Austel Reveals A Reimagined Magic With Album, ‘Feathers’

In the light of her latest Album release, Feathers, we are joined by London, United Kingdom based singer/songwriter and producer, Annie Rew Shaw, the woman behind the musical project, Austel.

With music inspired by an eclectic array of artists, including Bon Iver, Thom Yorke, Cocteau Twins, Jon Hopkins, Nick Cave and Elliott Smith, Austel engages herself in the true creative art of songwriting, blending influences from her classical training background with ambient textures, cinematic soundscapes and contemplative electronica.

After the release of her EPs, ‘Unfold’ in 2018 and ‘Cold Love’ in 2020, received amazing support from fans and media, Austel is back with her album, ‘Feathers’, where she has recreated the magic of the EPs and transformed them into an intimate and personal collection of stunning piano and vocal musical creations.

‘Stripping back the production and really focusing on the songwriting and bare bones cast a whole new light on these songs… they’re actually closer to how I originally wrote them, just vocals and piano. The songs feel very exposed and intimate, I love that there’s nothing to hide behind.’ Austel

Written in conjunction with long time collaborator, Adam Stark (MiMU Gloves, Rumour Cubes), the tracks feature fellow musicians, Terry Murphy on viola, Adam Stark on guitar, and Kit Denison on cello.

You are sure to be captivated and drawn into each and every moment of this album.. It is the perfect album to listen to when you are able to take the time to truly listen.

You can listen to ‘Feathers’ below:

Would you like to start by telling us a little about yourself?

I’m an artist and producer from Devon now living in East London.

I’ve self-released two EPs and an album as Austel, I’m also in a band called Dust In The Sunlight, and I recently adopted an amazing little cat called Carey.

What was it that first inspired you to begin a career in music?

I started learning to play piano from a really young age, but it was mostly classical stuff.

It wasn’t until my dad gave me a Red Hot Chili Peppers songbook that I put two and two together that I could use these cool chords I was learning to write my own songs (which were probably all rip-offs of ‘Under The Bridge’).

I started doing that around the age of twelve, and really can’t remember ever wanting to do anything else.

I’ve always loved performing, organising projects and events, putting sounds together and building worlds with them.

What has been your biggest achievement to date, as an artist?

Being able to keep going! Haha.

I’ve played some cool shows and festivals with other bands that felt amazing, but I think my biggest personal achievement has been producing my own music – it’s something I’d long wanted to do and feels incredibly liberating and empowering.

How would you describe the feel of your music?

Words like ‘haunting’ and ‘ethereal’ get thrown around quite a lot… I guess I’d like to say there’s always a cinematic element; lots of soundscapes and atmospherics to build a world for the songs to live in. 

You have recently released your album, ‘Feathers’.. what was the inspiration behind the creation of this album?

Before the pandemic, we were playing quite a lot of acoustic shows like Sofar Sounds where we needed to adapt the arrangements from the electro-pop style of my first two EPs to be much more stripped-back and minimal.

I found I really loved these new arrangements – they allowed the lyrics to be heard differently, and I guess shone more light on the original songwriting.

I really wanted to capture that by recording the new versions.

I’ve also been working on a lot of new material over the past couple of years, which isn’t a million miles from ‘Unfold’ and ‘Cold Love’, but is definitely heading in a new direction… so I feel that ‘Feathers’ is a bit of a palette-cleanser bringing everything back to basics before Austel 2.0 hits town.

What did the creative process look like for ‘Feathers’?

Due to lockdown-y reasons, Adam (my bandmate and fellow producer) and I actually had most of our sessions over Zoom, which wasn’t the easiest thing but we made it work!

We managed to record the piano and other instruments in the small pockets of freedom and then mixed most of it together online.

There were some challenges that arose from not being able to record in a studio, but I actually find that I record my best vocal takes from home, where I feel super comfortable and relaxed.

I think all of that really contributed to the intimate nature of this record.

Where do you find your inspiration for your music?

I listen to other people’s music constantly and go to lots of live shows, which are always very inspiring.

I also read a lot of books and get really into tv dramas and films; I’ve always loved getting into the mindsets of characters and using that to kind of amplify my own thoughts or mirror personal experience.

I think also just observing human nature, and how I feel within nature myself… my best ideas always come when I’m out walking and processing everything.

What would you like to see happen for you in your music from here?

I’m really excited to get going with the new songs – I think they’re a really interesting step forward in both sound and songwriting.

I’m also keen to produce more work for other people, and would love to start composing some scores for visual media.

What is one message you would like to share with your fans?

Just to say thank you for listening, it really means the world to me.

Where can people find your music?

@austelmusic on all socials, on Bandcamp, or any streaming platform 🙂