Waiting For Smith is singer/songwriter Harry Lloyd. Formerly a ski instructor in the French Alps, Lloyd broke his back in two places during avalanche training. Fighting for his life in the helicopter on the way to the hospital he had an epiphany that he should dedicate his life to music. After spending a year in bed recuperating and learning to play the guitar, he formed Waiting For Smith, named after endlessly waiting for their original drummer Smith, who always failed to show.
Their latest single “Long Life” glistens with an effervescent, toe-tapping rhythm, warm guitar melodies and genuine lyrics oozing with sincerity, narrating the comforting message that everything is going to be ok. Lloyd confides, “I wrote Long Life while I was recovering from my injury, it became my upbeat theme tune for dealing with disaster.” Recorded with Julian Emery (Nothing But Thieves) at Abbey Road Studios and mixed by Ren Swan, “Long Life” emanates a light-hearted attitude, delivering a 70’s tinged track, reminiscent of Leonard Cohen meets Johnny Flynn.
The quirky visuals for “Long Life”, which were filmed in Madrid illustrate playfully, raw footage of ordinary people, living their everyday life. At the time, Lloyd had no idea of the escalating situation in the capital of Spain which would be occurring only weeks later. The songwriter explains, “This song was planned for release months ago, not knowing it would be so suited for the time we’re in. So I’m hoping it will bring others as much comfort and lightness as it gave me when I needed it.” The whimsical video is heavily inspired by Wes Anderson, with Lloyd sharing, “I love his symmetry. He makes every shot look like a painting. You can’t help but take life a little less seriously after watching one of his movies. And that’s what I really wanted to get across with the music video, a sense of play.”
Fascinated by change, Lloyd’s music is inspired by the ability we all have to evolve ourselves for the better. He shares, “I’m also a hopeless romantic, so a lot of my songs focus on the different angles on love.” The musician confides how music is like a free form of therapy and hopes that he can bring a similar liberating feeling of comfort and emotion, to make listeners smile and sometimes cry.
Waiting For Smith has seen success garnering over 237,000 streams on Spotify and landing radio play on over 170 stations around the world, including by Huw Stephens on Radio 1, Dermot O’Leary and Jo Whiley on Radio 2, Tom Robinson on 6 Music and Maz Tappuni on Radio X. To date, they’ve received some 500 syncs internationally, from the Japanese Grand Prix to the biggest TV commercial in Spain in 2019, the Christmas ad for El Corte Ingles. With features in British GQ and Holland’s JFK Magazine, Waiting For Smith’s mission is to engulf the world with unforgettable melodies spreading a much-needed message of positivity. “Long Life” is released via global music company Audio Network, part of the eOne group.
Links
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