the upcoming release of the band’s inaugural EP.
Young Empires is a three-piece band based out of Toronto who have been enjoying a steady increase of commercial and critical acclaim in recent months, following their inception in Oct. 2009.
“We started as a band just over two years ago,” said Palahnuk of band mates Matthew Vlahovich and Robert Aaron Ellingson. “We came off the backs of other bands and projects we were working on, so we got off to a quick start — we had a show three weeks after we formed, which we weren’t really ready for.”
The band has since revealed their penchant for defying typical genre boundaries. Vocally, Young Empires recall the styles of other Canadian indie’s such as Arcade Fire. However, the combination of punk, dance and synth styles in the band’s repertoire allows them to continually evade genre classification.
“Any time you start a band you have a lot to learn about each other; your personalities and character. I’m really happy with what we’ve done together,” expressed Palahnuk.
The upcoming EP, Wake All My Youth, boasts seven tracks, including the bands first single “Enter Through The Sun.” Wake All My Youth is scheduled for a Jan. 31 release. One of the EP’s tracks, “Against the Wall,” was recently featured on a viral fashion video for Nylon TV.
In anticipation of their upcoming releases, the band has spent the past years touring and growing a fan base on either side of the Atlantic.
“We’ve been to Europe three times, the U.S. a few, South America,” said Palahnuk of the exciting schedule. “We’ve never actually been on a Canadian tour so this will be our first time playing outside Toronto or Montreal.”
In 2010, the band had the opportunity to play Nem-Cotacoa, a multi-stage fall music festival in Botaga, Colombia, alongside Green Day, Jamiroquai and Cobra Starship.
“It was insane,” said Palahnuk of the festival. “There were 15,000 people through the gates there — we’d definitely never experienced anything like that.”
“We love to travel, that’s the best part about being in a band.”
Young Empires have also spent time honing their lesser known talents — such as a collaboration with Toronto based Handsome Clothing on their merchandise apparel. “We wanted to partner with a local fashion designer because it’s nice to work with friends. We’ve built a little community here in Toronto.” The collaboration produced several t-shirts and a hoodie, featuring the bands logo and other images.
Further, the trio have been recognized for their production skills and been commissioned to remix major label singles for both Geffen and Kitsune Records.
“The future’s always hard to predict,” but, according to Palahnuk, fans of the band can expect the release of their full length album “no later than summer of 2013.”
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