Biography
The project of Canadian singer, songwriter, producer, and composer Katie Stelmanis, Austra fuses her classical background with an enthusiasm for electronic sounds to create inventive, emotionally charged art-pop. Stelmanis’ operatic voice and the thematic depth of her compositions have shaped the project’s gradual transformation. Austra first appeared as a dark electro-pop act reminiscent of Fever Ray on the brooding rhythms of Feel It Break in 2011, yet the introspective Olympia from 2014 uncovered a gentler, more delicate dimension of Stelmanis’ work. The uncannily timely dystopian themes of Future Politics in 2017 and the bold textures paired with an expansive spirit on Hirudin in 2020 further demonstrated Austra’s growing ingenuity in merging ambition with feeling.
A vocalist and pianist steeped in classical technique, Stelmanis entered the Canadian Children’s Opera at age ten and initially planned a path in that realm before discovering punk, industrial, and electronic music. During the mid-2000s she performed with drummer Maya Postepski in the Toronto group Galaxy and developed solo electronic pieces, among them scores for performance artist Zeesy Powers. Encouraged by Powers to release music independently, Stelmanis issued her 2008 solo debut Join Us through Blocks Recording Club. After recruiting Postepski and bassist Dorian Wolf, formerly of Spiral Beach, she first called the ensemble Private Life; the band performed at the South by Southwest Festival, prompting Domino Records to offer a contract. Upon discovering another act using the same name, Stelmanis chose Austra, her own middle name and that of the Latvian goddess of light.
Austra’s first single, Beat and the Pulse, surfaced in early 2011, followed that May by the full-length Feel It Break, largely tracked in Stelmanis’ home studio and mixed by Damian Taylor. The record’s shadowy, driving style earned widespread praise, including a spot on the 2011 Polaris Music Prize shortlist and a nomination for Best Electronic Album at the 2012 Juno Awards, while commercially it peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The band spent nearly two years on the road supporting the album, during which the remix EP Sparkle was released and Stelmanis started composing Austra’s follow-up. Seeking a more collective process and a warmer palette inspired by early house music and Portishead’s Third, Stelmanis and her expanded lineup—now featuring keyboardist Ryan Wonsiak and backing vocalists Romy and Sari Lightman—recorded at Michigan’s Key Club studio and captured vocals in Montreal with Taylor. Olympia, issued in June 2013, appeared on charts across Europe, the U.K., and the U.S., where it reached number nine on Billboard’s Heatseekers survey and number 14 on the Top Dance/Electronic albums tally, and was later longlisted for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize.
Austra resurfaced in January 2017 with Future Politics, shaped by Stelmanis’ stays in Montreal and Mexico City, her engagement with philosophy and economics, and exposure to European club scenes alongside electro-Cumbia. Cut with the central trio of Stelmanis, Postepski, and Wolf, the album became Austra’s strongest commercial showing yet, attaining number 29 on the U.K. Independent Albums chart and number seven on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. For the fourth album Stelmanis assembled an entirely fresh roster of collaborators, among them co-producers Rodaidh McDonald and Joseph Shabason, the classical improv ensemble c_RL, and the cellist-kamanche duo Kamancello. Titled after the potent anticoagulant produced by leeches, Hirudin—a contemplative yet rhythmic examination of toxic relationships—emerged in May 2020.
A vocalist and pianist steeped in classical technique, Stelmanis entered the Canadian Children’s Opera at age ten and initially planned a path in that realm before discovering punk, industrial, and electronic music. During the mid-2000s she performed with drummer Maya Postepski in the Toronto group Galaxy and developed solo electronic pieces, among them scores for performance artist Zeesy Powers. Encouraged by Powers to release music independently, Stelmanis issued her 2008 solo debut Join Us through Blocks Recording Club. After recruiting Postepski and bassist Dorian Wolf, formerly of Spiral Beach, she first called the ensemble Private Life; the band performed at the South by Southwest Festival, prompting Domino Records to offer a contract. Upon discovering another act using the same name, Stelmanis chose Austra, her own middle name and that of the Latvian goddess of light.
Austra’s first single, Beat and the Pulse, surfaced in early 2011, followed that May by the full-length Feel It Break, largely tracked in Stelmanis’ home studio and mixed by Damian Taylor. The record’s shadowy, driving style earned widespread praise, including a spot on the 2011 Polaris Music Prize shortlist and a nomination for Best Electronic Album at the 2012 Juno Awards, while commercially it peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The band spent nearly two years on the road supporting the album, during which the remix EP Sparkle was released and Stelmanis started composing Austra’s follow-up. Seeking a more collective process and a warmer palette inspired by early house music and Portishead’s Third, Stelmanis and her expanded lineup—now featuring keyboardist Ryan Wonsiak and backing vocalists Romy and Sari Lightman—recorded at Michigan’s Key Club studio and captured vocals in Montreal with Taylor. Olympia, issued in June 2013, appeared on charts across Europe, the U.K., and the U.S., where it reached number nine on Billboard’s Heatseekers survey and number 14 on the Top Dance/Electronic albums tally, and was later longlisted for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize.
Austra resurfaced in January 2017 with Future Politics, shaped by Stelmanis’ stays in Montreal and Mexico City, her engagement with philosophy and economics, and exposure to European club scenes alongside electro-Cumbia. Cut with the central trio of Stelmanis, Postepski, and Wolf, the album became Austra’s strongest commercial showing yet, attaining number 29 on the U.K. Independent Albums chart and number seven on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. For the fourth album Stelmanis assembled an entirely fresh roster of collaborators, among them co-producers Rodaidh McDonald and Joseph Shabason, the classical improv ensemble c_RL, and the cellist-kamanche duo Kamancello. Titled after the potent anticoagulant produced by leeches, Hirudin—a contemplative yet rhythmic examination of toxic relationships—emerged in May 2020.
Albums
Singles
