Hollie Smith

New Zealander Hollie Smith stepped into the studio for the first time at age sixteen, releasing the Celtic music album Light from a Distant Shore in 1999, an effort that paved the way for her emergence as one of her homeland’s foremost neo-soul vocalists. Her earlier triumph as Best Female Vocalist at New Zealand’s National Jazz Festival in 1998 had already stirred widespread interest among local audiences, lending enough momentum to turn the independently issued Distant Shore into a modest yet noteworthy achievement. Years afterward she altered course by enlisting with Trinity Roots, New Zealand’s foremost R&B, reggae, and neo-soul collective. Following the 2004 release of Home, Land and Sea, she experienced her initial taste of touring while the ensemble played dates across the region.

In 2005 Smith recorded her own material for the first time, pairing it with distinctive reinterpretations of existing songs. The resulting Hollie Smith EP delivered a national Top Ten hit via her version of Don McGlashan’s “Bathe in the River,” supplying the leverage and standing required to secure a contract with EMI for her first major-label project. Long Player showcased compositions she had written over four years, contributions from some of NZ’s most accomplished musicians, and a smoldering, sensual soul-jazz atmosphere that kept her name at the forefront of domestic coverage for weeks after its May 2007 appearance. Upon reaching Blue Note Records president Bruce Lundvall, the album prompted him and the imprint’s Manhattan Records subsidiary to add her to their roster.