

Rick Rubin Reunites Brother Sister Duo Angus and Julia Stone

Photo: Jennifer Stenglein

Julia Stone was sitting in front of the fireplace at her home in Melbourne, Australia looking at a painting of a wolf. Her younger brother, Angus, had given it to her for her 30th birthday and, as she considered it, she thought it looked a bit like him with his full beard, tangles of brown hair, and intent stare.

At the moment he was living at the other end of the Australian coast on a farm once owned by their grandparents. He was tending to a large herd of cattle and resting, like Julia, before they set out on tour together to promote their third album, Angus and Julia Stone, out this week on American Recordings/Republic Records.

After releasing their last album in 2010, the brother and sister duo never expected to make music together again. A Book Like This and Down the Way achieved a great deal of international success: They won the ARIA (Australian Record Industry Association—much like the American Grammys) for best record and best single in 2010. But while recording what would have been their third album, they decided to go their separate ways and start making music independently (they each put out two successful solo albums during their split).

Photo: Ryan Kenny/Instagram

"We didn't know how to be 'Angus and Julia.' We felt like we were separate artists and somehow melding that," Julia said of their early work.

Angus and Julia hadn't spoken for nine months when they were individually contacted by legendary record producer Rick Rubin (founder of Def Jam Records—who has worked with legendary artists from Tom Petty and Mick Jagger to Kanye West and Lana Del Rey). And when a kingmaker like Rubin seeks you out, you listen to what he has to say.

"We knew that if we wanted to make something together, after working so separately, we would have to have more openness," Julia explained. Still, the decision to work with Rubin took time. It wasn't until they were both billed to play separately at the Woodside Folk Festival, and saw each other perform as a solo artist, that they decided to get back in the recording studio: "It was this moment where we knew that we had something to make together again," Julia said.

Just two years apart, Angus and Julia had been close as children. Their grandparents owned a farm and took them on sailing adventures exploring different seaside towns; they learned to drive cars before their feet could reach the peddle and ride motorcycles before they were in middle school. When they were home with their parents, they were surrounded by music. Their father played in a band and they often fell asleep feeling the vibrations of the base guitar through the walls. But as teenagers they had separate lives: Angus got into surfing and started his own band inspired by '70s rock and Julia played the trumpet and sang in her school jazz band.

"If you have a brother or a sister, the relationship is so close—you know so much about each other and the way you operate—that sometimes it's hard to have boundaries," Julia said, who, like her brother, has a bit of a vulpine look with bright blue eyes, a square jaw-line, and long brown hair.

Photo: Julia as a child; Instagram

It wasn't until years later that they began to play music together.

"We [had] just carried on from being teenagers and into working together without really wanting to work together," Julia explained.

Photo: Jennifer Stenglein

Before working with Rick Rubin, Angus and Julia wrote music separately: A 12-song record would be made up of half Julia songs and half Angus songs, with vocal support from whomever wasn't headlining. Rubin's vision made their sound into a collaborative process. The pair moved to Venice Beach, California, and this time, worked together to write and orchestrate each track in the studio together. As a result the new record feels like a discourse between friends, or lovers recounting plaintive memories.

"With Rick, it feels like he is just listening, really listening," said Julia. "It is almost like you can hear yourself clearer because he is listening."

Julia recalled taking her guitar to his house for the first time to play. He closed his eyes while she sang. At the end of the song he opened them, and said, "Play it again," then shut his eyes.

"When he'd come into the studio, everybody shifts into gear, everybody becomes engaged and focused," Julia said. "He does have this magical quality about focusing people and that's because he is focused."

Photo: Angus and Julia in the studio with Rick Rubin; Courtesy of Instagram

The resulting album has clearly benefited from his attention. The record opens into the deep vibrating beat of a bass guitar in "A Heartbreak," a track that uniquely melds a feeling of wildness and elation with melancholy (Girl, you're just a child, a heartbreak). From the deeply romantic "Grizzly Bear" to the somber "Crash and Burn," the album is an exercise in seduction and is, without a doubt, one of the best records that has been released this year.

"I don't think that Angus or myself have ever written a song that isn't drawn from, in some part, the experience of falling in love or being in love or letting go of love," said Julia. "It is a constant theme in our lives…It's the catalyst for writing music."

Their music has always had that heartbreak quality to it—there is depth, a loneliness—but also potent sweetness. In their latest venture, these qualities feel electrified.

Starting in September Angus and Julia will tour the album through four continents, beginning in Australia and ending in the UK. For now, that's as far into the future as the siblings are looking.

"Somebody told me a quote, 'If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.'" said Julia. "Angus and I, we never really thought this record was going to happen. It feels so good right now to be back together. It feels like a surprise."

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