Angus & Julia Stone 'Chocolate and Cigarettes' album

Angus and Julia Stone are the Australian siblings whose monster UK buzz is just now making its way stateside. The duo’s EP Chocolates & Cigarettes is gaining unbelievable praise from some of the most revered publications across the globe, and has just been released in the US exclusively through iTunes. Another track, “The Beast”, was recently chosen by actress Natalie Portman for her hand-picked compilation, Big Change: Songs For Finca, an iTunes exclusive playlist with net proceeds going to benefit FINCA, an international microfinance organization that provides financial services to the world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs.

Very early on, the band picked up and moved from its Australian home to coincide with the release of their debut EP. Shortly after relocating, Fran Healy—lead singer / songwriter for the band Travis, began helping them with the material that became the band’s debut album A Book Like This, which is nearly GOLD in Australia after only two months and debuted at #6. The album is due for release in the UK and Japan in March 2008.

Tracks like Natalie Portman fave “The Beast” reveal the duo’s deep talents in songwriting and performance. “Mango Tree” is a lighthearted and breezy tune that exposes the pair as one of the top complimentary vocal teams in ages. Numerous UK and US publications have recently discovered the duo, and bestowed them with some of the kindest words we’ve seen in ages.

While European fans have been lucky to experience the pair’s moving live show, US audiences can expect dates the brother/sister duo to hit our shores in 2008.

One listen to Chocolates & Cigarettes proves that Angus & Julie Stone is without doubt one of the next huge indie folk sensations. See for yourself what all the fuss is about!

biography
There’s an unspoken connection that can only come from sharing a family’s history. Brother sister duo, Angus & Julia Stone from Sydney’s Northern Beaches take a lifetime of shared experience and create music that resonates with emotion and honesty. A pure sound that says a lot without trying.

On their debut EP Chocolates & Cigarettes they showcase their considerable talents on six songs filled with sun kissed harmonies and evocative lyrics. All performed with a laid back, effortless charm. The shuffling drumbeats and percussion are provided by the backbone of the group Mitchell Connelly with Angus and Julia taking care of lead vocals, and guitar plus harmonica, piano and trumpet.

The duo’s main influences are familial; music soaked up during their sun-soaked childhood – although Angus names records by Elliot Smith, Nick Drake and Joni as key musical mentors. Their music teacher dad was in a covers band Backbeat and now plays folk covers with his new wife and new band, Tallow Wood. “He looks like a weird wizard and she wears long velvet dresses. They do medieval acoustic covers of pop songs.”

Their mother was also seeped in music. She had them at dancing at drama classes and crucially, got the siblings singing together. “She’d grown up going to camps and she knew loads of call and response songs that we’d always sing on car journeys when we were little.”

There was nothing straight-forward however about Angus and Julia’s journey into performing together, despite the fact that they’d been singing together as young children. Both Angus and Julia speak of their childhood with great sense of separation from one another. “We didn’t talk at all. We may have been close once, when we were 5 and 3 but I don’t remember ever having much of a relationship. There are nice photos of us holding hands then. We must have been friends. But through school we lived in different worlds, different circles. ” Angus never spoke to me and I never spoke to him. It wasn’t until I we left to go travelling that I suppose we found something that we both wanted to do.”

In Chile, her brother joined her and they made their way through Bolivia, swept themselves up the Amazon and took the trail to Machu Picchu. “That trip engraved something in my head, that music is a beautiful thing,” says the ever-dreamy Angus. “It brought so much love. It had a massive influence on me.”

On their return, Angus decided to showcase the songs he’d written and Julia decided to help him, organising a few gigs and singing backing vocals at his first sessions down at the local open-mic night. “Then I got the confidence to sing some of my songs and organised some shows for myself.” Angus, of course, provided backing – an arrangement which naturally morphed into a single set with the pair taking turns to sing their sleepy, atmospheric songs into the mic.

After the gig they’d sell their (separate) CDs – until they realised they were putting their fans under unintentional pressure. “It got embarrassing! I’d be there with my CDs and he’d be there with his and people were standing around going ‘errr, I’ll have that one.’ So we put them on one CD.” That one CD turned into ‘Chocolates & Cigarettes’.

Angus and Julia are siblings. But how similar are they? “He’s a boy, I’m a girl,” says Julia matter-of-factly. “There’s a billion differences right there. We are very different in a lot of ways but we’re from the same family. Our family experience has given us some kind of common wants. We’re always wanting to go, anywhere else… but often right at the same time or just a moment apart we also want to stay very still. We both find making choices very difficult.”

Angus & Julia’s debut album debuted at No. 6 on the Australian charts and they have just played to over 15,000 people on their first major headlining tour. They will return to the UK in the New Year where they have also built up a loyal following of both media and punters alike with their debut album out in March 2008 in the UK.

press quotes
“This album is a hit” – VOGUE

“They are going to be huge.” – Daily Telegraph

“Fans of the pair’s first three EPs will absolutely love it” – Rolling Stone (3.5 stars)

“Tantalising two-disc debut”– Uncut

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Tracklisting

Angus & Julia Stone - Chocolate and Cigarettes