Stonefield are an Australian rock band comprising the four Findlay sisters: Amy on drums and lead vocals, Hannah on lead guitar, Sarah on keyboards, and Holly on bass guitar. They were formed in 2006 as Iotah in
Darraweit Guim, a small town in rural Victoria. They changed their name in 2010 and have released four studio albums, ''
Stonefield'' (October 2013), ''
As Above, So Below
"As above, so below" is a popular modern paraphrase of the second verse of the '' Emerald Tablet'' (a compact and cryptic Hermetic text first attested in a late eighth or early ninth century Arabic source), as it appears in its most widely divul ...
'' (July 2016) — which peaked at No. 19 on the
ARIA Albums Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
— ''Far from Earth'' (April 2018) and ''Bent'' (June 2019).
History
Stonefield were formed in late 2006 as Iotah in
Darraweit Guim, a hamlet in Victoria's Macedon Ranges, by Amy Lee Findlay (born c. 1990) on drums and lead vocals, and her three younger sisters, Hannah (born c. 1993) on lead guitar and vocals, Sarah (born c. 1994) on keyboards and vocals, and Holly (born c. 1998) on bass guitar.
The sisters rehearsed in their parents farm shed, "with a '70s-inspired soulful rock sound."
They won the Triple J
Unearthed High contest, for secondary school artists, in June 2010 with their song, "Foreign Lover", which was then placed in high rotation on the national radio network.
After the win the band changed their name to Stonefield, due to "discovering there was a cabaret performer called iOTA."
They released a five-track extended play, ''Through the Clover'' (November 2010), with Greg Wales producing via
Shock Records
Shock Records (now part of Shock Entertainment) is an Australian independent record label.
History
The three founding members had all previously worked in music retail or distribution: Williams for a Melbourne distribution company called "Musi ...
.
Stonefield were an Unearthed
J Award
The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, ...
nominee in that year. Amy completed her Bachelor of Australian Popular Music degree in 2010 at Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT) — later renamed as
Melbourne Polytechnic
Melbourne Polytechnic, formerly NMIT, is an institute of higher education and vocational education (TAFE) located in Melbourne, Australia that has been operating since around 1910.
In October 2014, the institute was renamed to Melbourne Polyt ...
.
After the band played at the One Movement Festival in Perth in October 2010 they were approached by a scout for the
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
and were invited to appear at the next year's festival.
They played the second slot on the John Peel Stage on 26 June 2011.
''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
''s Elizabeth Colman felt, "
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
more than held their own at one of the world's biggest music events... the talented foursome's raw vocal power and polished playing, which climaxed with an inspired cover of Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love', got the punters rocking."
Hannah told Colman, "It was a bit overwhelming"; while Amy admitted, "I almost cried when I got on stage."
Earlier in June 2011 Stonefield had performed at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...
, providing pre-match entertainment at an
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
match (
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
vs.
Hawthorn
Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to:
Plants
* '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae
* ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
), celebrating "Women's Round". The group provided a cover version of
Steppenwolf's "
Magic Carpet Ride" for Triple J's ''
Like a Version
''Like a Version'' is a weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves Australian and international artists playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs (an "original") and then a cover version, h ...
'' radio segment, which was compiled on the various-artists album ''Triple J's Like a Version 7'' (November 2011). In the following month, Amy appeared on TV celebrity quiz show ''
RocKwiz'', performing "Through the Clover" back by the RocKwiz OrKestra and then singing a duet with
Nick Barker
Nicholas Paul Barker is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who formed a rock, power pop band, Nick Barker & the Reptiles, in March 1988. Their cover version of Cockney Rebel's "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" reached the top  ...
on a cover version of Small Faces' "
Itchycoo Park
"Itchycoo Park" is a song written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, first recorded by their group, the Small Faces. Largely written by Lane, it was one of the first music recordings to feature flanging, an effect at that time made possible ...
".
Stonefield's second EP, ''Bad Reality'', appeared in May 2012, which reached the top 100 on the
ARIA Albums Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
.
Alex Rappel of ''FasterLouder'' observed, "
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
certainly know how to rock out in the style of old, and Richie Blackmore and Co would no doubt be impressed by Stonefield's offerings...
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
do not try to offer social commentary or sage wisdom in their latest EP ''Bad Reality'', but rather a rock record that will melt your face off!"
The group released their debut self-titled album, ''
Stonefield'', on 11 October 2013, which peaked at No. 21.
It was recorded at Sing Sing Studios, Richmond where it was produced and engineered by Ian Davenport for Illusive Sounds.
''Beat Magazine''s Krissi Weiss opined, "
he group
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
has definitely progressed. It's more nuanced, they've evolved beyond being simply riff-based and their harmonic depth is almost transcendental... you can tell none of that was planned. As the listener you can't help but go searching for the familiar but the band are at all times just being
hemselves"
They supported its release with a tour of Victoria and parts of New South Wales.
Stonefield released the album's second single, "Love You Deserve", in October 2013, which Tobias Handke of ''Indie Shuffle'', described as, "Classic guitar riffs and pounding percussion merge with the sisters' evocative harmonies, making
tan easy highlight from
he album
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
Oh yeah, how good is The Doors-esque organ?"
It won the Rock Work of the Year category at the
APRA Music Awards of 2015
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2015 (generally known as APRA Awards) are a series of related awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards of 2015 was the 3 ...
.
The band mostly write their own original material, but also do occasional cover versions. These include "
Whole Lotta Love
"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, ''Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was r ...
" and "Magic Carpet Ride". In 2015 they covered Fleetwood Mac's "
The Chain
"The Chain" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on their 1977 album '' Rumours''. It is the only song from the album with writing credits for all five members ( Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John ...
" on
Katie Noonan
Katie Anne Noonan (born 2 May 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she was the singer in the band George and remains the singer in the band Elixir; perf ...
's album, ''
Songs That Made Me''. In 2016 they toured in support of Fleetwood Mac in Australia for three shows.
The group's second album, ''
As Above, So Below
"As above, so below" is a popular modern paraphrase of the second verse of the '' Emerald Tablet'' (a compact and cryptic Hermetic text first attested in a late eighth or early ninth century Arabic source), as it appears in its most widely divul ...
'', appeared in July 2016 and peaked at No. 19 – their highest charting release.
Jaymz Clements of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' (Australia) rated it at four-out-of-five stars.
''theMusic.com.au''s Bryget Chrisfield gave it three-and-a-half out-of-five stars and explained, "
tsurpasses all preconceived notions of the sonic terrain these rockin' sisters can effortlessly traverse. Don't freak out, though. The band's killer riffs and headbanging opps prevail."
On 11 December 2017 the band signed with the
Flightless
Flightless birds are birds that through evolution lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species, including the well known ratites (ostriches, emu, cassowaries, rheas, and kiwi) and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the ...
record label and debuted new song, "Delusion", on Triple J. In 2018 they toured nationally with
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (sometimes abbreviated to BRMC) is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. The group originally consisted of Peter Hayes (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Robert Levon Been (vocals, bass, guitar), and Ni ...
. The quartet's third album, ''Far from Earth'', was issued in April 2018 and reached the top 100.
Libby Webster of ''
The Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
'' rated it at two-and-a-half stars and explained, "
he group
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
trudges along haltingly, a chaos of genre. Hammering prog ('Far from Earth') and blistering doom metal ('Through the Storm'), their momentum wanes with milder moments of psychedelia."
Happy Mag' placed the album at no.16 on their list of "The 25 best psychedelic rock albums of the 2010s" in 2019.
''
L.A. Record
''L.A. Record'' is an independent music magazine originally published weekly as a broadsheet poster. The poster usually depicts a local Los Angeles musicians and according to the magazine editors is meant to recreate an iconic album cover. In Mar ...
''s Madison Desler caught their gig at Los Angeles' The Bootleg club in that same month, "they bashed through cuts off their new album, ''Far from Earth''. 'Delusion', a mix of distorted psych and stormy desert rock had drummer and lead singer Amy Findlay showing off her impressive vocals, while the dark, dance beat of 'Visions' got the packed crowd to shimmy and slide."
In 2019, the Australian band
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are an Australian rock band formed in 2010 in Melbourne, Victoria. The band's current lineup consists of Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood and Michael Cavanagh. They are ...
brings along Stonefield and the band Orb as support acts. Stonefield also appears in the King Gizzard's concert film
Chunky Shrapnel in 2020, playing the song "A Brief History of Planet Earth".
Amy Cavanagh, Stonefield's drummer, is married to Michael Cavanagh, the drummer for King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
Members
![John Harvey Pegg with Stonefield](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/John_Harvey_Pegg_with_Stonefield.jpg)
* Amy Cavanagh (née Findlay) – vocals, drums
(2006–present)
* Hannah Findlay – guitar
(2006–present)
* Holly Findlay – bass guitar
(2006–present)
* Sarah Findlay – keyboards, vocals
(2006–present)
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Notes
Awards
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
History
The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...
) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
, -
,
AIR Awards of 2011
, ''Through the Clover''
, Best Independent Single/EP
,
, -
APRA Awards
The
APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the
Australasian Performing Right Association
APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...
(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982.
!
, -
,
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, "Bad Reality" (Amy, Hannah, Sarah and Holly Findlay)
, Song of the Year
,
,
, -
J Award
The
J Awards
The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, ...
are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
's youth-focused radio station
Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...
. They commenced in 2005.
, -
,
J Awards of 2010
The J Award of 2010 is the sixth annual J Awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station ...
, themselves
, Unearthed Artist of the Year
,
Music Victoria Awards
The
Music Victoria Awards
The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...
are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.
!
, -
,
Music Victoria Awards of 2014
The Music Victoria Awards of 2014 are the ninth Annual Music Victoria Awards and consist of a series of awards, presented in October and November 2014.
The Genre awards were awarded on 16 October 2014 in The Age building, while the public voted, ...
, Stonefield
, Best Regional Act
,
, rowspan="4",
, -
,
Music Victoria Awards of 2018
The Music Victoria Awards of 2018 are the 13th Annual Music Victoria Awards
The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australia ...
, Stonefield
, Best Regional Act/Outer Suburban Act
,
, -
, rowspan="2",
Music Victoria Awards of 2019
The Music Victoria Awards of 2019 are the 14th Annual Music Victoria Awards and consist of a series of awards, presented on 22 November 2019, during Melbourne Music Week. The Award for ''The Best Global Act'' changed its name to ''Best Intercultu ...
, Stonefield
, Best Regional Act/Outer Suburban Act
,
, -
, ''Bent''
, Best Rock/Punk Album
,
, -
References
External links
*
Stonefieldon
Triple J Unearthed
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stonefield (Band)
All-female bands
APRA Award winners
Australian hard rock musical groups
Australian psychedelic rock music groups
Family musical groups
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Musical quartets
Musical groups established in 2006
Victoria (Australia) musical groups
Universal Music Group artists