Being in a toxic relationship can sometimes feel like being lost in a maze. Every attempt to turn a corner lands you back where you started. Today, Austra aka Katie Austra Stelmanis announces her fourth album, 'HiRUDiN'. Set for release on May 1st, 'HiRUDiN' is both a bold acknowledgement of such patterns of behaviour and a testament to the power of breaking them.
Having previously shared 'Risk It' from the forthcoming record, now Austra shares new single 'Anywayz'. The album’s opening track, Stelmanis says of 'Anywayz': “It explores the fear associated with leaving someone, and the terrifying realization that without them in your life, the rest of the world will continue unscathed as if nothing has changed.”
The director of the video for 'Anywayz' (and also the video for “Risk It”), Jasmin Mozaffari (‘Firecrackers’) adds: “I wanted the video to feel as dramatic and chaotic as heartbreak can be, bringing this fear into fruition. The concept focuses on Katie as a heightened version of herself, sequestered inside a barren mansion that resembles a cage of her own spiralling thoughts. She resists moving on, yet as time persists and the outside world thrives, it eventually forces itself upon her.”
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 realising it, she’d got caught up in a toxic relationship that was tearing her apart.
