Living in San Francisco for the last year has had an undeniable impact on my taste in music. So when I heard an incredible folky harmony rising over the crowd on one of the most popular streets in Melbourne, Australia, the hipster alert went ping in my mind and I was drawn in. Among a crowd of spectators were two young men, dressed in their country best, pouring their hearts out to the busy shoppers in the Bourke Street Mall. The pair were not only in perfect sync with the enthralled crowd around them, but with each other as well. The buskers, Josef and Jan Prasil, attribute their musical connection to growing up together as twins. According to Josef, they have always done everything together: school, music, friends. “Except girlfriends,” Josef says in an email. “That’s our number one rule.”
The pair was born in a small town near Munich, Germany, but grew up in Italy. However, with an Australian father, Jan and Josef write their music in English. “We kind of got used to English when we were young, and as we were always listening to English music rather than German, that kind of influenced us in our songwriting.” The twins started playing together when they were 10, with Jan on guitar and Josef singing along. Though they were in several bands growing up, the pair has come together in Melbourne for a simpler sound: a guitar, a keyboard, and two perfectly matched voices. They call their duo Amistat, a Spanish word meaning “friendship.” Friendship is a big part of life for the Prasil twins, who meet new friends everyday while performing on the streets of Melbourne.
Together, Jan and Josef create remarkable melodies that are guaranteed to send shivers down your spine with touching lyrics, perfect harmonies, and just the hint of an accent.
You can find Amistat online at http://www.amistatmusic.com/, and like them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/amistatmusic. Hear their music at http://www.reverbnation.com/Amistat, and buy it now on iTunes!
Words Tessa Murphy