Ali Smith

Myspace Layoutsmyspace imagesAli smith is a talented singer/songwriter who grew up in the sleepy green hills of Gippsland with her mum ,Elizabeth, sister ,Andi, and grandmother Aynsley. Moving to Leongatha at the age of 8, she grew up surrounded by close friends in a tiny Christian school, learning to love the chilled culture of the country and the sea.Dabbling with singing through her involvement with church, she started to develop her unique singing style through jamming with friends, dragging an old beat-up second hand nylon string guitar to the beach at midnight and buying a djembe and teaching herself to play. This casual involvement soon became a passion as she started taking lessons for both guitar and vocals, honing a talent that quickly blossomed and matured.Her first song came into existence when the mother of a good friend committed suicide. This event rocked the small, close-knit community she was a part of, and Ali turned to song-writing to express the sense of helplessness that swept over her life and that of the people around her. As she offered this song to the different hurting people around her as a gift of solace, she received huge amounts of encouragement as it became evident that she had an incredible talent for song-writing.Spurred by the encouragement of friends and family, she continued to write more and more songs, each one reaching a new level of maturity and depth. As she did so, her already beautiful voice slowly attained a unique quality that both haunts and inspires, striking a chord within the hearts of all who listen. Her songs display a deep and unpretentious love for music and a down-to-earth look at life, causing a lingering interplay between an earthy beauty and ethereal quality. This fusion makes her comparable to and somewhere between the 'Elixir' album created by Katie Noonan et al, and the 'Scar EP' by Missy Higgins.Ali started small with birthday gigs and regional functions, and slowly drew a small but loyal band of followers, playing at music festivals along side bands such as British India & 67 Special. Taking up many gigs, paid or unpaid, her passion for music caused her to pursue the beautiful thrill of sharing her music with the world, whether it be in a tiny bar in Healesville or the Raw Vibes music festival at Mossvale Park. Wherever she goes she exudes a unaffected friendliness and a sincere, loving vibe, which pours out into her relationships with friends and strangers alike, and which resonates through all of her music and the way she lives life.- Bio by Laura Bracken