electronic music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
band from
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, founded in 2009 by composer, singer-songwriter, and producer Katie Stelmanis. Stelmanis is the only permanent member of the project, with a rotating live band that has included Maya Postepski (drums), Dorian Wolf (bass, Moog), and Ryan Wonsiak (keyboards). It previously also featured the twin backing singers Sari and Romy Lightman of
Tasseomancy
Tasseography (also known as tasseomancy, tassology, or tasseology) is a divination or fortune-telling method that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments.
The terms derive from the French word ''tasse'' (cup), wh ...
. The band has released four studio albums—''
Feel It Break
''Feel It Break'' is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music band Austra. It was released on May 13, 2011, by Domino. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its production and the vocals of ...
Hirudin
Hirudin is a naturally occurring peptide in the salivary glands of blood-sucking leeches (such as ''Hirudo medicinalis'') that has a blood anticoagulant property. This is essential for the leeches' habit of feeding on blood, since it keeps a h ...
'' (2020).
History
Formation and early years
In 2004, Stelmanis and Postepski played in a band called Galaxy, together with Emma McKenna. At the same time, Stelmanis started making electronic music at home and was also writing industrial-inspired soundtracks for performance artist Zeesy Powers. Powers convinced her to start performing her songs live, and in 2008 Stelmanis' debut album ''Join Us'', which appeared under her own name, was released through
Blocks Recording Club
Blocks Recording Club was a Canadian co-operative of musicians, which served as both a collaborative artist community and a record label for its member artists.xylosynth. In 2009, Stelmanis decided to change the name of the project from her own in order to increase her bandmates' visibility, and because she felt too many people were mistaking the project for being an acoustic-folk act.
In 2010, Stelmanis recruited Dorian Wolf and Carmen Elle as live members. The band played the
South by South West
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...
festival in Austin, Texas, under the name Private Life. An A&R from Domino Records saw the show and Stelmanis subsequently signed a record deal with the label. After learning the band name Private Life was taken, Stelmanis decided to use her middle name, Austra, which is also the name of the goddess of light in
Latvian mythology
Latvian mythology is the collection of myths that have emerged throughout the history of Latvia, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations, and at other times being rejected and replaced by other explanatory narratives. These myt ...
.
2011–2013: ''Feel It Break''
Austra's debut studio album, ''
Feel It Break
''Feel It Break'' is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music band Austra. It was released on May 13, 2011, by Domino. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its production and the vocals of ...
'' was released on May 11, 2011, by Domino Records, and May 17, 2011, in Canada by
Paper Bag Records
Paper Bag Records is a Canadian independent record label, artist management company, and music publishing company founded in 2002 and based in Toronto.
History
The label was created to focus on the Toronto-area indie rock music scene. Initial si ...
. The album was shortlisted for the
2011 Polaris Music Prize
The 2011 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 19, 2011
. ''Feel It Break'' was included on several year-end critics' lists; notably, both the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division.
...
'' and ''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
'' named it the best album of 2011, with the former calling it "an outright stunner". Stereogum named Austra a Band to Watch in March 2011. Stelmanis wrote and produced all the tracks on the album. Maya added additional production on ''Lose It, The Future, The Choke'' and ''The Villain''. The record was mixed by Damian Taylor in Montreal.
2013–present: ''Olympia'' and ''Future Politics''
Their second album '' Olympia'' was released on June 18, 2013. It was preceded by the lead single "Home", released on March 7, 2013. It was described as "a personal song cycle about loss and gender dynamics". Their third album '' Future Politics'' was released on January 20, 2017. For the record, Stelmanis spent time in Mexico where she was introduced to electro cumbia while house, dance and techno music influenced the writing for the album. Lyrically, Stelmanis was inspired by the book '' Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work'' by
Nick Srnicek
Nick Srnicek (born 1982) is a Canadian writer and academic. He is currently a lecturer in Digital Economy in the Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London. Srnicek is associated with the political theory of accelerationism and a ...
and Alex Williams and ''The Accelerationist Manifesto''. She indicated that the material for the record had been written before the political events in the second half of 2016.
In 2020, Austra released the album ''HiRUDin'', which ''Pitchfork'' called 'the most dynamic of Austra's albums". It was produced by
Rodaidh McDonald
Roderick William George "Rodaidh" McDonald is a Scottish record producer, and record company executive. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and currently resides in Los Angeles, California, United States. His production and mixing credits include ...
Joseph Shabason
Joseph Shabason is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist and composer. He is best known for playing the saxophone. As a band member and session musician, Shabason has contributed to bands such as DIANA, Destroyer and The War on Drugs. Under his own nam ...
.
Discography
Studio albums
Remix albums
* ''Sparkle'' (2011)
EPs
* ''Beat and the Pulse'' (2010)
* ''Habitat'' (2014)
Singles
* "Lose It" (2011)
* "Spellwork" (2011)
* "Home" (2013)
* "Painful Like" (2013)
* "Forgive Me" (2013)
* "Hurt Me Now" (2014)
* "Habitat" (2014)
* "American Science" (2014)
* "Utopia" (2016)
* "Future Politics" (2016)
* "I Love You More Than You Love Yourself" (2017)
* "Change the Paradigm" (2017)
* "Risk It" (2020)
* "Anywayz" (2020)
* "I Am Not Waiting" (2020)