Photo: Tim Hill

Stranger spends an evening in the company of Angus and Julia Stone – and witnesses a couple of Australian stars in the making.

Interview and pictures by Tim Hill

It’s 7.30 on a Sunday evening. Falmouth University should normally be quiet but tonight there are hundreds of Donovan Frankenreiter fans waiting to get into the building. It turns out that the PA system was only delivered two hours before the doors were supposed to open. As the crowd pours in, there are four musicians trying their best to rush through a sound check. The two with microphones are Angus and Julia Stone, an Australian brother and sister act who have been making a small but charming attack on England’s independent music scene. Officially formed a year ago they have already released two EPs, Chocolate and Cigarettes and Heart Full of Wine. They’re both melancholic acoustic affairs but deliver more variety than one predicts bands like The Fratellis or The Strokes might do in their entire careers.

Photo: Tim Hill

They’re having “great fun” everywhere they go but are keen not to get complacent. Julia is grateful for all the support they’ve received since moving to England and is sincere with the idea of things taking their natural course. “If it’s gonna happen, it’ll happen. If not, it’s just a sign that there’s something else you’re meant to be doing,” she says.

Having completed a mini tour of Cornwall just a month ago, she is delighted about the prospect of playing here again. “We had the most amazing time when we came before, it’s such a beautiful place. We fell in love with it right away.” The crowd tonight seem sceptical
for the first couple of tunes but after a while that love is
reciprocated, particularly after a rousing version of
'Mango Tree'.

With an album on its way later this year and a plan to “continue the journey on which our music takes us for as long as possible” it’s clear that tonight won’t be the last we see or hear of Angus and Julia Stone.

Photo: Tim Hill

Angus and Julia Stone's website is here