Premiere: Luke Steele and Jarrad Rogers' H3000 project shares a new single, Flames

23 July 2021 | 1:00 am | Hayden Davies
Originally Appeared In

The single is the fourth taste of the project's self-titled debut album, scheduled for release on September 17th..

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We're all about projects that come with a vision; projects that look at releasing music as more than just the music itself, but a greater, multi-dimensional experience. It's perhaps why we've been so captivated by H3000, a new project from Empire of the Sun's Luke Steele and super-producer Jarrad Rogers which launched with its debut single July Heat back in March.

As we discovered through our feature interview with the pair earlier in the year, H3000 is an all-encompassing vision that explores the complexities of the future, doing so in its experimental production and questioning lyricism (sure, of course), but also in the greater world that they've built around the project. There are otherworldly album visuals collaboratively worked on alongside production and design studio Collide (and built through the same gaming system that hosts Fortnite and Final Fantasy), a forthcoming game that brings you into these visuals and the stories they hold, and even character plots for Steele and Rogers, who for the project, are reinvented as LUKE 18 and MSTR ROGERS.

It's a vision that we've watched untie itself since their March debut, with July Heat leading into the pioneering Running back in May, followed by a third single - Human Heart - shared in late-June; each step further dissecting the world H3000 aim to create through their self-titled album, and the questions that set out to ask through the project.

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It's something that carries through into the fourth taste of the album titled Flames, premiering on Pilerats today ahead of its official release tomorrow, July 23rd. Flames is a swelling, yet intimate moment that emphasises the prowess of H300 and the musicality that thrives amongst the project; the blending of the single's evolved production and inwards-facing lyricism feeling like an encapsulation of the greater project, and the peak of the sound that H3000 are seeking to explore throughout Flames and the greater album en route.

"Flames was a labour of love; a record that was so special from the beginning," explains MSTR ROGERS on the single. "It’s like a melting pot of our influences and sonics in one record. Luke’s voices soaring as it was created to do!! Beats, synths, guitars, all our fav bits and bobs thrown in a pot with the heat on high!! It makes me feel hopeful when I hear it!! I’d love it if others felt it too."

It's a sentiment shared by Luke Steele - ahem, LUKE 18 - too. "It's so great to see all the hype and love from all around the world on this project, some of these countries I never knew existed," he says. "We are super excited to share this next tune which feels like a game-changer! It's always been a personal favourite."

The single arrives alongside yet another video by the Collider crew, who bring the song and its fiery being to life through synthetic, computerised visuals - ones that throughout the entire album campaign, bring you into the H3000 world and spit you out questioning the future of your world, and what that may appear as in the year 3000, for example. "Digital design magicians over at Collider turned up the heat on this video beyond the flames! Let's get lit!"

The full record is out on September 17th, but in the meantime, you can take a dive into Flames as it premieres below, and pre-order the record here to get it on release.

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