By Peter Douglas
THERE’S no such thing as sibling rivalry when it comes to making killer tunes, according to Stonefield guitarist Hannah Findlay.
Stonefield – which includes sisters Amy (vocals, drums), Hannah (guitar), Sarah (keyboard) and Holly (bass) – have just released their second album and will perform at Belgrave’s Sooki Lounge, on Sunday 16 October.
Despite ‘”jamming” together since their early teens, and developing into a renowned all-sister act, Findlay says it simply feels natural for the siblings to play music together.
Hannah told the Mail they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It sounds lame but we’re still each other’s best friend,” she said.
“We occasionally have fights but we just move on with it pretty quickly.”
The band first rose to prominence after winning Triple J’s Unearthed High competition in 2010, which propelled them to popularity and high circulation on the airwaves.
“It was a steep learning curve … we’d never performed interstate before and our second concert was at Glastonbury (UK),” she said.
“We’d been playing for a few years before but it took everything to the next level.”
The rise to Glastonbury was a far cry from their home town of Darraweit Guim in north of Melbourne, which was where their love of music first manifested.
“We got a drum kit for Christmas and started playing. We had a music teacher who was a multi-instrumentalist move in next door and we started learning,” she said.
“We were always singing and dancing and it just felt natural to play in a band.”
The new album, ‘As Above, So Below,’ is the follow-up to their self-titled debut in 2013.
The release has been described as a 10-track juggernaut which features the band’s signature penchants for kaleidoscopic guitar riffs, swirling melodies and hallucinogenic vocals.
Hannah said they wrote more than 50 songs during the process but said she was really pleased with the result.
She said much of the new material, along with some old favourites, will be performed at the Sooki show.
Stonefield will appear at the Sooki Lounge on Sunday, 16 October.
For more information, visit www.sookilounge.com.au or contact (03) 9754 7567.
* To celebrate the show, the ‘Mail’, in conjunction with Sooki lounge, is giving away one double pass to see the show. To enter, simply email your name and contact details to win@mailnewsgroup.com.au
