Aussie trio, Mansionair, to visit Ames

Mansionair+band

Photo by John Wilkes

Mansionair band

Hot off the release of their debut album, “Shadowboxing,” Australian trio Mansionair will perform in Ames on March 31.

Bringing with them electronic music reminiscent of acts such as Odesza and Flume, the Grammy-nominated group will light up the Maintenance Shop stage at 7 p.m.

The band released their debut album less than a month ago, where it reached number 37 on the ARIA, which records the highest selling songs and albums in Australia. Undercut by pulsing synth and bass, Mansionair’s music finds its strength in lead singer Jack Froggatt’s falsetto.

The band’s debut album “Shadowboxing” features a breezy 16-song track list. Opening with the hard-charging “Est,” the album dabbles with slow-burners while also maintaining a healthy dose of dubstep-esque pounding synth and bass.

The new album did not come easily for the group, with writing taking place in a variety of timezones and recording taking place in a California cabin tucked into the mountains. From inner-city Sydney to the mountains of California, the album became a three-year effort.

“I feel like purgatory is almost over,” Froggatt told Apple Music. “I’m just trying to be okay with the fact that I can’t change anything anymore.”

Forming in 2014 as a result of a chance encounter at a music festival in Paris, Mansionair has since toured across the U.S. and Canada while opening for bands such as Chvrches and London Grammar.

While Froggatt focused on a solo career in folk music, he met Lachan Bostock, who had been performing under the Mansionair name with his partner, Alex Nicholls. After recording separate vocals for “Hold Me Down” and combining it with instrumentals from the pair, the trio decided to form the current form of Mansionair.

The band uses an array of instruments in their music and wraps them around Froggatt’s crisp voice. At times haunting and at others club-ready, Froggatt’s voice gives Mansionair’s music an aspect that other electronic groups miss out on: a proper lead singer. While bands such as Odesza and Flume lend help from features, Mansionair have created a group that remains uniform throughout every song.

It was with Odesza that the band landed a U.S.-charting song. Their collaborative song, 2017’s “Line of Sight,” which also featured WYNNE, landed spots on both the U.S. Alternative Songs and Dance/Electronic charts. This song launched the band into the international spotlight and gave them the boost into becoming a headlining band rather than an opener. 

On their debut headlining tour, Mansionair will come through Ames. The stop at the Maintenance Shop keeps with the Ames venue’s tradition of booking up-and-coming electronic acts. In the past, the Memorial Union has hosted electronic darlings such as Neon Indian and Com Truise.

The show will cost students $12 and non-students $18. Tickets are available online at MidwesTIX.com or through the Maintenance Shop box office.