The Caitlin Smith Group
Gig Seeker Pro

The Caitlin Smith Group

| INDIE

| INDIE
Band Folk Singer/Songwriter

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Cd Baby 5 Star Review of Aurere"

author: Peters at CD Baby
Sophisticated and jazzy, yet with elements of pop and even a little drum & bass - it's great when an artist's music doesn't lend itself to easy description. Caitlin Smith's music is reminiscent at times of the slightly off-beat songwriting Carole King, at other times of the late night lounge singing of Norah Jones. Some songs are closer to Joni Mitchell's folk-jazz period, while at other times we can hear the influence of Sting's mature, composed pop (though it's nothing like what counts as pop on Top 40 radio). Smith has the same effortless, yet powerful voice that Eva Cassidy had, and what's better still is that Smith writes her own material. The band she's assembled does a great job of providing a solid, melodic foundation for her songs, while not overpowering her vocals with their obvious talent. The multiple dynamic shifts in tunes like "Comfort Song" are pulled off by the band with ease, shifting from 70s funk to sparse, fluid groove, down to bass and Rhodes only, and back to the funk. Meanwhile, there's something very dark lyrics going on in "Brother", belied by the powerful layers of harmonies and laid-back groove. The electric piano solo on this one is something that must be listened to with headphones, and the mix through the rest of the album is fantastic as well. This album feels like the result of a love of the past 70 years of pop music, from Tin Pan Alley, to 70s singer/songwriters, filtered through a 21st century band featuring electric guitar and spot-on production. - Cd Baby


Discography

The Fondue Set, "Stick a fork in it" 1999
The Fondue Set, "In A Blue Vein" 2000

The Caitlin Smith Group, " Aurere "
-Featured on Air New Zealand's inflight entertainment

Photos

Bio

Caitlin Smith bio

Anyone who has heard Caitlin Smith, either in live performance or on any of her recordings is immediately smitten by that voice. It’s a rare instrument that contains purity of tone and depth of emotion. Combined with her unique songwriting skills, Caitlin is surely one of the biggest talents New Zealand has to offer.

Her early recording with The Fondue Set found the versatile vocalist singing standards in a jazz setting, but as usual, musical labels fail to tell the whole story. A quick listen to her 2005 solo album Aurere reveals an artist comfortable with a range of styles and moods.

The Canadian-born musician has been a New Zealander for as long as she can remember. After taking part in the Auckland punk scene, Caitlin pursued an education in politics. After achieving her Master’s Degree she realized that her passion for music could no longer be ignored.

Along with guitarists Steve Gerrish and Graeme Webb Caitlin formed The Fondue Set and turned heads with a series of residencies, festival and TV appearances along with two well-received CDs, Stick A Fork In It (1999) and In A Blue Vein (2000).

Along with writing and performing, Caitlin has built a reputation as one of the country’s leading vocal coaches. Her voice can be heard on countless radio and television ads as well.

One of Caitlin’s proudest musical achievements is the release of her 2005 album, Aurere. Completely self-produced, and self-distributed, it found a small but loyal audience including influential American on-line music store CD Baby who chose it as an Editor’s Pick and a glowing review stating: “This album feels like the result of a love of the past 70 years of pop music, from Tin Pan Alley, to 70s singer/songwriters, filtered
through a 21st century band featuring electric guitar and spot-on production.”

These accomplishments are even more impressive when you realize that Caitlin is partially sighted, with just a small percentage of her vision intact. It’s a condition that she has used to her advantage.

Caitlin is currently recording her next album.
“What I’d like to have in this next album is elements of World Music and highly original instrumentation. What I’m trying to do with my music is to focus the listener on the story of the song and hopefully tell stories that aren’t frequently told.”

She has appeared at just about every major music festival in New Zealand and Australia and counts among her favourites the Threadbo Global Music Festival and the Manly Jazz Festival. But, she admits, she’s happy making music anywhere.

“It’s very natural for me to sing and it’s very natural for me to create and play music. I’d be doing it even if people weren’t there.”