Austere is an

anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

, obscurantist

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

group that has covered a wide variety of styles in their releases: Classical Minimalism,

psybient Psychedelic Trance, Psytrance or Psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...

psychedelic ambient Psychedelic Trance, Psytrance or Psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

, dark ambient,

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

, glitch-ambient, and downtempo-style

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

music, which out of deference to Coil they spell "musick." The group started working together in 1997, with their first release on 1 January

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, and is loosely based in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

Portlandia ''Portlandia'' is an American sketch comedy television series starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, set in and around Portland, Oregon, and spoofing the city's reputation as a haven for eccentric hipsters. The show was produced by Broa ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

due to their connection to Sound-O-Mat Recordings which is located there. The two members have lived in various places, such as

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, NY;

North Chatam UK North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

, UK;

, OR;

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, WA;

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, UK and SF, CA amongst many more. Their Classical

Minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

recordings: "Convergence", "Eco", "Pulse" and "Vox" all draw upon

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

's Process Music approach, as defined by his

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

" Music as a Gradual Process." They have collaborated with a number of musicians/bands including Abstract Audio Systems (

In The Now ''In the Now'' is the second solo album by British singer-songwriter Barry Gibb, released on 7 October 2016 by Columbia Records. Although his second solo album (since 1984's ''Now Voyager''), it is the first of all new material since the Bee Gees ...

(

, UK) and Stephen Philips, owner of Dark Duck Records. They have contributed to videos and films: the soundtrack for '' The Thin Horizon'', an independent film written, directed and produced by Michael Peters of Artifexwerks located in

Forest Grove A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

; a track from the Dark Duck Records Drone Download Project was used Claude's Room, also an independent film. They have also contributed to several music videos, such as th
Abandon
video, and most recently, the Tiny Danser. Austere's members have recorded solo works, as

The Mystifying Oracle ''The Mystifying Oracle'' is the debut studio album by American DJ Ghastly. Consisting of 13 songs and collaborations with artists such as Barely Alive, Crankdat, Dr. Fresch, it was released on May 4, 2018. Background The album was described as ...

and Freq. Magnet. The latter has released three full CDs, a DVD, and a recent track on a Hypnos compilation CD.

Discography

The discography of Austere, includes thirteen

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s, four

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

CDEP The Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) was an initiative by the Australian Government for the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people It provided a flexible basic income support. One way in which the CDEP funds, a ...

s, ten compilation appearances, including several on Hypnos and a 6-hour compilation

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

of previously released and three unreleased tracks.

Albums

EPs

Compilations

Soundtracks

DVDs

short form

All Austere releases are distributed by the ambient label Hypnos Records, and the band has signed with the labels Hypnos and Blue Water Records in 2007.

Older logo

External links

Band Web Site

The Mystifying Oracle
- solo side-project, ethnic-styled

musick
Freq. Magnet
- solo side-project, guitar-only ambient musick

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austere (Band) Electronic music groups from Oregon Musical groups established in 1998 1998 establishments in Oregon Musical groups from Portland, Oregon