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‘Olympia’ is an album of transformation. Though it has only been two years since Austra’s 2010 debut ‘Feel It Break’, it presents a quantum evolution in the Toronto-based band’s sound, structure and style.

After three years of non-stop international touring with the likes of The xx, Grimes and The Gossip, when it came time to record ‘Olympia’, Austra had evolved into a complex collaborative effort between its six members.

Although ‘Olympia’ is filled with electronic and synthetic sounds that reference everything from Trax Records classic cuts to Yazoo’s ‘Upstairs At Eric’s’, it’s free of programming and loops. Everything was played live by the band in the studio and all of the percussion - including a wild set up of marimbas and congas - was performed by drummer Maya Postepski.

The album was produced by Austra with additional production by Mike Haliechuk, vocal production by Damian Taylor (Bjork, The Killers), engineered by Bill Skibbe and Leon Taheny and mixed by Tom Elmhirst (Adele, Erasure, Hot Chip).