ANGUS STONE of DOPE LEMON: Manifesting Magic and the Muse
An interview by Bridget Herlihy.
Dope Lemon, one of the acclaimed Australian songwriter Angus Stone’s guises, is a genre-bending, eclectic delight that has amassed a legion of dedicated fans and followers around the globe. Dope Lemon’s first two albums, ‘Honey Bones’ and ‘Smooth Black Cat’, having clocked up over 400 million streams to date, solidified Stone’s irrefutable talent for fusing elements of soul, funk, pop and soft psychedelic rock to create melodic magic.
Stone’s third album under the Dope Lemon moniker, ‘Rose Pink Cadillac’, has been described as “unabashedly romantic”. It is an album inspired by his recurring encounters with Cadillacs in conjunction with manifestations, serendipitous meetings, and love – both in reality and in heightened dreamlike states. A chance meeting with a woman of beauty after envisioning her marked the beginning of a new era for Stone and Dope Lemon; a meeting which in turn shaped the sound and love-filled lyrics for the ten tracks of ‘Rose Pink Cadillac’.
Dope Lemon is poised to play two shows in Aotearoa in July; one in Christchurch, with the second as part of the Elemental Nights mid-winter concert series at one of his favourite venues in New Zealand, the Auckland Town Hall. Bridget Herlihy had an enlightening conversation with Angus Stone from his balmy Byron Bay ranch about pushing the boundaries of the mind, writing uplifting romantic songs during challenging times, and his forthcoming tour.
How are you? Whereabouts are you at the moment?
Good, good. I’m just sitting outside catching some of the breeze. Its that magical time of year here in Australia. I don’t want to rub it in if it’s raining over there. We’re in the lovely Byron Bay just out on my ranch.
You are definitely in the right spot. I’m absolutely fascinated with the story behind ‘Rose Pink Cadillac’. It sounds magical in its own right.
Yeah. It breaks off into a few parts. I don’t know how PC your readers are, or how far into it I can get…
You can go all the way into it, Angus.
Well, me and a mate were sitting in his loft in Kings Cross and we were experimenting with some psychedelics, and it was cool. I had this really, really interesting experience where I was getting pulled through these different sorts of galaxies by this hand, where I met this beautiful African goddess and she was dancing and telling me to come further into this magical place. At the time, when she said it, there was this Cadillac that was drifting through the sky with wings. You know, it was one of those very far-out experiences. I had another really trippy… Let’s just say it all sort of came together through a few different stories. But I guess a part of the story of the song is about all of us accepting love when we need it. And at the time there was this girl that I had met; its just about her not being able to possibly take it all in.
I think when you are song writing it doesn’t necessarily come from any one place; it can be combinations of things that make a song as a whole.
It’s an amazing story in that a vision that you had some to fruition in reality…
Yeah, I think you have just got to stay open to what’s going on. And I think we are all connected to something greater at times; and at times I don’t think that at all. It’s all good.
The fact that you have had that experience is amazing, and makes me think that there is indeed something bigger at play. It’s wonderful.
It is wonderful. And I find music…just listening to music… I was just talking to a friend the other day… one of the things that makes it special is that it invokes memories, and sometimes someone will come up to you on the street and sometimes it can be a positive thing in their life that has happened when they have heard your music, or “I got married to your song”, or “me and my lover were listening to your music when we first got together”.
Or it can be the other side, like “I had a car accident while your song was playing”. Music stays with people in poignant moments in their lives; it’s amazing that you can be a part of that. Sitting in a studio and being and coming up with what you can to make a song, to it reaching outside into the world, you know?
Absolutely. I think that with what has unfolded around the world in the last couple of years, with not being able to travel or see people and being separated from loved ones, music has perhaps become even more important to a sense of well being and our imagination. Music has helped to keep us in some semblance of a good space while we go through these times of uncertainty.
Yeah, we’ve just started playing shows again, and to look out in the crowd and see all of the little magic faces having a good time and sharing things again – its something that we all need in our lives for sure.
The magic of being in a venue to see and hear live music again and to see international performers coming back to New Zealand is – to use that term again – magical. It is food for the soul.
It’s quite holy, isn’t it? Everyone sitting in a space together and feeling it; it’s really special.
There is quite a profound energy exchange between the performer and the audience that takes place. It must be quite an energizing experience for you as well.
Absolutely, and especially the Town Hall in Auckland. I think Julia and I were there about five years ago. I remember it being such a beautiful venue. I remember the last time we were over we played the Powerstation, and that was really special as well. I’ve been trying to get back over there for a while, so its great that it has all opened up and is good to go!
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We are definitely excited to see you back here. The latest Dope Lemon album is quite an upbeat and hopeful album, which is no mean feat given the challenges of the last couple of years.
Its funny… it’s like during that stage I wanted to…I feel like my skill set lays in emerging into these Disney-like visuals with lyrics. I could be having the worst day of my life and as soon as I sit down in the studio and I start to drift off into a story I’m no longer going through whatever it is that I am going through; I’m there in this new place that makes me feel happy. It’s something that I have always wanted to succeed in – being able to do that with song writing. And when someone says that about a record its great, because its cool that I’m putting back something good in the world and it’s working.
I have seen Dope Lemon referred to as a ‘cultural phenomenon’, and looking at your social media sites that definitely seems to be the case. It appears that a number of fans have had the lemon character tattooed on themselves, or have produced works of art inspired by your music. So your music certainly appears to be resonating on a profound level.
That’s been a wild thing for me to see! Having people that love the music is one thing, and sharing their love for it. But when you start to see the tattoos coming in, it’s really wild. I think on this trip to New Zealand, or wherever I go, I’m going to have to get one myself. Its only protocol now. [laughs] I just don’t know where; I’ve got to figure out where.
I’m sure you will figure it out! For people wanting to have that logo or caricature tattooed on themselves says that your music has had a substantial impact upon them, and no doubt enhanced their lives.
It’s cool. It’s a cool thing. Every time I get sent it I will show a friend or someone I am hanging with at the time. It’s just so wild… I will be like “look at this”, and they will be “oh my god!”. It’s so cool. I’m so stoked to be able to resonate with someone enough to do that. I think it’s really special.
You have mentioned that with your latest album you enjoyed exploring different genres and storytelling. How does ‘Rose Pink Cadillac’ differ from earlier releases ‘Honey Bones’ and ‘Smooth Black Cat’?
It’s different every time. Honey Bones was very… we were in a little cottage and just very off the cuff and wild. It was this sea shanty of a record. With ‘Smooth Big Cat’ I decided that I wanted to play every instrument on the record, just to test my skill set on that front. So it became quite a challenge just to make sure that I could see it through to the end, and then mix it, and then send it to be mastered.
And then going into this record it was a collection of all of the people that I have met on my travels; musicians and characters that add flavours that I thought would be great to have on the record. I would sit here in the studio on the property and come up with the foundations for a song, and then would send it to my guitarist in Germany, and my keys player in Brooklyn, then just sort of flying things around.
They would send me back options, and I would go though it and ‘trim the fat ‘, and find the bits that I liked. That was what this record was; a collection of the people that are really talented and add great value to what this record is.
It’s a beautifully eclectic record.
Thank you. I tried my hand at French on this record, which is probably one of the more difficult things to do. I had to learn the phonetics, which is hard. It is such a peculiar language, but it is also really beautiful. Also, certain things don’t translate from English to French. You could say one thing, and it could mean a whole different meaning and purpose. But words can also become poetic in that way, just through translation. But yeah, that was fun.
So, what have you got up your sleeve for the upcoming shows?
This tour… it has become quite visual. I have been working with a visual designer, so on stage there will be visuals behind us that tell the stories of the songs while we are playing. The live band is a six-piece, basically all the people from around the world that I mentioned earlier. It will be a good time. We are keen as to get out…we just want to move at this point. I think everyone has just been so stationary for nearly three years. Obviously coming to New Zealand, like Australia, its one of the most magical places on Earth. And the people are really humble and always show love. It’s going to be epic.
I know that there are a lot of people looking forward to seeing you, and the inclusion of a show in Christchurch will be received very well.
We can’t wait – thank you for having us.
Do you have anything planned once you have wrapped up this tour? What is next for you?
We are going to Europe in September, and we will also head over to the States and begin making our way up to Canada. Dope Lemon… I have something up my sleeve; that is a surprise for the end of this year.
Dope Lemon is performing two shows in New Zealand this July including a special Auckland Town Hall concert on the 22nd July as part of the Elemental Nights Arts Festival. Limited tickets are still available from Live Nation, but get in quick as this will sell out!
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