Alice wears a CG top, Kalmanovich skirt and Sigerson Morrison shoes
"Well, I've tried. I have tried and I have not succeeded." Alice Smith is attempting to answer the question, dreaded by most musicians, of how she would describe her sound. "I would say that it is very good, and I like it. That's the kind of music it is."
Smith can be hard to pin down. Her favorite music ranges from Sade to Joan Jett, '80s rock to easy listening. She's worked as a major-label artist and a DIY bootstrapper. She's lived in New York and L.A. (not to mention D.C. and Augusta, Georgia). The one thread that runs through it all is her voice: an unforgettable, wide-range instrument and a vessel of heartstring-snapping lyrics.
Smith's song "Dream" was nominated for a Grammy in 2007, while she had just one album, For Lovers, Dreamers & Me, under her belt. But Smith left Epic Records after her sophomore album was shelved. Six years and one daughter later, she released her bluesy, soulful second album, She, funded with $22,000 raised on Kickstarter. The album features her cover of CeeLo Green's "Fool For You," which she sings with raw, emotional certainty, like the song was meant for her.
Smith doesn't plan on joining another major label. "It's not as much money to create the actual project, but it's also not as much headache and ridiculous conversations," she says. These days, she's making her rounds across the country (she played Afropunk earlier this year) and settling into the dizzying freedom of the independent artist. "Yes, it can be very overwhelming," she admits. "But it's better. Life is overwhelming; whatever." She's also gearing up to record her third studio album, which she plans to release next year. With the peaks and troughs of her career thus far, and the life-affirming challenges of motherhood, the album-to-be is already showing signs of being her best work yet.
So maybe there's one other thread that runs through it all: an omnidirectional ambition to go along with Smith's ever-fluctuating life. Asked about her goals, she says, "The biggest thing you could think of, I would love to do that. Sold-out tours, sold-out shows. Big shows, little TV spots, Saturday Night Live and Sesame Street."
Styled by Solange Franklin
Hair by Chuck Amos for Oribe at Jump / Makeup by Edward Cruz for Tom Ford Beauty at traceymattingly.com
Photographer Assistant: Micaela Adams / Stylist Assistant: Kyle Hayes
Location: Dune Studios