The sisters of Stonefield have come a long way in a short time, living the rock and roll dream many bands envision but few realise.
After the blistering success of their dreamy, self-titled debut record in 2013, Stonefield will release their sophomore album, ‘As Above, So Below’ in July, and the young rockers couldn’t be happier. “We are so excited to get it out,” guitarist Hannah Findlay beams.
“It's been such a long time coming and so much has gone into it. It's been through so many different phases so to finally get it out for people to hear is pretty exciting. This whole album, from the starting point of writing those first demos to where it’s at now, it represents everything we've been through to get to this point.”
The first taste of ‘As Above, So Below’ was the single ‘Stranger’ released in April, followed two months later by ‘Changes’, a track which reflects the strenuous, yet rewarding journey the band have undertaken. “It is definitely a lot of hard work but we're still doing it because it's so much fun,” Hannah says.
“We enjoy it so much and although it's tiring at points, it all pays off when you have a good show and you have people come up to you after the show or listen to your record and really appreciate it.”
Having taken Australia by storm with their brand of ‘70s-infused fuzz rock, Stonefield have been attempting to break into the North American market with a tour that Hannah says has brought them in touch with a new batch of delighted fans. “We're obviously just starting off over here so our crowds are a lot smaller, but it's really cool to go somewhere we've never been before and have people come up to us that know our music, who have stumbled across us on the Internet or YouTube and have been supporting us.
“We came over in March for SXSW16 which was our first, proper introduction over here, so [we’re] starting at the bottom and trying to make our way touring around, so we'll see what happens.”
With an east-coast Australian tour in July, Stonefield will return later in the year for a national tour in support of ‘As Above, So Below’. “We're still pencilling in dates for that at the moment, but we will definitely be doing a big tour and going to the places we haven't been in a while, so I’m really looking forward to that.”
As for living the rock and roll dream, Stonefield found themselves in the company of one of their musical idols when they supported Fleetwood Mac on the mega group’s 2015 ‘On With The Show’ Australian tour. “We got to meet Mick [Fleetwood] which was amazing,” Hannah says.
“He was the nicest, most down-to-earth, encouraging and supportive guy which was really lovely. He had nothing but nice things to say to us and was really encouraging.
“It was after the last show; we came into our dressing room and there was a card and a bottle of champagne there for us; sort of a thank you from all the band members saying how much they appreciated us playing with them. It was definitely a very nice surprise.”
‘As Above, So Below’ is released 15 July.
Stonefield Tour Dates
Thu 7 Jul - Woolly Mammoth (Brisbane)Fri 8 Jul - Newtown Social Club (Sydney)
Sat 9 Jul - Northcote Social Club (Melbourne)
1-2 Oct - Yours & Owls Festival (Wollongong)
