A Chat with Warwick Smith (05.01.24)
With an aim to bring the emo movement to Australia’s youth, Sydney-based singer-songwriter Warwick Smith uses powerful vocals, moving and grooving “jump about and pump your fist in the air” melodies to intoxicate listeners everywhere. We speak with Smith about his new single ‘Sleeplessness‘, what music means to him, greatest achievements, future plans and more.
OSR: Cliché, I know, but what made you become a musician? What drew you to music?
Smith: I think my first real exposure to music was as a kid, watching The Wiggles and developing my ear that way at a young age. As I grew up, the influences changed out here and there but I always had a passion for performance. So shout out to The Wiggles!
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Smith: For me, music is like therapy. As a listener, I think it feels somewhat like a conversation with the artist and you can get so much out of an experience like that. It’s a very important experience for me.
OSR: You recently released your single ‘Sleeplessness’. What can you tell us about it? Is there a backstory or theme?
Smith: So ‘Sleeplessness’ at its core is about the “what now?” factor of accomplishing a goal. For me that was performing in concert with a band I greatly admire and in the days afterwards I felt like I had peaked and had no further goals. I got over that post-concert depression feeling after a little bit but for the first week or so it was strong enough to write this song and bluntly vent about it.
OSR: If you could change one thing about ‘Sleeplessness’, what would it be?
Smith: I wish I’d added trumpets to the ending but what can ya do?
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
Smith: I can only hope people will hear what I have to say and maybe be able to use some of the ideology and philanthropy I mix into the songs. I mean, there’s some real wild lyrics but every so often there’s a gem of advice.
OSR: What are the best and worst things about being a solo musician?
Smith: The best thing is there’s no curation or delay, at least initially, when I work on things. I can just go straight into a project and usually don’t need to consult any opposing forces. The worst thing is definitely having to carry all my own equipment.
OSR: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why? This can be a physical or personality attribute.
Smith: I don’t think I would want to change anything point blank. I mean we all improve and change over time but that journey is very important, I don’t think that’s a snap of the fingers kind of thing. Growth is gradual.
OSR: What is your greatest achievement – and it doesn’t have to be music-related.
Smith: I’ve never lost a game of air hockey… Pretty proud of that.
OSR: What advice do you have for new artists?
Smith: Release something, anything. There’s a million reasons to delay but once that first song is out, the rest flow like a faucet.
OSR: Do you have future plans as a solo artist?
Smith: Not dying is a pretty big one for me, that’d be awesome. I’ve got a lot of music I’m working on right now so I guess the future plan is to get more songs out into the world.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Smith: Eat your vegetables, kids.
Many thanks to Warwick Smith for speaking with us! Find out more about Warwick Smith on his official website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
Listen to Warwick Smith and many more pop-rock songs on The Other Side Reviews Pop Rock playlist:
