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The siblings could be said to be following in their parents footsteps as they performed as a folk duo before Angus and Julia were born. Their father taught all three of his children how to play instruments and at family gatherings, when the children performed, Catherine was on saxophone, Julia on trumpet and Angus on trombone. They had an interesting passage into music, Julia travelled through South America on a gap year absorbing the sights and sounds of the countries she visited whilst Angus taught himself guitar whilst recovering from a snowboarding accident.
When Julia returned to Australia, the pair began to gig in small venues, mainly billed as Angus with Julia offering occasional backing vocal. However their first gig as a duo at the Coogee Bay Hotel, they performed Angus' track, 'Tears'. By that time Julia was writing her own material and they played split sets with each providing backing vocals for the other's material. In 2006 they decided to collaborate indefinitely and it proved a winning formula as by the end of the same year the duo signed a worldwide publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Creative Artists Agency came on board as their UK-European agent.
Shortly after their recordings they gained noteirity in both their native Australia and the UK, In February 2007 they played their first national Australian tour which sold out completely. In the same month their early works 'Chocolates and Cigarettes' and 'Heart Full of Wine' were double-packed and released in Australia and the UK. The double EP reached No. 12 on the UK iTunes and their single, 'Private Lawns', was named Single of the Week on BBC Radio 2. The debut album followed that year and broke the top 10 in the Australian album charts and although it wasn't a commercial success throughout the world, it did receive critical praise from a number of publications including the British Guardian newspaper.
They continued to record as a duo whilst also working on solo material and touring constantly. The following two albums both topped the charts in Australia, whilst the self titled 2014 album made the top 10 around Europe in countries such as France, Germany and the Netherlands and managed to break into the top 100 of the UK album charts also.
Protracted by solo careers which were largely overshadowed by their joint efforts, sibling folk/indie rock sweethearts Angus and Julia Stone have once again reunited with work on a forthcoming album and a European festival tour circuit this summer. Her breathy vocals mixed with his smoky tones meant early success for the Australian duo, with their 2007 debut album A Book Like This having been a critical success. A few albums later, and the siblings decided to go their separate ways– that is, until super producer Rick Rubin decided they’d be better off together. And so here they are, working on their next album, together.
Their indie folk eccentricity emerges whole-heartedly onstage, with a mix of guitars, keyboards and even Julia’s surprising trumpeting skills, giving a unique instrumental mix to the traditionally acoustic sounds typical of generic folk rock. Julia undoubtedly brings the on-stage energy that Angus lacks, her voice’s unrelenting twang and honest interjections adding inadvertent optimism while he stands stoic, hiding behind his long hair and thick beard.
Their most recent showcases demonstrate more of a disjointed connection between the pair than before their mysterious hiatus, although their musicality seems more aligned than ever, surely the result of having co-written an album as a pair. No longer a double-billed act, Angus and Julia Stone are finally transforming into a duo, although you’re almost guaranteed to get a taste of their solo efforts in their live gigs.
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