Angus McOg began as the alter ego for Antonio Tavoni, from Modena, Italy. The project took its first steps back in 2009, while staying at a friend’s place in Sydney. Back in Italy, the first album Anorak was released in 2011, followed by Arnaut in 2013. During this time, Angus McOg played gigs in Italy, France, the UK – performing a live session for NTS Radio – and the US, travelling alone or as a trio. In 2013 Antonio composed the music for independent director Stefano Cattini’s movie Aishiteru My Love. The following year he was invited to open the Italian shows on Thurston Moore’s The Best Day tour. Joining forces with multi-instrumentalist Di Mira, the pair composed an original score to Regen, the 1929 short by Dutch documentary-maker Joris Ivens. They then began working together on new material, combining Angus McOg’s folk-with-a-rock-attitude with a wider array of influences and orchestrations. This laid the foundations for Beginners.