Empire of the Sun are singer Luke Steele, of critically lauded but commercially unsuccessful Aussie indie band The Sleepy Jackson, and fellow Australian Nick Littlemore of house duo Pnau. The duo took their name from the JG Ballard novel, which Steven Spielberg made into a cinema film in 1987.

The duo are both committed Christians and in an interview with The Sunday Times February 1, 2009, Luke Steele described the music as "our ministry." Steele went on to tell a story about the making of the song's video, which used the ancient Mexican festival Day of the Dead as an inspiration and was partly shot in a church in the Mexican desert: "Nick and I went in that morning and prayed, and it had this quiet energy. We filmed a segment and it was beautiful, holy. Suddenly, the whole church starts to fill up with the director and crew. Everyone is cussing and smoking and making a noise. The next thing we know - boom! All the lights start making this terrible screeching sound, and it won't stop. The producer, a Mexican guy, turns to me and says, 'We should go.'"