Austra @ Organic Dance Music Festival, Munich, 13th June 2015

An electronic music festival - with loud, heavy beats playing and people raving - isn't the first place you'd expect to see Canadian band Austra perform. At Munich's Organic Dance Music Festival, however, the band nonetheless managed to attract quite a big crowd at the Zenith indoor stage.

Playing in an old warehouse against the backdrop of a large black and white projection reading "AUSTRA", the Canadian group presented a set slightly adapted to the electronic, rave nature of the festival. "Beat And The Pulse", for example, included heavier-than-usual beats throughout.  Austra's deep keyboard sounds and Katie Stelmanis' incredible, emotional voice felt trance-like, placing the crowd under the Canadians' spell (nice "Spellwork", Austra).
"During the set I felt like I had taken some weird, wonderful drug", Austra fan Emily told us after the set. The Canadians on stage looked like they were high on it as well: focussed on their music, portraying a deep connection with the sounds they were producing.

My highlight of their set was the last song "Hurt Me Now" - Austra portrayed their ability to play deep, yet energetic content in one song.




Austra played:

Darken Her Horse
Painful Like
Forgive Me
The Choke
The Villain
Home
Reconcile
Sleep
What We Done?
Lose It
Beat and the Pulse
Hurt Me Now

Benjamin Brown