AUSTRA ANNOUNCES NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES

LISTEN TO NEW “UTOPIA” REMIX FROM IKONIKA VIA THE FADER

TOUR DATES BEGIN JANUARY 20

FUTURE POLITICS OUT JANUARY 20 VIA PINK FIZZ RECORDS

PRE-ORDER FUTURE POLITICS : CD/LP / ITUNES

“Stelmanis’ personal satisfaction derives from artistic validation... and having a voice...and with ‘Utopia’” she’s found both in the form of a steely cold and cascading swirl of a track. One that’s anthemic, too, in a way that encourages you to find your own resolve, as well.”
- Stereogum (5 Best Songs of the Week)

“A new Austra single is a ‘stop everything that you’re doing right now’ moment.” - Silent Shout

“Now, self-proclaimed intergalactic traveler Stelmanis shows her skill as a musical storyteller, playing out a strange blend of freewheeling new wave and euphonically sweet synthpop with a falsetto so sharp it could carve you in half.” - Consequence of Sound (Top 10 Songs of the Week)

“[‘Utopia’ is] an atmospheric rumination on our relationship with
technology and its trajectory.” - NYLON

Photo credit: Renata Raksha

Austra, the recording project led by Canadian vocalist and producer Katie Stelmanis, recently announced their third full length LP Future Politics, out January 20 via Pink Fizz Records. Today, Austra announce the first leg of North American tour dates in support of the forthcoming album. The Range will be supporting for a portion of the tour, and tickets are on-sale now. See below to find a show near you, and get your tickets HERE.

Accompanying today’s tour announcement is a remix by Ikonika for Future Politics’ lead single “Utopia.”

LISTEN TO NEW “UTOPIA” REMIX FROM IKONIKA VIA THE FADER

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “UTOPIA” HERE

Future Politics, Austra’s third, and most ambitious album to date, calls for radical hope: “a commitment to replace the approaching dystopia,” says Katie Stelmanis, who leads Austra with the support of Maya Postepski (Princess Century, TR/ST), Dorian Wolf, and Ryan Wonsiak. “Not just hope in the future, but the idea that everyone is required to help write it, and the boundaries of what it can look like are both fascinating and endless. It’s not about ‘being political,’ it’s about reaching beyond boundaries, in every single field.”

Future Politics is a collection of urgent, but disciplined anthems for dancefloor and headphones, asks each of us to remember that apocalypse is not an inevitability, but the product of human decision-making. It aims for a world without borders, where human compassion and curiosity drive technological innovation rather than profit, where the necessity of labor is replaced with time for creativity and personal growth, and the terror and destruction wrought by colonialism and white supremacy is recognized as a dark age in human history. The album is radicalism distilled: to galvanic beats, gorgeous, kinetic melodies, and the vulnerable majesty of Stelmanis’s voice.

Inspired by her time living in two cities – Montreal and Mexico City – and propelled by economic and philosophical texts she was reading throughout the album’s creation, Stelmanis was driven to face the world’s ailments with positivity, purpose, and engagement, rather than detachment or despair. Inspiration also came from European club culture—Objekt, Peter Van Hoesen, Lena Willikens, and ‘90s legends like Massive Attack; in all, artists who understand the dancefloor as a source of radical ideas and radical joy.

Change, Rebecca Solnit (author, activist, environmentalist and editor at Harper’s Magazine) writes, comes from “writers, scholars, public intellectuals, social activists, and participants in social media”—also “artists, club scenes, parties, teenagers, ghettoes,” says Stelmanis. “Every single person’s idea about the future is valid and relevant, especially the freaks and the queers and the outsiders.”

Future Politics is available to pre-order now on limited edition deluxe colored vinyl with exclusive signed art print, CD, and digital download.

PRE-ORDER FUTURE POLITICS : CD/LP / ITUNES

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
01/20 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club
01/21 - Montreal - Fairmount Theatre
01/24 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
01/26 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
01/27 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
01/28 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
01/29 - Durham, NC - Motorco Music Hall
01/31 - Nashville, TN - Exit/In *
02/01 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West *
02/02 - New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa *
02/03 - Dallas, TX - Trees *
02/04 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk *
02/05 - El Paso, TX - Lowbrow Palace *
02/07 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar *
02/08 - San Diego, CA - Casbah *
02/09 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre *
02/11 - San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine *
02/13 - Portland, OR - Holocene *
02/14 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile *
02/17 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club *
02/18 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
02/19 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick *
 

* with support from The Range

Album art photography by Renata Raksha at Luis Barragan’s Cuadra San Cristobal in La Ciudad de Mexico.

FUTURE POLITICS TRACKLIST
01 We Were Alive
02 Future Politics
03 Utopia
04 I’m A Monster
05 I Love You More Than You Love Yourself
06 Angel In Your Eye
07 Freepower
08 Gaia
09 Beyond A Mortal
10 Deep Thought
11 43

AUSTRA ONLINE
WEBSITE
TWITTER
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM

FRIGS ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES, REVEAL NEW SINGLE & B-SIDE

TORONTO FOUR-PIECE HITS THE ROAD BEGINNING NOVEMBER 17

LISTEN TO SINGLE “CHEST” HERE VIA THE FADER

LISTEN TO B-SIDE “THRASHYARD” HERE VIA NOISEY

BOTH TRACKS AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON ALL PLATFORMS NOV 4

“...the band mix ferocity with doom and atmospheric gloom, all played with their signature somewhat broken sound...If this is a taste of what's to come from FRIGS, consider our appetites well whetted.” - Exclaim! 9/10

“A brilliant brainfreeze” – DIY Magazine

PHOTO : CAITLIN MCLAFFERTY

Toronto four-piece FRIGS are heading back out on the road after a successful summer tour that took them through North America and the UK supporting their Slush EP. Beginning on November 17 at M for Montreal, they will tour throughout the Eastern and Central US before returning to Canada later this month, ending with a hometown show at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern.

Today, the band premiered their new single, “Chest”, via The Fader which was written shortly after their last UK tour, featuring Jaime McCuaig on background vocals. “We felt re-energized as a band, this song felt like a break through sonically and structurally,” says vocalist Bria. “At the time I think I was suffering a little bit of post tour depression and was spending weeks obsessing over the Brock Turner rape case. I was really angry and decided I needed to channel that frustration lyrically into this song. Anger over passive sentencing, victim blaming, and white male privilege. I was just pissed and wanted to ask what it would take for people to start realizing out how backwards this whole thing was; releasing a white, privileged, rapist while continuing to incarcerate hundreds of people of color over lesser crimes. Selfishly, this song is me dealing with those things.”

LISTEN TO “CHEST” HERE VIA THE FADER

The single’s B-Side “Thrashyard”, was also revealed today courtesy of Noisey. The track, which began as a band jam a long time ago, has seen many iterations of itself throughout the years. Bria tells Noisey that “Thrashyard”, “really grew out of playing with rhythm and noise to create an atmosphere. We like to play with tension a lot and this might be our strongest song in regards to that. Whenever I would write or re-write lyrics for this song, for some reason I always envisioned some sort of post apocalyptic desert with nothing around for miles. I guess the lyrics are about being in that emptiness and trying to remember what anything and everything feels like. The power and the strength that can grow out of solitude and the uncertainty you feel when left alone with yourself.”

LISTEN TO “THRASHYARD” HERE VIA NOISEY

Released via Arts & Crafts, Exclaim! gave FRIGS’ Slush a glowing 9/10 review claiming “If this is a taste of what's to come from FRIGS, consider our appetites well whetted, ” while DIY Magazine simply called Slush “a brilliant brainfreeze.”   

FRIGS is made up of Bria, Duncan, Lucas, and Edan. The band pairs the raw, emotional grunge of PJ Harvey with the immersive, psychedelic post-punk of early Sonic Youth. With each member bringing a unique set of influences, FRIGS creates a sound that is hard to pin down and an impression that’s unshakable. Led by the force of Bria’s vocals, the band has earned a reputation for putting on a hypnotic and visceral live performance. Embracing the mercurial and experimental, their shows are built upon instinct; a vocal growl can unexpectedly give way to a hushed whisper; languid drones boil over into guttural and searing tones.

WATCH AND SHARE “GOD HATES A COWARD” (OFFICIAL VIDEO) HERE

TOUR DATES
Nov 17 - Montreal QC - Cafe Cleopatra (M for Montreal)
Nov 18 - Montreal QC - Savoy du Metropolis (M for Montreal)
Nov 21 - Boston MA - Zuzu ^
Nov 22 - Brooklyn NY - Silent Barn ^
Nov 23 - New York NY - Elvis Guesthouse ^
Nov 27 - Baltimore MD - The Crown ^
Nov 28 - Athens OH - House Show ^
Nov 29 - Cincinnati OH - Northside Yacht Club ^
Nov 30 - Chicago IL - The Hideout ^
Dec 2 - Hamilton ON - This Ain't Hollywood ^
Dec 3 - Guelph ON - Van Gogh's Ear ^
Dec 7 - Toronto ON - Horseshoe Tavern

^ with WHIMM

FRIGS ONLINE
TWITTER
FACEBOOK

ARTS & CRAFTS
WEBSITE

JASON COLLETT'S BASEMENT REVUE CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY OVER FIVE SHOWS THIS DECEMBER

THE BASEMENT REVUE CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY THIS DECEMBER

FOUR INTIMATE SHOWS AT THE DAKOTA EVERY THURSDAY IN DECEMBER BEGINNING DECEMBER 1

ONE STAR-STUDDED NIGHT AT THE GREAT HALL ON DECEMBER 22

The Basement Revue is a cross-pollinating half-music and half-literary variety show with a rock-’n’-roll sensibility and a unique Canadian voice that has blossomed into one of Canada’s most interesting live event series.

One frosty winter night in 2007, The Basement Revue was born at Toronto’s intimate Dakota Tavern. A critical and popular sensation, The Basement Revue features the best of literary and musical talent, often sharing the stage for the first time. The constant stream of musicians, storytellers, and poets provides for a certain type of unpredictable excitement. In past incarnations, audiences have encountered the mesmerizing Feist backing up a reading from Michael Ondaatje and even Margaret Atwood stepping up to the mic in front of one of Canada’s most celebrated bands and saying, with her characteristic deadpan wit, “Hit it, Sadies.” 

The Basement Revue is the creation of well-known Canadian musician, songwriter and producer Jason Collett with poet and editor Damian Rogers joining as co-host and literary curator in 2009. More than a great night out, The Basement Revue is both a showcase and an incubator for Canadian culture. Its unique multi-platform model is designed to introduce emerging artists to a deeply engaged audience and to provide a supportive environment for established artists to experiment, take risks, and develop new work. As artists themselves, Collett and Rogers aim to serve their community by facilitating collaborations across disciplines and by fostering creative relationships among an expanding circle of musicians, poets and storytellers. They are committed to holding space for Indigenous voices and consider it a guiding principle to prioritize conversations and connections among Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists.

This concert series has grown significantly in the last four years. Of particular poignancy was The Basement Revue’s December 2014 Opera House show, honouring a theme of reconciliation for the first time. The country still raw from the stories of Tina Fontaine and Rinelle Harper, the issue of murdered and missing Indigenous women in Canada resonated in a profound way with the artists who were brought together. Co-curated with Joseph Boyden and A Tribe Called Red, the event, dedicated to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, featured collaborations between Boyden, A Tribe Called Red, and Lido Pimienta; Shary Boyle and Emily Vey Duke; Leanne Simpson and Tara Williamson; Gord Downie, Kevin Drew and Dave Hamelin; Naomi Klein and Cris Derkson; Lee Maracle, Columpa Bob, and Jennifer Castle. These performances are now featured on the National Association of Friendship Centre’s online home — NewJourneys.ca.

The Basement Revue has presented original collaborative performances by some of our country’s most celebrated musicians and writers. The Basement Revue has also shown a consistent commitment to introducing audiences to artists they have never heard before. Over the years, Collett and Rogers have curated an impressive range of established and emerging artists, which also include Broken Social Scene, Daniel Lanois, Rufus Wainwright, Bahamas, Hydra, Snowblink, Andy Kim, Torquil Campbell (Stars), Jimmy Shaw (Metric), Buck 65, K-OS, Tanika Charles, John K. Samson, Hayden, Vag Halen, Whitehorse, Arkells, Sarah Harmer, Bry Webb, Tabatha Southey, Linda Spalding, Karen Solie, Alvvays, Misha Glouberman, Leon Rooke, Kathryn Borel, David McGimpsey, Tanya Tagaq, Hannah Georgas, Reuben Bullock, Charlotte Day Wilson, TUNS, Amelia Curran, Charlotte Cornfield, Bernice, Drew Hayden Taylor, Anne Waldman, Sheila Heti, Pasha Malla, Aisha Sasha John, Jean-Marc Ah Sen, Tracey Lindberg, Ken Babstock, Dennis Lee, Lynn Crosbie, and Hal Wilner.

The Basement Revue has discovered a unique and successful way of showcasing contemporary poetry in front of an audience that the art form does not usually reach. The Revue elevates the literary element of this show by giving it a complete rock-’n’-roll sensibility. A loyal audience has been cultivated (tickets always sell out shortly after each series is announced) that continue to come to the shows, without any knowledge of who will perform, because of the high calibre of curation. As an early review from Eye Weekly put it, “For doubters who think such a stunt would never work, I have to report that I have been to literally hundreds of poetry readings in my life, and I have never witnessed a more attentive and responsive audience.”

Hosted every Thursday in December at The Dakota on December 1, 8, 15 and 29, The Basement Revue will return again to The Great Hall on December 22 for an extra special edition. Tickets are $30 for each night and can be purchased online only by visiting BASEMENTREVUE.COM. Doors open at 8:30pm. 

In the meantime, The Basement Revue Podcast is now live and available for download. Subscribe now, and listen to the first three episodes right away. Recorded during the 2015 season at the Dakota Tavern in Toronto, the podcast now gives listeners that were unable to attend a front row seat to these intimate performances. 

MORE PRAISE FOR JASON COLLETT’S BASEMENT REVUE

‘“Thanks for taking a chance on us,” Collett said simply, the captivating night he had arranged now over. His hosting had been immaculate.’  —The Globe and Mail  

“Jason Collett’s shown us again that his perseverance, determination and above all, his vision, for this series, is stronger than ever.” —Blog TO

“An unlikely gathering of some of the city’s most prodigious indie musical and literary talents.” —National Post

“This induced cross-pollination is, on one level, an attempt to expand the audience’s palette beyond music and into disparate art forms, but it also helps to bridge the gap between disciplines.” —Soundproof Magazine

THE BASEMENT REVUE ONLINE
PODCAST
WEBSITE
TWITTER