Hollie Smith Announces OZ Visit And Debut Album

Sydney, AU. (Top40 Charts/ EMI MUSIC Australia) - On the eve of the release of her much anticipated debut solo album 'Long Player', New Zealand's soulful Hollie Smith announces her promotional visit to Sydney on Tuesday May 13 and Wednesday May 14.

Born and bred in Auckland, and now based in Wellington, the talented dusky-voiced musician will release 'Long Player' in Australia on May 3.

The laid-back yet warmly funky first single 'Philosophy' showcases Smith's considerable talents which encompass elements of soul, jazz, reggae and R&B.

'Long Player' has sold in excess of double platinum album sales in New Zealand which hit No 1 both on the official New Zealand albums chart and iTunes. At the 2007 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards, Hollie took home 'Best Female Solo Artist," "Breakthrough Artist of the Year," "Best Aotearoa Roots Album" and 'Best Producer'.

Of the album Hollie said, 'For the first time I've really put everything into an album. It's taken five years of work to get it made and I am really confident and happy with it. Which was really all I wanted. Everything else is just extra.'

The songs on 'Long Player' were written over four years ago after which Smith spent a fair bit of time searching for the right musicians to play and record her songs with her. Production was handled by Jeremy Toy and Hollie Smith, then mixed and mastered by respected engineer, Dave Cooley (D'Angelo, J.Dilla) in his studio in Los Angeles.