With Karaoké Bar, Angus and Julia Stone present a veritable musical travel diary, tinged with melancholy and passion that does not fade despite the years. As nostalgic as he is enthusiastic, Australian singer and musician Angus Stone takes the microphone to speak to the editorial staff. Discover all the manufacturing secrets that led to this record as spontaneous as it is careful.
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Karaoke Bar is now available. Happy to present it to the public?
For Julia and I, creating and recording this album was an incredible adventure. We are very proud of it and happy to share it with the whole world.
Speaking of adventure, this record is marked by some places you’ve visited in recent years.
We had just finished a tour called “The Living Room Sessions,” which involved “inviting” audiences into our living room, back when we were starting to write songs. These songs dated from our beginnings, and we dug them up on this occasion. So we have come full circle. We finished this tour with a magical evening at the Trianon. Then we found ourselves at Miraval Studios (Var), which is full of History, so much so that it inspired us to start a new album. The first single from these sessions was “The Cherry Farm,” a song by Julia.
Your adventure did not stop in France.
Absolutely, this record was marked by our stay on Hydra, a Greek island on which there is a house that belonged to Leonard Cohen. One evening, the wind carried sand from the Sahara to the island. The scenery was spectacular, we felt like we were on another planet. That’s where we started recording the song “Karaoke Bar.” » This was done in a former tapestry workshop converted into a studio, in which adorable stray cats came to see us. One day, I come down one floor to pour myself some wine, and I see this man smoking a cigarette in the shadows. He said to me, “I heard that you and Julia were recording here, so I came to see you. » In the course of the conversation, I tell him that he still looks a lot like Leonard Cohen. It was his son, Adam.
Angus and Julia Stone © Sean McDonald
The title “Karaoke Bar” is pretty special in itself.
In this piece, I describe the atmosphere of a karaoke evening and the common feeling that inhabits all the people present, who leave their problems of the day aside to sing in front of everyone and show themselves vulnerable.
We also hear an extract from “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond.
Our father, Julia and I, was a wedding singer. We grew up falling asleep on tables hearing people toasting with their flutes of champagne. This song is one of those that we have had in our blood since our own childhood. We had some apprehension about having the right to use this melody in our song, but finally succeeded through one of our contacts. This passage is really important in the song, it’s probably our favorite for karaoke.
You use a passage from the famous manga “Ken the Survivor” in “Take Me Back to Japan. ” For what ?
I have always been a fan of this anime. Julia and I have a lot of respect for Japanese culture and have spent a lot of time there. They are very refined people. When we wrote this song, we decided to pay homage to Japan and everything that we love about this country. We are very proud of this piece.
If the record is inspired by your travels, certain deeper themes seem to inhabit the lyrics.
Absolutely, we find a few crumbs of existential questions throughout the record. The one in which we find it most is “Celestial Bodies.” » He talks about the fact that we are everything and nothing at the same time. This is a collection of ideas that I put together during the making of this record. This piece was written on the island of Hydra, when storms brought sand from the Sahara there. It was an unreal experience. We only saw the cats running all over the streets. It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe, one that escapes when you squeeze it too hard.
You seem to be evoking something different on “Strangely Strangely.” »
This piece was recorded between France and Australia. Sometimes we plan everything for a piece and polish it down to the smallest detail. Other times, happy accidents may happen, and an idea may surprise you. One evening, Julia and I were drinking whiskey together, without much thought, and that’s when the song appeared to us and we let ourselves be carried away by the magic. This was a really fun song to record.
Angus and Julia Stone Karaoke Bar Press press photo
This record also seems to bridge the gap between fun and melancholy.
In nature, there is always a moment when wild animals, whatever their species, find themselves drinking from the same pond, and find themselves calling a truce. We can draw the same parallel between people who meet at a karaoke bar. They have a punch in the nose, but they are there for the same thing and express themselves unvarnished, whatever their experience. It’s beautiful to observe a room full of people attracting and repelling each other, almost magnetically.
You were able to perform some of these pieces before the release of this record, notably in Paris in June.
We evolved playing in bars and open mic nights. So playing these unreleased songs was another way to connect us to the audience, while changing the mood of the audience.
What about the future?
We just finished a tour in Europe and we are in the process of organizing our next dates. Each territory has its own energy and we can’t wait to see that of France again. Here the audience is very receptive to music and art in general and feels everything very deeply. We have a really strong connection with our fans here.
Karaoke Bar, the new album by Angus & Julia Stone is available
Here is the tracklist:
- Karaoke Bar
- Monroe
- Celestial Bodies
- The Start
- Strangely Strangely
- Brightest Place
- Take Me Back to Japan
- Cowgirls Lover Boi
- The Cherry Farm
- Mexico City
