Au/Ra

Antiguan/German artist Au/Ra shapes alternative pop laced with electronic textures drawn from her blended cultural roots. Attention first arrived via the 2017 Outsiders EP and its standout cut “Concrete Jungle,” after which the 2018 X Games EP appeared alongside the later singles “Dance in the Dark” in 2019 and “Dead Girl” in 2021.

Jamie Lou Stenzel entered the world in Ibiza before spending her childhood in Antigua inside a household steeped in music; her father worked as an electronic and trance producer. At ten she resolved to make music herself, initially posting covers of material by Birdy, P!nk, Shakira, Rihanna and others under the name Jamie Lou. She later chose the Au/Ra alias, borrowed from a figure in Lord of the Rings fan fiction she had written. Drawing from Lana Del Rey, Kraftwerk, the Neighbourhood and Arctic Monkeys, she turned to writing original material. Her debut single “Concrete Jungle” evoked Lorde so closely that it was likened to a “Royals 2.0” for 2016. Next came “Outsiders,” an anthem for outsiders that wove a lyric interpolation of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” into its fabric, followed by the big-beat track “Kicks,” whose vocals suggested Halsey. All three songs landed on the 2017 Outsiders EP. The X Games EP surfaced the next year. In 2019 she released the atmospheric electro-pop number “Dance in the Dark,” then offered the independent track “Dead Girl” in 2021.