Kelly Mahan

Luxurious, surprising and gratifying — these are three adjectives Angus and Julia Stone use to describe their self-titled recording experience at the renowned Shangri-La studio in Malibu, California. With iconic producer Rick Rubin at the helm, it’s difficult for any album to sink but praise for Angus and Julia Stone, the duo’s third studio album, is deservedly high.

I sat down for a sunset chat with Angus and Julia at bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, during their brief media tour in New York. Although I was a final stop on the day’s jam-packed itinerary, their presence was much like their music — akin to a cool breeze on a summer night.

The Sydney siblings released their first album in 2006 but even in their eyes, close to 10 years later, this is their first joint effort.

“I really felt this time around that it was us.” Angus explains while sipping fizzy water through a straw. “We had written together for the first time on this record and we made it together… for the first time.”

“It was such an unexpected experience,” Julia adds. “We never had recorded our vocals together at the same time, in the same vocal booth and that felt really gratifying.”

Riding on the success of their sophomore album, Down the Way, which debuted at number one in Australia and earned them five ARIA music awards (Australia’s Grammy equivalent) including Best Album of the Year, the two returned from touring and immediately cut a third record. They had 20 tracks recorded and a music video in the can when they both intuitively knew that something was wrong.

“We were ready for something different.” Julia says. “Angus and I started out as solo artists. We had a conversation and both just knew that our next album was not going to be together.”

The album was shelved; its location forgotten and the two took some time to create space and work on their solo efforts. “We both felt good about it,” Julia says.

They each released an album and toured separately but it wasn’t long before Rick Rubin came knocking. Rick was with an Australian friend when he first heard A&J’s hypnotic tunes. He reached out to them and, not knowing they had split in 2010, was surprised by their apprehension.

“We had only just made the decision to go our own way when we got the call from Rick,” Angus recounts. “He said, I want to make future records with you on your solo projects but this first one needs to be with you and Julia together.”

“It was cool, it made me think that perhaps there was a record to be made,” Angus adds with a smile.

It’s no surprise that Rubin was right. Previously, tracks were written and sung separately with a 50/50 split down the middle. The duo had never used a producer and support vocals were laid down often at different times or in different cities. It was always well produced, well written and well, a bit boring.

But any Stone fans will notice that there is a new vulnerability and rawness present in the music that has not been heard before. Was it Rick Rubin or was it his famed cliffside studio overlooking Zuma beach? Luckily, the two go hand in hand.

Shangri-La is a relic of the ‘60s, purchased by Bob Dylan and The Band then rebuilt as a studio in 1976. It’s a piece of musical history with Bob Dylan’s old tour bus still parked on the lawn.

“It was six weeks at Shangri-La but it felt like seven years.” Angus says. “We thought we would never leave.”

“It was luxurious because we had all this time, there was no stopwatch of any sort and we were able to just create and be free within that world.” Angus adds. “You go in there and it closes around you and you feel like it’s all that there is.”

That immersive recording experience manifested itself in every aspect of the duo’s day-to-day life while in LA. They were halfway through their stay when Julia and Angus got into a near death car crash on the way home from Shangri-La. They spun down the Pacific Coast Highway with cars blasting by, screeching to a halt. Ironically, they had just recorded “Death Defying Acts,” one of Julia’s most vocally vulnerable tracks to date.

“Rick reinforces the philosophy of just taking things as they come. He wants things to happen naturally and organically and nothing feels like it’s forced.” Julia says. “He is all about the feeling and listening with fresh ears.”

Inevitably, Angus and Julia grew closer through the recording process but Julia also credits Rubin’s exceptional ability to make others so comfortable.

“That’s why he can work with such a variety of artists because it’s about being present and listening. He understands each human in his or her own unique environment,” she says. “To live like that in every interaction is something to aspire to.”

Originally published on The Bluegrass Situation.