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It is rare for a Lamborghini to be associated with Womadelaide, but picture a Hollywood character crashing a sports car while stoned and you get the idea behind one of the festival's headline acts, Dope Lemon.
Band leader Angus Stone, who came to the fore in the blues-folk brother-sister duo Angus and Julia Stone, said its title was inspired from a scene in the 2013 film The Wolf Of Wall Street.
Stand-out acts at Womadelaide
- A Guy Called Gerald (UK)
- The Soil (South Africa)
- TAGO (South Korea)
- The Hot 8 Brass Band (United States)
- The East Pointers (Canada)
- Nhatty Man & Gara (Ethiopia/Australia)
- Emir Kusturica & the No Smoking Orchestra (Serbia)
- Archie Roach (Australia)
"They had these drugs back in the '50s they call Quaaludes, and then they had a stronger version called lemons," Stone explained.
"And Leonardo DiCaprio's character takes it and jumps into his Lambo, and he thinks he's driving home all sweet, but the next morning he sees his wrecked car.
"I guess Dope Lemon is our version of that."
Dope Lemon will be one of 61 music and dance acts on five stages at Womadelaide this weekend and joins an eclectic mix of international and national performers over four days.
Other headline acts performing at Botanic Park in Adelaide include the Philip Glass Ensemble (US) and The Specials (UK), while there are also 22 speakers for the Planet Talks and a myriad of workshops, attractions and stalls.
"When I looked at the bill, I saw there's some incredible bands playing," Stone said.
"But it's one of those festivals where you wander up to a stage and they're the best bands you see on the night, because you don't know who it is and it's absolutely stunning.
"I just love walking in and discovering new stuff."
Stone, old friend 'guts' of new band
Stone launched his latest band in 2016 with a laidback rock album often described as mildly psychedelic, Honey Bones. This year they released a new EP called Hounds Tooth.
"With this project, it reaches into the art of the other musicians that are in it, to make it a collective," Stone said.
"There's some key guys that make it work, including an old friend I grew up with, Rohin Brown.
"We're sort of the guts of it, while the rest of the guys have mixed up a bit."
Stone last played at Womadelaide with his sister in 2011.
He remembered there being a "great bunch of eclectic cats backstage" and a myriad of different styles on offer.
"I guess it's Adelaide's version of the blues festival that we have up here [at Byron Bay's Bluesfest]," he said.
He said he did not get stuck on styles when defining his own music.
"If I pick up a guitar and it presents a song in a certain way ... whether it's bluesy, folk, psych, or something completely off that you can't really put your finger on — you let the song do the talking."
Stone produced two solo albums before Dope Lemon and has worked with a variety of musicians.
With Julia, who has also released two solo albums, he worked with famed US drummer Matt Johnson, who most notably played for the late Jeff Buckley and recorded drums for the critically acclaimed album Grace.
"Matty's a brain. The maths and algorithms that go into what he does, his mind works in mysterious ways with drumming — and he's also got a great feel," Stone said.
Still recording with Julia
But while Stone is enjoying his new band and having fun referencing psychotropic moments in cinema, he said his work with Julia continued.
"When there's time, like now because I've finished the EP with Dope Lemon, we get back in the studio and I've been doing some stuff," he said.
"It's sort of building towards whatever the next thing is, when there's time and if it feels right."
He added that Julia could be a face in the crowd watching on as Dope Lemon performs on Saturday night.
"I think she said she might be coming," he said.
Topics: community-and-society, music, bands-and-artists, carnivals-and-festivals, community-and-multicultural-festivals, people, human-interest, adelaide-5000, sa
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