Countdown to Laneway: Interview with Angus of Angus & Julia Stone

MANILA, Philippines – The Laneway Music Festival in Singapore is so close. A stellar lineup of pop, rock, electronic and folk artists are making their way to the Lion City for a full day of awesome music. 

One of these artists is the brother-sister duo Angus & Julia Stone. Playing a languid, whimsical mix of folksy music, the siblings have made quite a name for themselves in their native Australia, winning multiple trophies from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awards.

After pursuing solo projects over the last couple of years, Angus and Julia got together once again this year and worked with super producer Rick Rubin to release their latest self-titled album. 

 

Rappler, which is one of Laneway’s official media partners in the Philippines, spoke with Angus Stone on his earliest musical memories, their dynamic as a sibling duo, and their experience working with Rubin. Excerpts:  

Rappler: Hey Angus. Whera re you now and what can you see outside your window?

Angus Stone: I was just looking out the window. I’m in Bergen, Norway right now. I can see there’s a big old lake. There are boats sailing. There’s a big mountain all the way out and  beautiful little quaint houses with their lights on. 

Rappler: I know your parents were musicians. What are your earliest musical memories? And did you want to be something else when you were younger? 

AS: I wanted to be a whole bunch of things. I guess the first memories I have of wanting to play music would be our dad who took us to a wedding. He was kind of like a wedding singer. And we would be hiding under the tables listening to them jam out and see all the people dancing, having fun.

As a kid, you see people having all this joy. When we got older, we started writing songs. I dunno if it was because of that or not. 

 

Rappler: How easy was it to decide that you were going to be a duo with your sister, instead of you doing your own thing and she doing her own thing? 

AS: To tell you the truth, it just happened. At the time, I’ve left school. I was just, I guess, freeloading at my dad’s place, sitting on the couch doing nothing all day. I was writing music. And Julia was in the house. And she was saving up and was working 7 days a week. And we were sort of just in the same house, hanging out, drinking wine, and playing our songs.

She’d be there and she’d sing songs. And then I started playing gigs. She asked if she could come along and hang out. It just worked out that way. 

Rappler: What was it like growing up with her?

AS: We were scallywags. We had our moments, just beating the shit out of each other. But we were good pals. We had a lot of fun. We would jump in the washing basket, push each other down the stairs, run outside, build treehouses. We had a lot of fun growing up, in nature.

 

When we got into our teens, we didn’t really talk to each other as much. That’s what happens, I guess. We got back together when we got older. 

Rappler: What’s the songwriting process like between you two?

AS: This time around, when we went to Rick Rubin’s to make this record in his Shangri-La, we didn’t really know what would happen. We sort of approached it with a carefree space about us. We walked in, we had ideas floating around. She sat there, we threw lines back and forth. This is the first record that we actually wrote together. 

Rappler: Speaking of Rick Rubin, what was it like working with him? 

AS: He’s a real chill dude. The great thing about Rick is that he’s a really cool, genuine guy. And the spaces he provides for you to create music is phenomenal. Shangri-La is basically this castle paradise. He’s got workers there making sure everything is fine-tuned. When you want to create, that’s all you’re focused on. He has a good way of setting everything up.

As a creator, and a visionary, he’s very clear about what he says. It feels like you’ve got a friend in the studio, or another band member hanging out just shooting ideas around. He’s got clarity to his thoughts. He’s cool. 

Rappler: What’s your take on music streaming services and how digital music is distributed these days? 

AS: I dunno. I’ve heard this a couple of weeks back. The way I see it, Spotify, Pandora, people downloading for free, all that is just a way of sharing music to more people.

For some bands it’s a really positive thing. You can get more music out there and then you can go out on the road and visit all of these places, but perhaps you wouldn’t be able to do it if it was still a tangible release.

Everybody has a unique situation. I dunno, I see both sides of it. The positive and negative. 

Rappler: Which artists are on heavy rotation on your player right now?

AS: I’ve been listening to a lot of Notorious BIG. A lot of Mos Def. Astrud Gilberto. Bunch of different stuff. I’m kind of all over different genres. I guess whatever pops up on my player. 

Rappler: You’re playing in Laneway Singapore in January. Anything you’re particularly ooking forward to seeing and experiencing? And what can fans expect from your show? 

AS: It’s gonna kick ass. We’re gonna play some jams, some of the old stuff, and some of the new stuff.

 

And we’re just really excited to come over there and hang out. We’ve never played there before. It’s gonna be something fresh and exciting. – Rappler.com