Angus & Julia Stone are an Australian folk and indie pop group, formed in 2006 by brother and sister Angus and Julia Stone. Angus & Julia Stone have released five studio albums: A Book Like This (2007), Down the Way (2010), Angus & Julia Stone (2014), Snow (2017) and Life Is Strange (2021). At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010, they won five awards from nine nominations: Album of the Year, Best Adult Alternative Album, Best Cover Art and Producer of the Year for Down the Way, and Single of the Year for "Big Jet Plane". The siblings have also issued solo albums.
History
Early years and musical style
Angus (b. 1986) and Julia (b. 1984) Stone were born in Sydney to Kim and John Stone, both of whom influenced their children's interest in music. Along with their older sister, Catherine, Julia and Angus grew up in the suburb of Newport on Sydney's Northern Beaches. They attended Newport Primary School and then Barrenjoey High School. During their teen years, Angus started writing pop songs. After finishing school, Angus worked as a labourer and learned guitar while recuperating from a snowboarding accident. During this time Julia taught trumpet.
Gap year
After travelling abroad, when she returned to Australia, Julia encouraged Angus to start performing. By 2005 Angus was playing at open mic nights with Julia occasionally performing backing vocals. For their first such gig, at the Coogee Bay Hotel, they performed Angus' song, "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.
Collaboration
The siblings decided to collaborate on their musical endeavours as a duo in early 2006. In terms of composing material, they each write on their own, then work together on structure and harmonies. Australian music journalist, Ed Nimmervoll, described their songwriting as: "Julia with her highly romantic confessional relationship songs, Angus with his more guarded lyrically, more directly pop-oriented songs".
They have distinctive vocal styles, according to The Sydney Morning Heralds Bernard Zuel, "[h]er voice has a fractured feel like Jolie Holland; his has a smoke-on-the-beach drawl". While Nimmervoll offered, "Angus has a Paul Simon style voice, in the high register, equally as suited to lead and harmony. Julia's is one of those girly, fragile theatrical voices very much in vogue in alt-folk these days. She'd struggle to distinguish herself against the competition, but alternating with Angus gives her the necessary platform of variety, and just as well, because the songs she takes charge of are such wonderful tales of forlorn reflection".
United Kingdom journalist Johnny Sharp of Mojo stated, "[m]ost impressive, though, are the songs – simple but blindingly effective acoustic compositions, warm boy-girl harmonies and delicate, less-is-more arrangements. Resistance is surely futile". Lewis Bazley of inthenews.co.uk felt they had a "winning mix of Angus' Damien Rice-like lilting vocals and Julia's Bjork-esque warbling creating a sonic combination that lulls the listener into wistful contentment".
2006: Chocolates and Cigarettes and Heart Full of Wine EPs
In March 2006 Angus & Julia Stone began recording their debut extended play, Chocolates and Cigarettes, with Julia on vocals, guitar and trumpet; Angus on vocals and guitar; Mitchell "Mitch" Connelly (the Beautiful Girls) on drums and percussion; Clay MacDonald (the Beautiful Girls) on bass guitar; and Hanna Oblikov guested on cello. The EP's title was provided by Julia, "I really like both ... But I'm trying to not like cigarettes. I only smoke now after I play gigs". Connelly, who was Julia's then-boyfriend, and MacDonald had permanently left their band, the Beautiful Girls, to back the duo for live performances. Their first single, "Paper Aeroplane", from the EP was played on Australian radio in April including on FBI. That same month Angus & Julia Stone played at The Great Escape Festival. At the end of July, the siblings played to two hundred people packed in a tiny tent at the Splendour in the Grass festival in Byron Bay.