Austra Changes Her Process for New Album, ‘HiRUDIN’

Katie Stelmanis, also known as the electronic musician, Austra, grew up playing the piano. She was obsessed from the start. She took lessons and played for hours, endlessly satisfied by the music. Soon, she fell in love with classical music, with its lush complexities and delightful compositions. But it was a rock concert years later in Calgary, Alberta that would change her life again. Stelmanis, who will release the latest Austra record, HiRUDiN, on May 1st, says that live events helped her see music in a new and affecting way. 

“One of the first shows I ever saw was this hardcore band from Calgary,” says Stelmanis, a native Toronto, Ontario. “One of my friends was dating one of the members so we went to the show. It was my first time seeing loud guitar music in a live setting. I was floored by the volume and the intensity and the power. It kind of changed me for life.”