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Artist Interviews
Q&A: Angus And Julia Stone
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 13 July 2010
Australian brother-sister duo Angus & Julia Stone began collaborating back in 2006 after both previously performing as solo artists. They released two EPs, ‘Chocolates And Cigarettes’ and ‘Heart Full Of Wine’, via Independiente, before releasing their debut album ‘A Book Like This’ in 2007 on Flock Music; recorded in various locations with the likes of Chris Potter and Fran Healy. The duo released their second LP, ‘Down The Way’, earlier this year, and are all set to take part in the Communion week-long takeover of London’s Flowerpot. Ahead of their gig tonight we caught up with Julia to ask the Same Six.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
I think it started out when we were pretty small. It was a case of having instruments around the house. It was trail and error – pick up an instrument and make sounds. It became more regimented once we started in the school bands, getting lessons and being told to practice. It took a few years to really appreciate the value of discipline. Well, I suppose we are still learning to appreciate it.
Q2 What inspired your latest album?
So many things. The last couple of years on the road all the songs have been written, on planes, trains and automobiles and we’ve been very inspired by all the different friends we’ve made – people who have taken us in as family; people who have cooked us food and told us their stories; people who have showed us places that are magical.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
I pick up an instrument when I feel like writing a song, play some music, keep playing and at some point start singing. Then a couple of days later when I am doing the same thing again, I will remember the song and sing it again. The words will keep changing. Then at the point when I feel I must play it for someone else, it becomes a song where the words don’t change.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
At the moment I am listening to a wonderful songwriter called Doveman. I saw him playing piano with Martha Wainwright when she was doing an Edith Piaf concert in New York (they’re also incredible – Martha and Edith). We always find that we fall in love with the music of the bands we tour with, they occupy all the listening time on the road. Bands we are listening to at the moment are Boy And Bear, Lukas Nelson and Phoenix.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
I don’t know. Probably, “Would you like a cup of tea? A coffee…? A wine…?”
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
I would like to keep playing music. I would like to keep visiting the places we have visited so far and continue to see new places. I would like to keep falling in love. I’d like to get better and better at not knowing what I am going to be doing in the future. And get better at being comfortable admitting I really have no idea.
MORE>> www.angusandjuliastone.com
