Nick Littlemore, the missing member of Empire of the Sun, has surfaced and revealed he's been working with Elton John!

The other half of Empire of the Sun, Luke Steele, said last month that he hadn't heard from his bandmate for five months and was forced to embark on their Australian tour solo.

Speaking to NME.com, Littlemore said he's been busy working with his other outfit Pnau in various cities around the globe.

He said: "We're making a studio album with Elton John co-writing on some tracks for the next Pnau album.

"We met Elton in Australia and his manager has now become our manager."

Quizzed as to why he hasn't been in contact with Steele, Littlemore said: "I've been working with Cirque du Soleil in Montreal and writing and recording the next Pnau album in London, Atlanta and New York with Peter Mayes.”

He went on to explain that he broke his phone after going swimming with it in his pocket and never got around to replacing it.

(by Scott Colothan)