Along with his wife, singer
Nicola Walker Smith (born 1964), he has written and recorded numerous pieces of music and published
American Originals (
Faber & Faber, 1995); a book of interviews with American contemporary composers such as
John Cage,
Philip Glass,
Laurie Anderson and
Terry Riley. Although strongly influenced by American composers, much of Smith's musical work borrows lyric content from traditional English verse and
Romantic poets such as
Emily Brontë,
John Keats,
Christina Rossetti,
Percy Bysshe Shelley, and
Elizabeth Siddal. Following the release of his first album
Gas Food Lodging (1993) with independent label
Kitchenware Records, Smith signed a record deal with
Sony Classical and a publishing contract with
EMI. His second album,
15 Wild Decembers (1995), was produced by
Steve Nye in New York, whilst his third album
Black Flowers (1997) was produced at
AIR Studios in London. In 2014, after fourteen years of inactivity, Smith recorded a new album
Black is the Colour (2014) and released it digitally via
Bandcamp. His academic career began as a lecturer at the universities of Manchester and Huddersfield before joining Bath Spa University as Head of Music in 1998. In 2002, he founded the School of Music and Performing Arts at Bath Spa which was recognized as a national Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning in 2005. Later that year, aged 38, Smith was awarded a professorial title for ‘outstanding qualities of academic leadership’. In November 2008, he joined Falmouth University as Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor where he expanded the university's academic portfolio and developed a range of national and international partnerships. He also led the development of the university's online brand, 'Falmouth Flexible', and authored the '2030 Portfolio Strategy' for the building of a pedagogy fit for the '4th Industrial Revolution'. He is also a Trustee of
Trinity College London. == Discography ==