Angus Stone

Angus Stone was born on 27 April 1986 and grew in Sydney. His parents, John and Kim Stone, were both folk musicians. John was a builder and later became a music teacher, who also performs in a covers band, Backbeat.Kim has an Honours degree in Science, worked as a marine biologist, high school teacher and singer, spent 20 years as Head of E-marketing, Marketing and Investor Communications in institutional funds management until commencing a career as a Non Executive Director (kimjones.net.au). Stone's older sisters are Catherine (born ca. 1982) and Julia Stone (born 13 April 1984). Stone attended Newport Primary School and Barrenjoey High School. At primary school he joined the school band with his father teaching and his sisters accompanying. At family gatherings when the children performed, Stone played trombone, Catherine on saxophone and Julia on trumpet with Kim singing and John on keyboard or guitar. At about the age of 14 years his parents separated and soon after he started writing pop songs. Stone joined a band in high school as lead singer playing both covers and original songs. The band performed at numerous local community events.

While on a holiday with his sister to South America, Stone showcased his musical side to Julia, "[Angus] was writing amazing songs ... [he] had shown me how to play guitar in Bolivia, and those songs had gotten me through that year". By 2005 Stone was playing at open mic nights, sometimes Julia performed backing vocals – their first such gig, at the Coogee Bay Hotel, they performed "Tears". After playing split sets with each singing backing vocals to the other's material, in 2006, they formed a duo, Angus & Julia Stone. In March that year the pair recorded their debut extended play, Chocolates and Cigarettes, which was released in August. Since then the group has released five EPs, a compilation album and two studio albums.

Angus & Julia Stone (Angus at right) performing at Falls Festival, Marion Bay, Tasmania, December 2007.

Lady of the Sunshine: Smoking Gun

In April 2009, after touring for over a year in support of the duo’s first studio album, A Book Like This (September 2007), Stone released his debut solo album, Smoking Gun, under the pseudonym, Lady of the Sunshine. It was recorded over six weeks during 2008 with Finn (Govinda Doyle) – who also provided drums and bass guitar – in a converted old water tank on Finn's property in North Queensland. In an interview on national radio station, Triple J, with Richard Kingsmill, Stone said that the album came out of “growing an appetite for wanting to rock out". Stone explained that he had played in rock bands while in high school, they covered material by Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers – these influences are loosely present on Smoking Gun. To accompany the album Stone wrote "Every emotion in my head has its own voice and this record is what came of them .... I wanted these songs to have their own style. I enjoyed watching how the songs took on their own ride, most from the simplest of ideas". The album reached the top 50 on the ARIA Albums Chart. One of his tracks, "Big Jet Plane", from Smoking Gun was later re-recorded by Angus & Julia Stone and released by the duo as a single in May 2010.

In March 2010 the duo's second album, Down the Way, debuted at No. 1. By 2011 it was certified 3× platinum by ARIA. It was the highest-selling album by an Australian artist in 2010. Down the Way peaked in the top 30 on the French Albums Chart and stayed in the top 200 for 86 weeks. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 the duo won 'Album of the Year' for Down the Way and 'Single of the Year' for "Big Jet Plane". Their single "Big Jet Plane" was voted No. 1 in the Triple J Hottest 100 in 2011. After a world tour promoting Down the Way, Stone and his sister parted ways, according to Stone with a "tip of the hat and strolled in different directions". In a Rolling Stone (Australia) interview, Julia revealed the duo had started recording tracks for a third album, in January 2011, but shelved them indefinitely: "It was too much to think we could only pick six songs each… We were both in a place where we really wanted creative space to go in whatever direction we wanted so we were like 'let’s just take a year out'". She elaborated that those songs were unlikely to be heard, but maintained the pair would reunite after their solo projects.

Broken Brights

In late 2011 Stone began working on his second solo album, Broken Brights. He told Surfing World Magazine, “[r]ecording with Julia is cool but we both have our hands on the wheel. This was an opportunity to grab the wheel and do some burn-outs". It was released in Australia on 13 July 2012 which peaked at No. 2. The title track from the album was released as the lead single in March that year as a free download on Triple J’s Home and Hosed. The second single, "Bird on the Buffalo", is a metaphor for a musing relationship between lovers. and the video features the actress Isabel Lucas. According to Indie London's Jack Foley, the third single, "Wooden Chair" is "mesmerising in a low-key, effortlessly brilliant manner that also manages to include an intoxicating background whistle. It’s breezy and romantic without really even trying to be". It was featured in the US TV show, Private Practice, in Season 6, Episode 3 "Good Grief". The fourth single, "Monsters", had its video premiered on The Huffington Post.

The album was built upon childhood influences such as Bob Dylan and The Eagles, the end result being very Dylanesque, laid-back with some rockier elements. When speaking to the Vancouver Weekly about the creation of Broken Brights he said he "discovered a lot about time". Further elaborating, he said, "Just in general. To take a step back and let something unfold and breathe and become ripe when it says it's time".

Reception

Broken Brights was released in Australia on 13 July, in the UK on 16 July, US on 17 July and France on 6 November 2012. The album was released on Nettwerk Records, in the US, EMI in Australia and UK, and Discograph in France. Foley lauded the release as "[n]othing short of stunning ... his most personal work to date ... demonstrates his versatility. It’s steeped in classic song-writing values, sound-checking without directly referencing the likes of the great American song-writers, from Petty to Dylan via Neil Young". Jen Wilson reviewed Broken Brights for Beat Magazine saying, "within minutes you’re transported to another time ... Stone appears as a chameleon storyteller throughout Broken Brights, adapting with each theme and musical genre". Tony Hardy from Consequence of Sound said "There’s always something unexpected around the corner". Triple J made Broken Brights their Album of the Week upon its release, and described it as "a dreamy, chilled, nostalgic record which shows off Angus' unique songwriting".

"Monsters" single

The "Monsters" single was released on 26 February 2013 by Nettwerk Productions. It contains an edited version of the song that was previously released on Broken Brights. The song was cut from 5 minutes and 20 seconds to only 4 minutes and 3 seconds. The single also contains a previously unreleased tune titled "In the Glow".

Dope Lemon: Honey Bones

In 2016, Stone began recording under the moniker Dope Lemon. The album Honey Bones was recorded with Rohin Brown (of The Walking Who) and Elliot Hammond (of The Delta Riggs) in Stone's own farm studio. The song "Uptown Folks" was released as the first song from the album in February 2016, with Triple J describing the track as "laidback coastal rock", while "Marinade" was released as a single on the American iTunes Store in May. The album was released on 10 June 2016.

2012

Angus Stone began to play his new solo music at Splendour in the Grass in Byron Bay in July 2012. In September that year he embarked on a solo tour of the US, UK, continental Europe, and Australia with sold out shows including Brussels, Utrecht, Berlin and both his Los Angeles and New York shows. Upon the start of his solo tour Angus said, "To play live as my own in front of those people, it's going to be a different trail of gravel and gold, but none the less very exciting ... it's a whole different trip". His live performances have garnered praise, The Stanford Daily's Sasha Arijanto reported being "bewitched by the dulcet sounds from the stage". After Stone's show in Montreal, Caitlin Grimes from Confront Magazine stated, "don’t think I can name another artist who can manage to grab you by the wrist and pull you into such stories with him". Stone completed his first solo shows in Australia including at Enmore Theatre in Sydney on 1 November. He performed at the Australian summer festivals including Homebake, Woodford, Falls (both Lorne and Marion Bay), and Southbound in Western Australia. In early 2013 he is due to start a European tour including London's Shepherds Bush Empire.

ARIA Music Awards

AMP Awards

(For discography of the Stone duo, see Angus & Julia Stone discography section)

Albums

As Lady of the Sunshine

As Angus Stone

As Dope Lemon

Singles

• 2012: "Broken Brights"
• 2012: "Bird on the Buffalo" (also featured on the Soundtrack album for Offspring - Season 3)
• 2012; "Wooden Chair"
• 2012: "Monsters" (with b-side "In the Glow")
• 2016: "Uptown Folks" (as Dope Lemon)
• 2016: "Marinade" (as Dope Lemon)

Music videos

• "Broken Brights" – filmed, directed and edited by Angus Stone
• "Bird on the Buffalo" – directed by Jessie Hill
• "Wooden Chair" – directed by Kiku Ohe
• "Clouds Above" – filmed, directed and edited by Angus Stone
• "Monsters" – directed by Taylor Steele (filmmaker) and Todd DiCiurcio
• "Coyote"

Other appearances

• "River" – Joni Mitchell cover by Stone for Various Artists' compilation, No Man's Woman, released in October 2007
• "Four Seasons in One Day" – cover of Crowded House track as a duet by Stone and Paul Kelly for He Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn tribute album, released on 12 November 2010