Anything from oldies such as my old pal Sinatra and Dean Martin through to the Scissor Sisters, Gonzales, Peaches, Senor Coconut, Black Strobe and many more!
Television
"DREAMS (ARE MY REALITY)" with Senor Coconut - directed by Progressive Pictures:
"BOOM BOOM" / from the album IGUANA - directed by Progressive Pictures:
Lounge wizard Louie Austen resembles nothing less than your devilishly dashing bachelor uncle. His English is straight out of a Sinatra comedy and his conversation is littered with 50s showbiz expressions. DAZED & CONFUSED
Forget shabby hotel ballrooms and cabaret night at the local working men’s clubs, this is crooning reborn for the 21st century. And you will love it. JOCKEY SLUT
Louie Austen could brag about having the most contrasting musical career of all - he has a voice and lounge panache that could give even Sinatra a run for his limo. CLASH
„Art must be a matter of life and death – otherwise it’s not art“ is the sincere conviction of Louie. And so is "I will never retire, I will probably die on stage but I do not give a fuck!" One thing the Viennese Electro-crooner does not go for is doing things by half. Whatever he does is done with his fullest commitment – and often regardless of the consequences. Admittedly, this reckless attitude has gotten him into serious trouble time and again. And yet it also made him what he is today: a man who finds himself an upcoming and sought-after artist whose career has not yet reached its climax.
There's a lot going on with Louie: Early 2007 he even founded his own label LA Music – Louie Austen Music – which has given birth to three EP releases thus far; the "Summer Love” record, the "(Dreams Are My) Reality" Richard Sanderson cover feat. Senor Coconut & His Orchestra and in the summer of 2008 a coop with Commercial Breakup from Berlin, former keys-man of Blumfeld as on the “Too Good To Last EP”. With the cool cats of Senor Coconut Louie had been joining them on their “Around The World” tour and was featured on their album by the same name.
At the Viennese "Burgtheater" he had a part in an adaption of Johann Nestroys play "Höllenangst" which is to be taken back into programme in summer 2009 as it has been so popular with people. Louie also has his fingers in the movie bizness - "The Counterfeiters / Die Fälscher" of Stefan Ruzowitzky won an OSCAR for best foreign movie in 2008 and includes a cameo of Louie as a casino gambler. Louie also appeared as Karl in the Austrian short movie „Lounge“, an hommage to the film noir movies of the 1940s directed by Armin Bointner of Progressive Pictures.
On top of this all Mr. Austen is of course regularly swooning and crooning in clubs worldwide & has a weekly residence at the Cascade Bar of the Marriott hotel in Vienna by the name of “Louies Saturday” with various programmes, including Best of Ratpack songs.
But moment, how did this man get started? Time for a flashback: In 1999, the bustling Viennese Electro scene gives birth to a new and surprising idea. A Viennese electronic producer contrasts his experimental electronic tracks with the velvety voice of Louie Austen. He had run into the classic jazz crooner in a studio and immediately proposed a collaboration.
Austen, then 53 years old, had already led an eventful life in various parts of the world and could look back on an equally eventful performing career. After immigrating to South Africa and Australia he had performed in clubs and on stages in New York, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas during the 70s. After his return to Vienna, the crooner entertained the guests at the Klimt-Bar of the Vienna Hilton before he took over the entire entertainment for the Marriott Hotel. A safe job and well paid, too. Additionally, Austen wrote and produced shows like “Viva Las Vegas“ or “American Superstars“, played parts in several movies and toured both Europe and the USA with show programmes.
Yet Austen is intrigued by the electronic beats and sounds of the young generation. When the first album “Consequences“ (1999) is well received in the club scene and the first concerts turn out promising, Louie makes a courageous decision. “I decided there and then to resign from all other jobs and to completely dedicate myself to this new project for a period of two years“, he recalls. “I reflected that, if I’d find myself in the street after those two years, I’d have to go back to my old jobs. But I wanted to try out this new direction under all circumstances – I simply had to.“
It was a decision that was true to the nature of a man who sees himself as always searching and filled with a childlike curiosity. Who is always ready to accept new challenges and gladly accepts the fact that not all of them can pay off. But Austen simply abhors routines and artistic stagnation. “To try something new every single day – that’s what keeps me alert and on the ball, young and active.“
Naturally Austen wasn’t prepared to terminate the experiment after two years. Instead he collaborated with Viennese electronics pioneers on two more albums, “Only Tonight“ (2001) and “Easy Love“ (2003). Austen appreciates that his involvement with electronic music was a stroke of luck for him. “A very special phase of my career began when I was 53“, he gratefully acknowledges, “from which my life has enormously benefited over the last years, since I can perform my own songs and find an audience for them.”
His new music allows Austen a transformation from a pure entertainer, who assumes the roles of those he pays tribute to, into an artist in his own right, no less. “I’m quite grateful for having followed my instincts back then, despite the fact that some of my friends tried to dissuade me“, he says retrospectively. Part of Louie Austen’s appeal lies in the fact that he has not entirely discarded the entertainer in this metamorphosis. He brought many things along for the ride, and his know-how of how to entertain with verve and how to put on a great show, his charm and charisma, and the style of the urbane entertainer he had cultivated so long serve him equally well in the electronic underground. He is a mediator who mixes various genres, some of which were previously regarded as incompatible. For several years now he has managed to resolve alleged contradictions and break down prejudices – jazz and dance beats, advanced age and youth culture, smart style and underground. “In a way I stand for a kind of reconciliation“, he describes his unique position, “a bridge between old and new or between young and old.“
And indeed, Louie Austen does have a talent for bridging differences, which makes his role in the music business all the more important. And that’s not all – Louie Austen even has the ability to dispel existential angst. “Now that I’ve seen you“, so many young people tell him after a show, “I’m no longer afraid of growing old.“ It’s hard indeed to imagine a better compliment than that.
Whats new pussycats? Eat this, Louie just released the “My Amy EP” in spring 2009, an homage to Amy Winehouse getting released on Etage Noir, the label of electronic artist Parov Stelar who is to be named also for productions credits here. Of course master Austen has many more aces of spades up his sleeves; he is also working on several coops and on another studio album by the name of "62" for release winter 2009 / spring 2010.
CURRENT RELEASE - OUT NOW SPRING 2009 ON ETAGE NOIR RECORDINGS -- LOUIE AUSTEN "MY AMY EP" yes, a tribute to a certain Miss Winehouse, produced by Parov Stelar!
Webplayer: MY AMY EP WEBPLAYER
Who I'd like to meet: Dean Martin! People who would like to be part of my street team, Hugh Hefner and some bunnies at the Playboy mansion, tuxedo tailors and Mr. Ed the talking horse, oh - and Amy Winehouse (cant help about falling in love).
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