“The record celebrates the joy of music for us, and the way we all grew up with music,” Julia Stone tells Apple Music of Karaoke Bar. “Our family played a lot of music in the house, and whoever was [there] at the time was encouraged to join in regardless of whether they were a musician or not. When we came to naming the record, I think Karaoke Bar holistically as a place represents for us what music means.” Setting the tone for Angus & Julia Stone’s sixth studio album was the tour in support of 2024 predecessor Cape Forestier. Dubbed The Living Room Sessions, it was an intimate affair staged in beautiful theatres around the world, designed to recreate the acoustic, stripped-back feel of their early recordings. “I think we were surprised by our own sense of joy in those shows,” says Julia. “That was the mood surrounding the start of the record.” In between legs of the tour, the siblings booked holidays in France and on the Greek island of Hydra, staying in beautiful locations with studios “to see what happens”. The answer was Karaoke Bar, an airy, light album that reflects the blissful state of mind with which it was written. Here, Julia takes Apple Music through the record, track by track. “Karaoke Bar” “We were touring The Living Room Sessions, which meant playing songs from across all our records. When we play ‘Big Jet Plane’ or ‘Chateau’, you have the whole crowd singing the song, sometimes louder than you’re singing it. And in a way, it felt like that sense of community and that energy of a karaoke bar. You can end up arm in arm with someone by the end of the night singing a song that means something to both of you, not necessarily the same thing.” “Monroe” “What you see from the outside isn’t necessarily what’s going on inside. I think Marilyn Monroe was such a symbol of that—someone who everybody thought was one thing but also had this incredibly complex, tumultuous internal world. It’s a song about how there is that contrast in all of us.” “Celestial Bodies” “It’s this idea that we’re all a bit uncharted. We don’t really know what our destination is. And there’s a beauty to just knowing that at the heart of the outcome is you want to end up enjoying it. I think in our heart of hearts as artists, as humans, we’re looking for the joy. Music, and the opportunity music has gifted us, is this kind of navigational tool through uncharted waters.” “The Start” “People [talk about] the good old days: ‘Oh, I remember when things were easier when this or that.’ And it’s an illusion. We put rose-coloured glasses on the start of when we were in love. It’s about missing the person in the moment because you’re asking to be taken back to this time when things were easier.” “Strangely Strangely” “It’s about, ‘That’s not for me anymore. It’s a new era of my life.’” “Brightest Place” “I think the song speaks to people who find comfort in noise. Some people, when they need to move through something, they like to retreat to quiet. But for me, it’s always been getting lost in busy-ness. The song largely reminded me of my time in New York and how, at times of real emotional difficulty, I found New York to be such a safe haven. The lights and the noise and the beauty of the chaos—I find it an easy place to be.” “Take Me Back to Japan” “Tokyo, and Japan more generally, is one of our favourite places to travel outside of work. I guess it’s a tip of the hat from us to a place that really captures us. We wanted to have an arcade game feel to it; a lot of the sounds you hear in Japan have that almost like arcade style [sound]. We work with an amazing producer, drummer and artist called Leigh Fisher, and that comes from him.” “Cowgirls Lover Boi” “It’s like the last saloon dog, getting up to mischief. It’s about being mischievous and having fun in the desert. And that really is the energy of that song. It’s a fun, free floating journey.” “The Cherry Farm” “Out of the whole record, this is the only song that really touches on a deep sadness. It deals with this really difficult part of life, which we all go through, which is having to say goodbye to somebody, but it does it in a way that sounds happy. There can be beauty in grief.” “Mexico City” “It’s our love note to Mexico. We had been there so many times, but we’d never played music there. So we did our first show in Mexico City on The Living Room Sessions, and it was so beautiful. The crowd knew the words to every song. It was magical. We started writing that song a couple of days after that show.”