WORK
HIGHLIGHTS
Ph: +61 (0)2 9045 3031
Smith & Western is a boutique sound house. We create music and sound design for all media with a special focus on commercials, film and TV. We write, record, perform and release original music and run successful record labels.
NEWS
We take an innovative and versatile approach that allows us to be flexible in a fast moving and ever changing industry. Our clients globally count on us to be on time, on budget and on brief. Smith & Western - The Sound Guns.
Ant's band Salmonella Dub, are in the middle of a sold out national tour of Australia. Having already been through Brisbane and Melbourne, last Saturday the band headlined Sydney's Metro Theatre. The gig was packed and the boys were tearing it up on stage playing classic tracks along side material from their forthcoming album “Freak Controller”.
Try to catch the guys as their national onslaught continues. Sal Dub will be performing at The Peats Ridge Festival NYE (Syd), Summer Rhythm Festival (Canberra) 9/12 and Life’s a Beach Festival (WA) 10/12.
OCT 26 - 2011
NOV 14 - 2011
After 18 months in the studio Smith & Western composer Nick West and his partner in Beef Records Michal Schwa are about to launch their debut album “Soul Machine”. Working under the moniker Shades of Gray the guys have steadily built a reputation for producing quality electronic music with a number of dance chart hits over the years, most recently their remix of American industry veteran Miguel Miggs hit the beatport charts on seminal label Om Records.
Shades of Gray are gearing up for a southern hemisphere tour over the coming summer. Stay tuned for more info. Thanks to The Bestia Collective for their awesome work on the clip. www.bestiacollective.com
MAR 21 - 2012
McDonalds launched a massive new "Loose Change Menu" campaign this week, with three new TVCs featuring Smith & Western music and sound. The films shot by Paul Middleditch from Plaza and written by Cameron Hoelter from DDB, feature light-hearted vignettes showing how different people go about getting small change to spend at McDonalds on their Loose Change menu.
FEB 28 - 2012
We recently worked on a fantastic new "Croc Dundee" style spot for German luggage company Rimowa, shot by award-winning director Bruce Hunt (is he not the nicest person working in advertising in the World today?!). The 90-sec TVC was shot in the Northern Territory and features Smith & Western CD Nick West playing 4 different didjeridoos.
MAY 25 - 2012
We recently worked on a great new Australian comedy called Not Suitable for Children. The film has the prestigious honour of opening the Sydney Film Festival this year. The music editing was done by our very own Ant Smith.
MAY 14 - 2012
At Smith & Western we're excited to be heading up the music and sound for Ben West's new short film FUGU & TAKO, which follows the story of two Japanese salary men whose lives radically change when one of them eats a puffer fish in a sushi bar. The trailer was released this week featuring music by Nick West and Ant Smith and the film, made through Robot FX in Sydney, is due for release in the coming weeks and was written and directed by Ben West.
July 8 - 2012
Revenge is a dish best served with noodles!
Smith & Western recently worked with digital agency MercerBell on their Maggi "Fists Of Fusian" Facebook campaign. The trailer for the campaign features S&W music and sound design … as well as our very own Ant Smith providing the voice-over! Introducing Fists of FUSIAN - the first Kung Fu movie where Joe Public gets to write the dialogue. Eat the noodle. Live the noodle!
Sep 12 - 2012
We recently worked with DDB Sydney on a new 30 sec TVC introducing Wrigley's new Eclipse Chewy Mints. The TVC follows a conversation between a couple who start out feeling 'not at their best', and then gradually find themselves becoming mysteriously fresher as a result of consuming the mints. Using Quentin Tarrantino's approach to sourcing great music at odds with the vision, we dug deep into our box of weird instruments and created a track using a Jew's Harp, upright bass, James Bond guitar, a beaten-up Casio keyboard bought at a garage sale for $5 and a Morricone-esque human whistle. Minty!
Sep 09 - 2012
Working closely with internationally acclaimed animation studio Animal Logic, the team at Smith & Western created the sound and music for a fantastic new animated short to promote the Sydney Opera House's forthcoming "Graphic" Festival. The short follows a 3-eyed lothario's desperate attempts to grab the attention of his wind-up girlfriend through his feats of strength and an acrobatic balancing act. He finally ends up in her arms ... sadly it's just his decapitated head! We helped provide the weird and wonderful characters with a personality using sound.
Sep 26 - 2012
Smith & Western recently worked with The Monkeys in Sydney on a new 30" TVC for IKEA showing off their vast range of textiles. Working closely to picture, we got out our djembes, bongos, timbales, vibraslaps, castanets, wood blocks and guiros and went to town. "Heh-he ... here we go!"
Sep 28 - 2012
Earlier this year we worked on a complete re-brand of Foxtel's FOOD Channel with our good friend Jens Hertzum. At the recent PROMAX Awards in Sydney, FOOD took out gold for "Channel Brand Of The Year". Smith & Western like to think we played a part in helping them win this award with our cool new brand music track and a whole load of nutty ID's. Here's a compile of some of our work for the FOOD Channel.
Oct 26 - 2012
We recently recorded a cool, new rearrangement of the timeless jazz classic "My Baby Just Cares For Me" for DDB's big launch campaign for the new VW up! The cute ad titled 'Grandpa', features our very own Ant Smith on saxophone and the lovely Emma Pask on scat vocals. Honk! Honk!
Dec 05 - 2012
Recipe for NBN Music by Smith & Western!!! Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly fry the melodica and violin in a large frying pan over medium-high heat with a pinch of SFX for good measure. Cook the drums, bass and guitar for 30-secs each side or until golden brown. Top with piano, violin, cello, double bass, xylophone and a pinch of glockenspiel. Wrap in a huge chorus of male and female voices. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with trombone, accordion and mandolin. There's nothing like it. Serves the whole country! Now you're cookin!!!!!
Check out this spot we did for Lipton Ice Tea (via DDB Sydney) debuting their limited release Virgin Cocktail range. Inspired by music used in Tarantino films and Bollywood blockbuster's - we made a truly vibrant and unexpected piece of music with a great summer feel. Check out the weird "vocal gymnastics" of Megs Drummond singing utter nonsense! A download of the full song will be out soon.
Jan 06 - 2013
We recently won a Worldwide pitch to compose all the music for a massive new pan-Asian Tiger Beer campaign. "Rise of The Megacity" - the first ad in a series of 5 - features our original song "Something Wrong About This City" and features vocals by Jai Pyne from Australian rock band The Paper Scissors. The four remaining commercials that are near completion and will roll-out over the coming year.
Jan 06 - 2013
Foxtel Sports. It's On! We recently worked on an a big new 60" promo for Fox Sports, promoting their forthcoming line-up of live coverage of the Wallabies/Lions tour, The Ashes and the Socceroos World Cup Qualifiers. Listen carefully and you can hear the unofficial Australian National Anthem ... Waltzing Matilda!
June 04 - 2013
When the Lipton Ice Tea ad we worked on hit the airwaves we were inundated with inquiries from the general public trying to find out who and what the music was. Answer: It was Smith & Western! So we decided to share the full length track with the rest of the world. It's called "Mojito Pool Party" and features a wicked trombone solo by Ant! Here's a link to listen and download. Enjoy!
May 03 - 2013
