Austra

Austra is the name used by singer-songwriter and electronic music artist Katie Stelmanis, which happens to be her middle name, as well as the name of her band, of which she has been the only constant member. She is a classically trained pianist and singer, whose vocals have a distinct operatic quality. Her music is a mixture of serene, somewhat Enya like new age-ish electronic music and vaguely house type music with pulsating beats. The emphasis placed on her vocals does not come at the expense of the rhythmic makeup of her songs, which contain prominent percussive patterns. That said, the focus inevitably begins to shift towards her powerful voice with a rich timbre that projects very well, which also introduces a subtle tension against the intrinsically pop and effervescent nature of her synth-heavy instrumentation.