Austra returns with her first new song since 2017, "Risk It"

Praise for Austra & her previous album, Future Politics:

“a bracing, coolly tuneful vision of tomorrow that refuses to submit to inertia. In an era when simply resisting dystopia can seem idealistic, Future Politics dares to hope big.” - NPR Music

“It’s music to be escaped into, whether on dance floors or alone somewhere” - Pitchfork

“[Austra] has always communicated — stylistically and thematically — that it takes a thoughtful, but no less compelling, approach to dance music and pop.” - The FADER

“Musically, it’s got an instinctive cinematic pulse, and it takes full advantage of Stelmanis’ stunning voice.” - Stereogum

“austere synth-pop” - ELLE

“as catchy as it is affecting, driven by Stelmanis’ crystalline vocals and intricate synth work.” - NYLON

Austra released her tremendous critically acclaimed and eerily prescient Future Politics in 2017, and today she returns with her first new music since.

On the blistering new single “Risk It,” Austra pitches her voice up over a chorus of brass instruments to capture the desperation in feeling scared to leave a relationship. “I feel ashamed / It feels insane to seek you endlessly / Late night Remedy / But girl, I just can’t let you go,” she sings.

Alongside the single, Austra also shares a Jasmin Mozzafari-directed video. “I wanted to construct a narrative piece that takes place over the course of one night, focusing on a protagonist caught at the inevitable crossroads that exist when love falls apart,” Mozzafari explains. “Ultimately, I saw "Risk It" as a song about the fear of being vulnerable. At the beginning, the protagonist tries to do anything to evade this feeling; by the end, they are forced to face it."

Katie Austra Stelmanis has been better known by her middle name for three albums, ten years, and countless tours. She wrote, produced, and performed all her own records, occasionally sharing the spotlight with a band to tour live. From the outside, things were going really well for a while: she built a devoted fan base and sold out shows all around the world. However, on the inside, Stelmanis was beginning to feel stagnant and uninspired. “I was losing faith in my own ideas,” she explains. Without realizing it, she’d got caught up in a toxic relationship that was tearing her apart.

Austra felt the need to cut ties, personally and professionally, and start all over again. On “Risk It”, she worked with external producers for the first time, bringing in Rodaidh McDonald and Joseph Shabason to assist on production duties. “Risk It” additionally features kamanche (Kurdish violin) and cello from Canadian duo Kamancello and percussion from noise artists c_RL.

Upcoming Austra live shows have also been announced, with North American shows in Toronto and NYC. Dates below; tickets at austra.fyi.

“When you know the one you’re with is bad for you but you’re too scared to quit.

You say: ‘I love you, I don’t want to lose you…’

And they wear their crown of shit, upon their liar's chair, while leeching off your devotion.”

- Austra, 2020

Buy “Risk It” HERE

5/5 - Toronto, CA @ Longboat Hall
5/7 - New York, NY @ The Sultan Room
5/12 - London, UK @  Hoxton Hall
5/13 - Paris, France @ Le Badaboum
5/14 - Barcelona, Spain @ Mil.Leni Festival
5/16 - Palma de Mallorca, Spain @ Mallorca Live Festival
5/18 - Berlin, Germany @ Theater Im Delphi
5/20 - Warsaw, Poland @ Niebo
5/21 - Vienna, Austria @ 21st - WUK
5/22 - Madrid, Spain @ Tomavistas Festival