The Songsmiths - The Lucky One

Kayla and Sarah Goldsmith release their second Single, ‘The Lucky One’. The release of their second single ‘The Lucky One’ follows their debut single ‘The Long Way Round’ offering a different side of The Songsmiths. This song captures the warmth and romance of a lifelong love and showcases Kayla’s multi-instrumental abilities, as she swaps her usual guitar licks for the warm and inviting sounds of the Mandolin and Weissenborn.

After several years of songwriting and recording as The Songsmiths, ‘The Lucky One’ brings together a raw blend of Acoustic Country and Folk, giving audiences a deeper understanding of The Songsmiths as songwriters, artists and producers.

Kayla is a multi-instrumentalist specialising in all things with strings. As a songwriter and producer Kayla grew up playing music in Christchurch, New Zealand, and from a young age was heavily involved with various live acts over a range of genres and settings in the New Zealand music community and continues to work with musicians and acts around the country. She currently offers professional musician services including music production, live session work, tutoring and session tracks. Sarah is an award-winning singer and songwriter, MLT Songwriting and Gold Guitar award finalist, Sarah also won the DAG Songwriting Scholarship (Australia) sponsored by APRA and was a NZ Horizon Award Nominee. Sarah grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand, singing opera before being introduced to guitar which sparked a love of country music and songwriting.

Together, Kayla and Sarah live in Timaru (NZ) writing and performing as The Songsmiths and operating a recording studio, ‘Songsmith Studios’ which offers a range of recording packages and a tutoring space.

Available on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music and all online streaming services:

https://ffm.to/2pkejd1 

Credits:

Songwriters: Kayla and Sarah Goldsmith

Guitars, Bass, Mandolin and Weissenborn: Kayla Goldsmith

Vocals: Sarah Goldsmith

Drums & Percussion: Joshua Blaikie

Produced by: Kayla Goldsmith @SongsmithstudiosNZ

Mixed and Mastered: Kayla Goldsmith @SongsmithStudiosNZ

Photography Credit.

MD Photography https://mdphotography.co.nz

Connect with The Songsmiths:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheSongsmiths

Instagram: www.instagram.com/the_songsmithsnz 

What first got you into music?

Sarah: I was three when I started singing, my great aunt was an opera singer and realised that I had perfect pitch. I was training to be an Opera singer until I was about 12 and picked up a guitar, from there it was a pretty quick turn around into songwriting which is my passion in life.

Kayla: I have always been involved or around music since a young age; whether it was picking songs from the back of nanas vinyl records to learn to sing  or playing drums in Dads lounge when he had band practice . Dad was always so supportive and watching him and his band at the time led me to pick up the guitar and learn his set list so I could start gigging with them when I was approx 14. I also loved the Jazz band and orchestra visits to primary school so during high school I picked up the Double bass and involved myself in that but over the years I’ve played a bit of everything. While guitar remains my staple and where I feel most at home - I don’t want to ever stop exploring and learning.  

How would you describe the music that you typically create?

The Songsmiths name is a play on our last name but also on creating music we like to take cover songs and flip them reimagining them into something new, for our original music we want to cover the range of country styles. Our first single The Long Way Round has a classic retro country vibe, The Lucky One is kind of a folk cross over. Our next single is going to be a country rock vibe - think Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton. Production wise we want to keep our listeners interested and treat each song as an individual.

What is your creative process like?
Typically we write together, one of us will bring an idea to the table and we work from there.

Sarah: I usually write the lyric and melody and Kayla is amazing at arrangements and progressions so we use our strengths and give feedback and tweak things as we go.

If we were to peek over your shoulder, what does your studio look like? What gear do you typically use?

We have our own studio which we renovated it’s functional at the moment but we are always adding to it. We have a blue velvet couch, some mid century furniture and persian rugs we wanted it to feel relaxed, Cozy and comfortable. Gear wise Kayla has a lot of guitars to choose from on the rack and walls, her main guitar is a Pink Paisley Fender Telecaster - Japanese reissue which was a 21st gift from her Dad. The most recent addition is a Gretsch hollow body which is really nice to record with. Kayla also has a few mandolins, acoustics, bass guitars and other bits and pieces as well as amps for different soundscapes and tones. In terms of mics, we have a growing collection but we just brought some BeezNeez microphones which are made in Australia and  we are loving those at the moment for recording and used them on The Lucky One. For recording we use Logic which is easy to use and gets a good result.

Who are your main musical influences?

Sarah: I grew up as a theatre kid and listening to the country music that my grandparents loved - Patsy Cline and Linda Ronstadt so from a writing perspective I’m always chasing that perfect country song that’s a mix of simplicity with a modern twist. But I love Brandy Clarkes songwriting it’s cheeky and fresh and also blues bands like The Tedeschi Trucks - I’m pretty open to most genres.

Kayla: I always find this question difficult and I can never ever narrow it down.  I listen to everything. I appreciate aspects from all genres, and am always listening critically to take away as much as I can -   I think it’s important for your growth as an artist, working musician and producer to listen to a wide range of things and be open to adopting new ideas and sounds. At the moment though, I’m listening to a lot of California Honey Drops, Billy Strings, Chris Stapleton and Larkin Poe.

What are your musical plans for the next 12 months or so?

We have one more release this year and a few live performances to announce. Next year we want to get out and play more live shows hopefully some festivals with our full band as well as a couple more singles before dropping the Album.

Do you enjoy recording and production?

Sarah: I love the recording and production process it’s where songs come to life and hearing what Kayla has in her head come to life is always exciting for me. She definitely does most of the work in that space because she’s so talented and can hear a song in its entirety while we are writing it.

Kayla: I love the process! and I also love Sarah’s patience with me during this process haha. I am so lucky that we have built a studio on our property so the process as a whole really does feel like home to me.

Was anyone else involved in writing, recording, or producing the songs?

We do most of it ourselves we are lucky that Kayla plays so many instruments and try to make the most of her skills - but we definitely outsource to our talented friends and colleagues when we can. We have an amazing drummer Josh Blaikie that we have worked with for years and he plays all our live band shows, he’s a great friend and a master at what he does; so he is a our go to for Drums and percussion. We also love working with Mark Stoddart a bass player from the mighty Waikato, NZ who has unmatched feel and groove - he slots in and puts up with all our silly nonsense like a champ. Mark played bass on our debut single”The Long Way Round” and we have him locked in for a few other releases too!

Our studio isn’t quite big enough to track drums (yet) So we did outsource tracking the drums to Simon Tester in Christchurch and Kayla went up for the day to sit in with Josh and Simon to get it all sorted and the quality of those tracks are awesome so we are stoked. We are looking forward to some collabs in the future with different artists.

Which are cooler? Dinosaurs or Dragons?

Sarah: Dragons

Kayla: Dinosaurs

Do you sing in the shower? What songs?

Sarah: Yes - Opera usually!

Kayla: Nope!

If you could be a superhero, what would your superpower be and your superhero name?

Sarah:  Some kind of telepathic superpower would be cool.

Kayla: I’d like to be able to fly!

You are a new addition to a crayon box. What colour would you be and why?

Sarah: Some kind of rich blue it’s a colour I love our lounge is painted navy blue and it’s very calming.

Kayla: Definitely Forest Green -  I love being out in nature, I think it’s important to ground yourself and appreciate the landscapes we have here in NZ. I love the West Coast and forest green is the perfect colour to describe and feel that.

What would you bring along to an idyllic picnic?

We both love a good cheese platter so a lot of cheeses and grapes.

what’s your favourite board game 

Sarah: Cluedo

Kayla: Scrabble