New Release – Empire by Mulholland Jive

Mulholland Jive is an instrumental funk-rock project by Irish musician Ben Mulholland, a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Cambridge (UK). Ben originally wrote a lot of the Mulholland Jive tracks for some of his secondary school students to rehearse and perform. The tracks proved very popular with the students and so Ben decided to record them properly.

His new release ‘Empire’ will be out 24th June. A pre-save is available here.

How would you describe ‘Empire’?

“It sounds like what getting a perfect run in Mario Kart feels like! It has the high-energy and explosive sound that is quickly becoming synonymous with Mulholland Jive. Lively guitar hooks, blistering piano solos and infectious rhythms make this a track that refuses to be ignored!”

What movie or TV show would feature your music and why?

“Anything action-packed and a bit OTT! I’m currently watching the anti-superhero TV series The Boys and ‘Empire’ would fit right in with any of their fight scenes. Or it could easily soundtrack a showdown between Buffy and whatever villain-of-the-week she’s fighting in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The title ‘Empire’ is a reference to my favourite Star Wars film, which is the best Star Wars film – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! I can definitely hear ‘Empire’ soundtracking the Battle of Hoth or the scene when Luke confronts Vader.”

Where was it recorded and mixed?

“It was recorded entirely at home. I played all the parts myself using a mixture of real and MIDI instruments. My go-to guitarist Will Pears-Cooper bossed the guitar parts and then the track was mixed and mastered at North Acre Recording Studio by super-producer Jake Day. Both Will and Jake have worked on all the previously released Mulholland Jive tunes and have really helped mould the Mulholland Jive sound.”