Indie Music Women’s Featured Artist of the Day is…
Austel (@austelmusic)
Austel creates dark, brooding electro-pop music led by a distinctive, ethereal vocal. Weaving together haunting soundscapes, intimate songwriting and moody visuals, Austel’s work holds up a mirror to modern life – reflecting both pain and hope. A prolific songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, Austel is emotive and perceptive; unafraid to delve into personal experience to seek a connection with her audience.
Having performed with Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, supported Fleet Foxes with Lyla Foy and toured the UK with Munro Fox and Stella Martyr, Annie Rew Shaw adopted the alias Austel and self-released her debut EP Unfold in 2018 – receiving critical acclaim from the likes of BBC 6 Music, BBC Introducing and The Line of Best Fit. Austel fuses classical training with contemplative songwriting and innovative electronica – enriched by collaborations with producer, bandmate and music technologist Adam Stark (https://buff.ly/2F4lMOY Gloves).
Austel shared with me what it means to her personally to be an indie music woman artist:
“Being an independent artist is a whirlwind combination of creative freedom, an emotional, physical and financial grind and a sense of empowerment. Over the years, I’ve harnessed what it really means to me to create the music I want to. Although it can sometimes be really hard work, I’ve learnt a lot of other skills along the way – everything from booking and running live shows to putting together marketing and PR campaigns. Overall, I feel very lucky to be able to create music with people I love; always learning and discovering new things. It can be easy to get lost in statistics and industry hype, so I try to stay grounded and connected to the real reasons for creating music: expression and connection.”
You can hear Austel’s latest single, “Dry” off her new album, Cold Love, on the Indie Music Women’s Spotify playlist.
