{"title":"Austra","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFormed in Toronto, Canada, \u003ci\u003eAustra\u003c\/i\u003e has evolved from more straightforward pop beginnings into a project that is well regarded for blending avant garde production techniques with techno and darkwave influences and strongly queer and feminist themes. Founded by composer, singer-songwriter, and producer Katie Stelmanis in 2009, she is the only permanent member of the project, with a rotating live band that has included Maya Postepski on drums, Dorian Wolf on bass and Moog, and Ryan Wonsiak on keyboards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAustra's\u003c\/i\u003e music explores unique sonic landscapes while addressing important social issues. With a distinctive sound that combines elements of pop, techno, and darkwave genres,\u003ci\u003eAustra\u003c\/i\u003e creates an immersive experience for listeners. Their thought-provoking lyrics delve into queer and feminist themes, giving voice to marginalized communities.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTheir live performances are known for their energy and passion as they bring their innovative sound to audiences around the world. As an artist who pushes boundaries both musically and socially,\u003ci\u003eAustra\u003c\/i\u003e continues to captivate fans with their powerful performances.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"olympia-1","title":"Olympia","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Olympia' is an album of transformation. Though it has only been two years since Austra's 2010 debut 'Feel It Break', it presents a quantum evolution in the Toronto-based band's sound, structure and style. After three years of non-stop international touring with the likes of the XX, Grimes and the Gossip, when it came time to record 'Olympia', Austra had evolved into a complex collaborative effort between its six members. 'Olympia' is also the first confessional record for Stelmanis as evidenced by the heartfelt lyrics of piano driven lead single 'Home'. 'Home' expresses the anxieties of waiting up all night for a lover to return. \"I was mad and upset and the song just wrote itself,\" says the singer. The album touches on a range of sentiments that stem from a relationship ending, a relationship beginning, and friends' struggles with addiction and motivation. Despite the sometimes dark lyrics written in collaboration with band member Sari Lightman, 'Olympia' is bubbly and buoyant - fundamentally a dance record, which Stelmanis says was the band's aim all along. \"We are really into dense harmonies and big beautiful melodies, but I also love techno and dance music. I wanted to bring those elements together.\"  Though 'Olympia' is filled with electronic and synthetic sounds that reference everything from Trax Record classic cuts to Yazoo's Upstairs At Eric's, it's free of programming and loops. Everything was played live by the band in the studio and all of the percussion including a wild set up of marimbas and congas was performed by drummer Maya Postepski. The album was produced by Austra with additional production by Mike Haliechuk, vocal production by Damian Taylor (Bjork, the Killers), engineered by Bill Skibbe and Leon Taheny and mixed by Tom Elmhirst (Adele, Erasure, Hot Chip).Heavyweight Double Vinyl with 12\" insert and download.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domino","offers":[{"title":"LP | x2","offer_id":50493931553099,"sku":"362305","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50493929521483,"sku":"362304","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/1f7e055e-9f5f-45a2-b484-efc7e4da6649_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727701889"},{"product_id":"future-politics","title":"Future Politics","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFuture Politics\u003c\/i\u003e, Austra’s third, and most ambitious album to date, calls for radical hope: a commitment to put together our collective visions and hopes and make a future we can stand behind. Lead by Katie Stelmanis with the support of Maya Postepski, Dorian Wolf and Ryan Wonsiak, this album is a collection of urgent, disciplined anthems for dancefloors and headphones alike, that asks each of us to remember that the apocalypse is not an inevitability, but the product of human decision-making. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLP - 180 gram Black vinyl. Housed in Gatefold jacket plus Download.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLP+ - Lmited pressing 180 gram red vinyl. Housed in Gatefold jacket plus Download.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domino","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50494431166795,"sku":"1001937","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50494431396171,"sku":"1001938","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4d00a274-40fc-431e-92a2-93a2cdae4ce1_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727705461"},{"product_id":"hirudin","title":"HiRUDiN","description":"\u003cp\u003eBeing in a toxic relationship can sometimes feel like being lost in a maze. Every attempt to turn a corner lands you back where you started. Austra aka Katie Austra Stelmanis releases her fourth album, \u003ci\u003eHiRUDiN. HiRUDiN\u003c\/i\u003e is both a bold acknowledgement of such patterns of behaviour and a testament to the power of breaking them. Alongside making changes in her personal life, \u003ci\u003eHiRUDiN\u003c\/i\u003e saw Austra taking an entirely different, free-spirited approach to making a record. Seeking out all new collaborators, she booked three days of sessions in Toronto with improv musicians she’d never met before. They included two thirds of contemporary classical improv group c_RL, the cellist and kamanche duo Kamancello, kulintang ensemble Pantayo, and a children’s choir. Accumulating a vast and vibrant mass of source material, Austra then holed up in a studio in the Spanish countryside and took a collage approach to sampling, arranging, writing and producing to reveal the songs that would form the album. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHiRUDiN \u003c\/i\u003eadditionally saw her work alongside co-producers for the first time, Rodaidh McDonald and Joseph Shabason, and she brought in David Wrench and Heba Kadry to mix and master the record respectively. While Austra’s third album, \u003ci\u003eFuture Politics\u003c\/i\u003e, was concerned with the external power structures that shape society, \u003ci\u003eHiRUDiN\u003c\/i\u003e points inward. It traces a deeply personal journey towards regeneration, dealing with the fallout of toxic relationships, queer shame, and insecurity along the way. Named after the peptide released by leeches that is the most potent anticoagulant in the world, \u003ci\u003eHiRUDiN\u003c\/i\u003e is about the importance of healing the self, letting go of harmful influences, and finding the power to rebuild through exploring your innermost desires. It reaps the rewards of Austra’s leap into the unknown, in her most introspective yet inventive statement to date.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domino","offers":[{"title":"Green | LP","offer_id":50498830434635,"sku":"1091246","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50498830565707,"sku":"1091245","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50498830664011,"sku":"1091241","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/57a97daf-814e-4bb9-8156-5ebb2606811c_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727758455"},{"product_id":"chin-up-buttercup","title":"Chin Up Buttercup","description":"\u003cp\u003e“I’m so chaotic in love,” sings Katie Austra Stelmanis on “Amnesia,” the cinematic opening track of \u003cem\u003eChin Up Buttercup\u003c\/em\u003e, the fifth album by her alter ego and longtime pop project Austra. You know Austra’s astonishing voice – singular and operatic, it betrays a fearlessness and sophistication. She’s the woman you’d be afraid to approach in a bar. Her voice draws you like a siren to the dance floor as the beats build toward the hypnotic chorus of “my life is not the same without you in my arms.” Listen closely and you’ll hear a vulnerability that sets this album apart from her earlier work. This is a grief album you can dance to. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eStelmanis and co-producer Kieran Adams shared a mutual love of pop divas, Eurodance and hard-to-find techno. Madonna’s 1998 album \u003cem\u003eRay of Light,\u003c\/em\u003e produced by William Orbit, was a key influence in the later stages of album making: “Ray of Light was produced almost entirely on a Juno-106 and a Korg MS-20 which we’d been using, so the reference point was aligned,” says Stelmanis. The album sounds like a mix of hypnotic dance floor anthems and elegant melodies to soothe your broken heart. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domino","offers":[{"title":"LP - Neon Orange","offer_id":53288753627467,"sku":"R8846-6559","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":53451472798027,"sku":"R8846-4674","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53288753660235,"sku":"R8846-2328","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/AustraCover-300dpi.jpg?v=1756722224"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_52546882_thumbnail_4096_c8ba0a9d-0572-47b1-a04b-c8e7884b05c2.jpg?v=1727701856","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/fr\/collections\/austra.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}