New music and sound design production house Smith & Western pulls the trigger in Sydney

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Screen shot 2011-09-20 at 11.30.55 AM.jpgSmith & Western, a brand new music and sound design production house, launches this week. It brings together gun-composing duo Nick West (composer/sound designer) and Ant Smith (audio post engineer/composer) and former owner and co-founder of Noise, Dan Higson. 

Sydney’s newest sound house specialises in bespoke music and audio post for the advertising, film and TV industry. They’ve set up a one-stop-shop focusing on all things audio within the Trackdown Studio Complex (the Southern Hemisphere’s largest and most advanced recording studios) at Fox.

Higson, executive producer at Smith & Western, spent a decade at Song Zu before leaving to start Noise five years ago: “Noise was a huge success but we were struggling with the ‘difficult 3rd album’ so it felt like the right time to break up the band and go our separate ways. What’s important to me is keeping ahead of the game and evolving, as the whole industry goes through huge changes. I needed a complete change to keep things exciting and fresh – and starting a new venture with Nick and Ant satisfies all those needs. Our aim is to make passionate and extraordinary music and sound, doing the best work with the best people,” says Higson, who is also a Gold Promax award-winning sound designer in his own right.

Screen shot 2011-09-20 at 11.31.07 AM.jpgSmith & Western’s head composer Nick West has worked in the ad industry for many years – originally through Sandcastle Studios and more recently as a freelance composer – wherever possible with his arsenal of vintage keyboards and obscure instruments. He also co-composed music for the smash hit feature film “Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos” as well as many short films (including work with his director brother Ben West from Robot).

Says West: “With well over 20 years combined experience, we have plenty of ammunition and a modern approach that allows us to be flexible and suit the needs of any projects in an ever changing industry for our clients all around the world”.

When West isn’t composing for the screen, he runs the highly regarded dance label Beef Records and produces music for his dance music project Shades of Gray.

Sound Designer/Engineer and Composer Ant Smith heads up Smith & Western’s audio post arm and brings with him many years of top level audio experience. Having worked for many of Sydney’s best-known sound houses and agencies for the past 10 years, Ant is already well respected among Sydney’s advertising world.

Says Smith: “At Smith & Western we’re breaking the mould from the current sound house model and shooting for something a little different. Having Trackdown Studios at our finger tips is fantastic. Quite simply we can take on any kind of work, however large or small, from a full orchestral score to a quick voice-over and mix!”

When Ant isn’t at the mixing desk, he is a member of New Zealand’s successful Dub/Drum’n’Bass/Reggae/Roots band, Salmonella Dub.

 

Check out the Smith & Western website or contact Dan Higson on +612 8354 4154 or dan@smithandwestern.com.au