Petrolhead
Shorts | 3 minute Read | Slowraft Editions #08
Steve Smyth
Barcelona
Spain
Your music has opened doors to many journeys from Aus to Europe, where do you see your work today?
Opportunities come and go, often feeling like a double-edged sword. The challenge lies in how we choose to spin and weave these moments into our lives or, sometimes, how we untangle ourselves from them. Whether in creating music or reflecting on life’s deeper questions, time has a way of testing our ability to balance everything we carry.
Life can feel overwhelming, caught between its beautiful moments and the dullness of wasted ones. True freedom feels like the innocence of youth, where being present is a powerful choice. It’s not about escaping anxiety or chasing happiness in fleeting ways. In fact, happiness often slips away when we try too hard to hold onto it. Staying in the moment feels like running in place, yet it’s the unexpected bursts—the start of the race—that stand out most when we look back.
Celebrating meaningful events and occasions through your musical releases showcases your music's thoughtful and raw nature. Has this gratefulness for occasion always been in you, or has it grown through age and travel?
I feel incredibly grateful that a life in music has broken down many barriers, both geographic and emotional. Music has been a catalyst for sincere friendships and has satisfied my wandering spirit.
Yet, the constant motion eventually demanded a pause. The road’s fatigue had to be addressed so I could give my unwavering best, without the weariness. I had to re-find my passion and reconnect with the stories and bonds that inspire my art. Without that foundation, it’s easy to drift and lose sight of what truly matters, falling prey to empty trends or algorithms.
With Petrolhead marking the heart of European summer, a place you have enjoyed for nearly a decade, how has Europe affected and inspired your music?
Petrolhead has given me the gas to get back to the stage, the love that I have found here in Europe . The soft summers of elegant stone and intricate iron balconies, bougainvillea, wild lavender and rosemary. Bathing in evenings of salt coasts with a fisherman’s mind, content in the mornings catch and a hand raised high to a dancing pink moon. So much so, a gift of matrimony. How could it not inspire?
You have played and recorded in attractive surroundings, cathedrals to equally as old European villas - does that create a certain sound you are looking for to match your style and pursuits?
Undeniably it has formed me like clay. Aesthetically it reverberates in theatres and halls, in every evolution I’m touched and guided by its environment. Culture invites your participation. Just as much as any other whom stood in its turnstile stage.
Outside of music, your creative life has seen you craft bespoke woodwork for notable worldly clients. How do music and carpentry draw parallels in process and enjoyment for you?
The pandemic cancelled all international touring I had in tow. I remained in Barcelona, almost directly moving into a taller from recording. The parallels are strong to me. The crude lumber to a stack of chords, the design of notes and knots. Measurements of shape and melody, cuts and joints to the mixing desk floor. Sanding and curvatures of words, treatment and oils to mastering.
I work a song until it feels solid and alive, dependable in its essence, carrying the weight of something necessary and lasting.
Lastly — If you could choose a song to soundtrack your current week… what would it be?
Saturday Sun - Nick Drake For a rainy day whilst I’m writing to you . Knowing a Saturday is only six sleeps away ,less you wake Monday morning to work diligently for that Saturday .
Steve’s latest Music can be found here »
