When the world first met Angus and Julia Stone, it was as a duo. The sibling act began releasing gentle folk-pop music in 2006, swiftly finding global success with hits like Big Jet Plane.
The pair still make music together (their latest album, Life is Strange, arrived in 2021) but also have solo projects. Apart, their sounds have diverged: Julia released a record full of bright, shimmering pop music in April 2021 while Angus makes blissed-out rock as Dope Lemon. This Friday 7 January, Angus returns with his third album under the moniker, titled Rose Pink Cadillac.
Essential to every record Angus makes is a particular guitar: a 1960s Telecaster given to him by his father. Here, Stone tells us about that “holy grail” instrument, as well as the story of two other important personal belongings.
What I’d save from my house in a fire
When we last toured the States, [Apple co-founder] Steve Wozniak would fly in to different shows we were playing. It was so cool seeing him at the front of the barrier – the biggest legend to walk Earth, singing all the lyrics to the tunes we had written.
There was one show where we were chilling backstage and Steve came up and told me he wanted me to have something special, which he only had a few of. It was four [fake] $2 bills he had created back in the day. They have sneaky little markings on them that he only told me about. They look like a real bill – down to a tee – and would pass if put in circulation, but because they were created by the man that invented Apple, they are very precious to me.
He’s a legend, by the way – salt of the earth and a good storyteller. After shows, backstage, there would always be a group around him as he spoke. It was dope to see the legend live on.
I’d also have to grab a special gift given to me by my beautiful sister Julia on my 30th birthday. It is a geometric crystal hanging light, made by an incredible artist called Asaf Zakay. It’s worth its weight in gold but it also signifies our time together, spending our 20s travelling the world and sharing what we created. It’s a piece of magic – a little portal to our relationship as brother and sister.
My most useful object
A gift given to me by my parents for my 21st. I grew up with this guitar that was basically regarded around the house and town as the holy grail of guitars: a unique 1960s Telecaster. I have never seen another like it in my many years on the road and we’ve been around some of the world’s most storied guitarists who would gawk at it. When we toured with Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham and the gang were tripped out.
It was my dad’s very first guitar that he bought off his guitar teacher. It lives on basically every record I’ve ever released. It’s become a defining sound of my albums and will stay that way for many more to come.
The item I most regret losing
The item I most regret losing is a cowboy boot someone nicked from backstage in Amsterdam. They only took one, which was strange. So I have the other to be like “damn, one day we will reunite you with your comrade”.
I hope whoever took it has some flowers growing in it, on a windowsill, somewhere in a small cobblestone street in Holland, and are enjoying it as much as I enjoy the one I have at home.
