CARVED IN STONE
ALOT Angus Stone can’t wait to head back to Tasmania for the Falls Festival, and this year he will bring his sister Julia along for the ride, as he tells Shaun McManus
has changed since superstar siblings Angus and Julia Stone dropped their debut album 10 years ago, but their ability to connect with fans has never wavered.
The pair released A Book Like This in 2007 and they have since risen to dizzying heights, quickly becoming one of the hottest acts in Australia on the back of dreamy smash hits such as 2010’s Big Jet Plane.
Speaking to Pulse from a balcony in Boston ahead of a run of dates in the United States, Angus pointed out that while their world has been turned upside down in the past decade, some things have stayed the same.
“We used to play in front of 10 pissed punters, and it was cool,’’ he said.
“Even back then people would come up after [the show] and they would be stoked, they would be like ‘What you played there made me feel something’.
“Being in that moment, it’s similar to how it is now — we walk off and people will share how the music has affected them in their world. I guess that’s something you reflect back on, and it’s quite sweet.”
Hailing from Sydney, Angus and Julia have completed three more studio albums since A Book Like This, with the latest, Snow, released in September.
They have built up an army of fans with their contrasting voices that fit perfectly together, and have played at some of the world’s biggest festivals, including Coachella and Lollapalooza.
Big Jet Plane reached No.1 in the Triple J Hottest 100, while hypnotic hits Chateau and Snow from their most recent album have only increased their already sky-high popularity in Australia and overseas.
They are currently in the midst of a string of shows in North America, which will be followed by three shows in New Zealand, before they head to Tasmania for the Falls Festival.
Living such a jetsetting lifestyle, it would be easy for Angus and Julia to get caught up in their success, but Angus is a strikingly laid-back character.
He believes their love of sport helps keep them grounded on tour.
“We try and find places to go play soccer or shoot some hoops, [and] we love tennis,” Angus said.
“That’s what keeps us firing and feeling like we’re a part of the world.
“There’s a good amount of healthy competition running through our veins, so we enjoy that. It’s a good laugh, all the band get involved as well.”
However, the healthy competition doesn’t extend to the music.
“I wouldn’t word it as competitive,’’ Angus said.
“I would say when we step into a room together and I hear Julia ... you’re sort of sitting there going ‘Wow’. It inspires you to want to express yourself and show everyone in the room what you’ve been writing too.
“It’s this really powerful thing that happens. You’re bouncing off each other and everyone in the room.”
Angus and Julia have both done well for themselves away from performing together, and Angus’s project Dope Lemon played the Marion Bay leg of Falls last year.
However, there’s no substitute for playing alongside his sister.
“Dope Lemon is pretty rowdy and raucous, lots of ... whisky and it’s good fun,” he said.
“I think with Julia and I it’s a similar thing, but it’s more like we’re sharing something a bit closer to who we are.
“It’s this sort of nice, special, electric sort of buzz that you get when you share that.”
Angus is looking forward to playing at Marion Bay for the second year in a row.
“It’s beautiful down there,” he said.
“You know when you first fly in and you’re looking over all that forest, it looks like something out of a movie, it’s so special. I can’t wait to come back.”
Angus and Julia Stone are playing at the Falls Festival at Marion Bay on December 30.
A two-day ticket is $249 (plus fees), and a three-day ticket is $299 (plus fees) from
Local discounts apply if tickets are bought from local retailers, which include Centertainment in Hobart and the Derwent Entertainment Centre in Glenorchy.