Austra

Austra is the Toronto trio of vocalist/pianist/etc Katie Stelmanis, drummer Maya Postepski, and bassist Dorian Wolf, but the bulk of the band’s promo photos feature the singer by her lonesome. The three-piece is mainly a vehicle for the fevered imagination of Katie Stelmanis, a classically trained musician with a tendency to use her mainly electronic compositions for neo-operatic flights of vocal fancy. She joined the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus aged 10; she learned viola and piano and studied opera privately for four years before jacking it all in a week before starting college because she didn't want to live in Montreal. Not a bad choice in most listener's eyes or should I say ears. Katie is also certainly outspoken about her sexuality and what it means in the context of her band, at least two of whom (she and Maya) are gay. "I am a musician first, and a lesbian second," she proclaims, adding, "[but] being gay is a huge part of who I am and definitely affects the music I make. I'd like to be recognized as someone who makes interesting, experimental music and also identifies as queer." This is the song "Lose It" off their debut album Feel It Break, that will be released in May.

Fact of the Day: Austra is also a goddess of light in Latvian mythology

www.austramusic.com

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