Other events in Baltic States

The Canadian band Austra, fronted by Latvian-Canadian singer Katie Stelmanis, is one of the most fascinating discoveries in popular music in 2011, writes liveriga.com.

Austra are true to their word and will perform in Latvia this year yet! The band will be in Latvia for New Year's Eve, and give a special concert at Palladium concert venue on December 31.

Austra were eagerly anticipated at the Positivus festival this year, and after the band's performance at the festival was unexpectedly cancelled, new options were sought so Austra could perform in Latvia this year yet.

The band's debut album Feel It Break was released this past May to critical acclaim. The album was recorded at the prestigious Domino Records, a recording company popular with many musicians. Feel It Break was co-produced by Damian Taylor, who has collaborated with such artists as Björk, The Prodigy, Robyn and Unkle.

Austra's debut album has been nominated for Polaris Award, the Canadian equivalent of the British Mercury Award. Since the release of the album, the band has been giving concerts in their native Canada and the United States, the band also gave several sold-out concerts in Europe.

Austra frontgirl Katie Stelmanis' opera-trained voice in combination with the dark, pulsating rhythms of electronic music create hypnotic and pagan atmosphere that lingers long after the songs are over.