Introducing: Austra

PlanetPrime Planet introduces Austra, an exciting new band from Toronto, fronted by Katie Stelmanis, whose mammoth voice haunts like Karin Dreijer in a Haneke movie. We catch up with Katie to ask a few questions about Austra’s debut album and possible collaborations with Beyonce in the near future.

PlanetPrime Planet: Are you related to Austra Pumpure? She’s, err, famous in Latvia.

Austra: I have no idea who that is – people are usually related by last name right? Austra is like Sarah in Latvia. I’ve had a bunch of people from there sending me messages with the same name.

PP: What’s special about you?

Austra: I’m a kind-hearted soul and I have a big voice.

PP: Tell us a bit about the music scene in Toronto?

Austra: The music scene here is large and very spread out. There are lots of micro-scenes that don’t really hang out. That said, there’s also a lot of people working really hard and it’s inspiring and a good incentive to keep going. I like to float between and learn a bit from everyone. More recently a lot of people have started experimenting with electronics which is nice because now I have more people I can basically compare notes with and we can help each other along.

PP: How has the city influenced you?

Austra: There are lots of things that have influenced me in Toronto, mostly the people around me that I respect and admire making music. I followed bands like Ohbijou and DD/MM/YY and starting booking my own tours. I became good friends with Fucked Up who have basically mentored us into becoming an international band, and Owen Pallett has always inspired me to push the borders of our live show and recordings. The Blocks Recording Club was a great community to be a part of, all the musicians we’ve experienced in the DIY scene and helped us do our own thing for 3 years.

PP: Nu-goth or nu-sloth?

Austra: You know I think I’m going to have to go with nu-goth on this one.

PP: Is it fun working with friends?

Austra: Always fun working with friends. I wouldn’t work with anyone else.

PP: Was it fun working with Fucked Up?

Austra: It was pretty fun working with those guys. We have completely different methods of recording and song writing so it was interesting to see how they do their thing. All those dudes are super sweet and totally nerd-out in the studio which is fun to see too.

PP: How’s you debut album coming along?

Austra: The album is finished, and will be out on May 16th.

PP: When can we expect a collaboration with Beyonce?

Austra: Anything can happen in 2012