Julia Stone, Angus Stone spills latest album’s secret

Julia Stone and Angus Stone said their working experience is like a “dance."

The brother-sister duo, Angus and Julia, has been making music since 2007, when they made their debut album, A Book Like This, and now the sibling duo has released their new album, Karaoke Bar, on September 4, 2026.

As the title track of the album features a chorus from Neil Diamond’s song Sweet Caroline, Julia revealed to People Magazine that they needed to get Neil’s approval: “It just came out, and then it was like, ‘Oh, we’re going to have to make sure Neil’s okay with that!’”

“He was good with it,” she added.

She opened up about how their parents gave them creative freedom and let them express themselves, “Our parents had a rough go of it at times, but they did so good by us, giving us the opportunity to find a way to express ourselves.”

Adding, “Having a way to process the world and what happens around you and within you is a real gift.”

The outlet questioned about the newly released album’s journey, “ We went on tour [for our 2024 album Cape Forestier], and the idea for our live show was that we would take the audience back into the living room where Angus and I grew up and started writing music together. It was quite an incredible experience, because I don’t think either of us anticipated how incredibly beautiful and joyful that tour would be for us. It was a full-circle moment of, ‘Here we are,’ having been doing this together for so long,” Julia said.

On the other hand, Angus added, “It felt like our feet were back on the ground.”

While Julia revealed how their Greece holiday helped inspire their latest album, saying, “We were having such a nice time, writing songs before and after shows. We thought, 'Why don’t we just go on a holiday, but we’ll go somewhere where there’s a nice studio and see what happens.' A friend of ours, she’s in a band called Warpaint, had done some recording in Hydra at this studio called the Old Carpet Factory, and she said to Angus and I, 'If you guys ever find yourself in that part of the world, it’s super inspiring and you’ve got to check it out.' And of course it’s where Leonard Cohen wrote a lot of his music and spent some time. So we went there for mostly a holiday and then it turned into… Angus one night was singing the chorus of “Karaoke Bar,” and that’s where it started.”

As they marked their 20 years together julia reflected on her hopes for coming years, stating, “As a musician in my 20s, I wanted to know where it was all going to go. And now I think the next 20 years, I’m looking forward to discovering what that is. I’d love to keep working with Angus. I’d love to keep having the opportunity to make music and play shows, but if it doesn’t work out like that, it’s okay.”

Angus added, “I feel so grateful to be traveling with Julia on this earth, and what she gives me with her writing and who she is as a person, it’s so cool. I’m always the biggest fan of Julia and her songs.”

However, reflecting on their working experience, Angus revealed, “It’s a dance. You have to be able to allow space when it’s needed and step forward when the other person needs a break. I think being on the road for so long and writing in this relationship, it’s been a really cool thing. It’s unique to the individuals and the family and how you were brought up. Our mum was always so supportive with what we did from the beginning, and I think the way we interact with each other is a reflection of that.”

It is pertinent to mention that the talented siblings’ album, Down The Way, debuted at No 1 in Australia, and they have together won many awards.