Biography
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Born
27 May 1992 (age 32)
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Born In
Surrey, England, United Kingdom
EMPRA is a testament to the rock’n’roll spirit. It’s about how, through a chain of events that included broken hearts, broken bones, friends loved and lost and a ‘musical chairs’ of lineup changes, a passionate white-station-wagon-driving dude named Sanny hooked up with three passionate, white-station-wagon-driving dudes named Matt, Matt and Matt - and how they all came together in their pure love for rock music.
Combining the explosive energy of the Foo Fighters, the power-packed punch of Green Day and the boisterous fun of Weezer with a healthy dose of Australian hard rock attitude, Sanny Veloo (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Matt Agius (Bass), Matt Gault (Guitars/Backing Vocals) and Matt Cattanach (Drums) nail the in-your-face, rousing badass vibe that is EMPRA. With an unapologetically high-energy rock sound – the louder the better – melded with raw, honest lyrics that electrocute hearts and supercharge spirits into a euphoric sing-a-long, EMPRA are winning fans all across Australia.
Their self-titled debut album, is headlined by the single ‘Doesn’t Make Much Sense’. The single is already receiving Australia wide airplay on Radar Music, Radar Digital, SynFM and community radio across the country. The album is produced and engineered by famed Melbourne rock producer Ricki Rae (Electric Mary) and features world famous musician Wally de Backer (Gotye), whose soaring keyboards and samples are heard on the heartfelt ballad ‘Sabrina’.
Evolving out of the ashes of rock bands The SUNS, EMPRA’s journey was born out of tragedy – the loss of Sanny’s band-member and best mate of 16 years, Wayne Thunder of The Suns - a punk rock legend gone way before his time.
Through the very dark times that followed, Sanny - whose personal rite of passage includes getting banned from performing in Singapore and defying medical odds to play the guitar again after a metal elbow replacement - channelled his creative energies into his music, penning earnest, positive lyrics that tell the story of overcoming your personal demons - of love and love lost, and even death.
He set this catharsis to an unrelentingly ballsy soundtrack of high-energy rock, and convinced rocking bass player Matt, his mate to join him on the ride. 27 auditions later, guitar whiz Gaulty rocked their socks off in tryouts using only a practice amp. Hard hitting drummer Cattanach rounded out the group, acing his audition and pouring all his energy into every gig. Even a botched album recording fiasco that drained Sanny’s life savings could not kill the dream. EMPRA picked themselves up, found a kickass producer and simply rocked harder with more honesty and passion.
EMPRA have been making a name for themselves touring across Australia, and supporting awesome Australian acts British India, Calling All Cars and Dead Letter Circus. EMPRA are currently on a three month 23 date promotional tour of their album in venues across Australia. The hardworking band booked the entire tour themselves. Overflowing with positive vibes and uplifting energy, EMPRA are on relentless journey to kick your arse and lift your spirits.
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