Shannon Smith Talks New Single, Future Material And More

You recently released your single ‘Dance The Night Away’. What was the story/inspiration behind the song?

 I wrote the song as I was tinkering on the piano. I’m not a player, but I can play a few chords.  And can find the sounds and notes o hear in my head pretty quickly on the keys. I came up with the progression and started humming, coming up with the melody.

 It wasn’t until we got into the studio to record that the lyrics were completed by my partner Helen Townsend. Once she heard the vibe that the band was playing and the theme and story I was wanting to tell, she knocked out most of  lyrics right in the studio. Then I went in and recorded them!

In addition, the track is accompanied by an official music video. Who directed the video and what was the thought process behind it?

The video concept and idea was put together with the Director Reilly Stewart, Helen Townsend (co-producer) and myself. We wanted a happy, fun, upbeat quirky video that showed the stage of our relationship and wanted to do it quickly but make it interesting. Reilly came up with the idea based from a date scene in “How I met your mother”, which was a one shot take showing multiple dates in a short period of time.

We had envisioned a flash mob in the video and so we tied it all together once we found the location. Dan Wilson who also co-directed it, put some great touches to the clip to take it to a whole new level.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

 My hometown is Fremantle, but I was born in Sydney.

 Best 5 words to describe it:

 Community-Driven, alive, renewed, art-focused, inclusive

The single claimed the #1 position on the AIR Charts, the Australian Independent Records Label Association’s prestigious ranking. What was your reaction when you received that news and did you notice an increase in radio airplay as a result?

 I was pretty happy!! I definitely did not expect to be #1. And the response was really good from the radio stations, especially the community based stations! Being on the charts definitely got people interested in the song and my music

 Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals etc?

 I’m not a big pedal guy, simple is good for me, my style of music only needs some reverb, blues distortion, tremolo and some delay and I’m good to go! I do love playing my Fender strat though!!

 How do you look after your voice?

 I try to use proper technique so I’m not straining my vocal cords.  A quick warm up before gigs and that’s about the extent of it.

Do you have any future music releases planned such as an EP or an album?

 Yes!  I am releasing 4 x singles from the my Debut Album “Out Of The Shadows”, but its part of a Musical Mini-series of songs and Music Video Clips Im releasing in collaboration with my partner Helen Townsend.

 It’s an ambitious project that has us both releasing singles from our independent albums, one at a time, alternating between us. And it follows each of our own perspectives around our relationship, when we met, when we fell in love, when all hell broke loose and we nearly parted ways, to me working on myself, and ultimately us both working through our issues and coming out stronger than ever.

 We have filmed a music video for each single, which runs in to the next, creating a mini-series of our story and our songs. It’s pretty unique and a huge undertaking, but we have almost finished! One more video clip to go!!!

 What makes Shannon Smith happy and what makes you unhappy?

That’s a big question… with regard to music, there’s so much that makes me happy… creating a new song and recording it, performing my music to people and them connecting with it, or simply hanging out with my band.

 Outside of music, taking time out to travel someplace I’ve never been, spending time with the family, or going to cricket or football matches.

Photo Supplied By PR

Shannon Smith’s singles ‘Dance The Night Away’ and ‘I’m Gonna Change’ are both out now. on all streaming services and download.

For more information visit https://shannonsmithmusic.com.au/home