Although barely in her double digits, aspiring gospel artist Janessa Smith (who told us that she prefers to be called “Nessa”) has already been bitten by the music bug. Only 10 years old, this talented young lady released her first single, “One Day,” late last year and is hard at work on a follow-up. Despite these hectic and trying times, Janessa — along with her parents, Kevin Smith and Ann Marie Smith — agreed to answer a few questions about her music, her inspiration, and the family’s ongoing relationship with Sweetwater.
You were introduced to music at an early age by your parents. Would you have become a musician without their influence?
I would have to say yes — my entire family, especially on my father’s side, is musical. I did not know at first that I would be musical myself, but I have found that it is a part of me, and I could not ignore it anymore. I’m young, but I have an ear for melodies and sound. I hear music in everything possible that surrounds me. It’s hard to explain, but that’s how I hear it. I don’t understand it, but it’s just natural for me to hear music in all things. So, I would have to say that I would likely be involved in music somehow. I did not expect to be in this position or my songs to be taken seriously, but it’s been a blessing so far, and I’m grateful. Music draws me to a place of comfort. There are a lot of things that kids today can find pleasure in doing, but for me, music is a great influence on my life. Thank you for asking this question.
You started writing songs when you were four. Do you remember the first song you ever wrote? About how many songs have you written?
Yes, it is so funny how this happened. I was driving in the car with my Dad, not knowing at the time what I was actually doing. My dad said that I was singing something new with a fresh melody in the back of the car, something he never heard before. I even had a verse going! So, he asked who taught me that song, and he said that I told him, “I did.” Three years later, I recorded that song, which was my very first single entitled “One Day.” I was seven, and this actually was the very first song that I wrote. This song has traveled the world and has brought a lot of attention my way. I have been one of the youngest gospel artists to be played on some stations. I call that amazing; I was not looking for that at all. I just wanted to record something as a project of mine for myself, but my parents insisted I let the world hear what I had to say. I’ve been writing ever since, and I’m glad that people actually like my songs. I have written a couple so far, but they are just ideas at the moment. Some are finished, and others are very close to being complete. But I get my inspiration very often to write a song, whether in my head or on paper. It comes in different ways.
Your songs center around spirituality. Is spreading the Gospel your main purpose? Is that what your music is about?
Oh yes, my family is Christian based and very spiritual. The church is definitely a part of our lifestyle, so everything I hear is mostly Christian gospel music. It’s so energetic to me and powerful in a way. The singing especially just moves me — the sound that comes with it. I think it is so beautiful and inspiring. My father is a gospel music producer, and he is often working with others to make music. I would hear them in our home-based studio just making the loveliest music you would ever hear.
I had to stick with gospel because it makes me feel great. Others have told me and my family that my songs have made a difference in their lives. So, for sure, that is my main purpose, and I believe that it is my true calling, as well. But I didn’t plan this at all — I just wanted to be a kid [laughs]! But I guess I can do both because I truly love music and what it can do.
You’ve released two singles so far: “He’s Able” and “One Day.” What’s next? What are you working on now?
My dad has been making some wonderful tracks for me along with his musician friends. I’m currently writing to those tracks, and I think that people are going to love these songs. Yes, my dad is my number-one producer and manager, and he’s produced my two currently released singles. I’m happy that I have him with me because you never know, due to this COVID-19 virus in 2020. Unfortunately, it has affected the entire world — even my schooling — but I have a little more time to work on some music for the public. I have some titles, but they are not set in stone as yet. But for sure, one of my new songs will be called “Lift Him Up,” produced by Feelo (one of our producer-friends from Austria who makes great music; I found him online, and we are working together on this song). You will love it, and we are going to be doing a music video for it, as well, so that is coming and a few others, as well.
Your singles are very well produced — definitely pro-level stuff. Did your dad produce them? Where and how were they recorded? What gear was used — DAW, vocal effects, plug-ins, mics, etc.?
The sound that I have is definitely an influence from my father. I think that he is a visionary with that, and he knows his studio stuff. He is a great music engineer, as well. People always ask me how I get my music to sound like that, and I have to let them know that it is all my dad’s expertise. The process and gear that we’ve used so far on my music journey allow me to get my ideas to where I envision them to be. First of all, we have a studio that my father built when he was a teenager at my grandparents’ house. That’s where he worked on his craft. It’s nicely built, but it’s about 35 minutes from where we live. He came up with the idea of building a home studio at our home just so that I could record whenever I needed to. It is so much more convenient than to travel all the time to his other studio in Amityville, New York. Hence, this is how my home studio was created — because of me starting to write music and the love and passion that I have for it.
My music has been recorded here at our home studio under the label Inspired Recording. We use a combination of Logic Pro X and Cubase Pro 10 as our DAW for mixing and recording purposes. These programs caught my dad’s eye because of their ease of use with the templates that he set up just for me. My music creation usually starts out with Native Instruments Maschine hardware and software. I actually love their sound libraries, especially the drum collections. They are so precise with their sound quality that it is unmatched to me. The IK Multimedia SampleTank is my go-to source for instrumental sounds from pianos to strings, brass, lead, etc.
Then, we use our Yamaha keyboards, such as the MODX6 or the Motif, and the Korg Kross 2 for our pads and additional strings and electric pianos. To me, Yamaha keyboards have a rich, warm, natural sound to them, and I am such a big fan of that company’s products. The Korg Kross 2 has fantastic sounds for strings and brass, as well. Then, my dad will lay his live elements over the tracks with live bass and guitars or even the Hammond B3 organ, as well.
For our audio interfaces, we have a couple that we could choose from, but he mainly uses the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 along with an AKG Perception 200 microphone to record my lead vocals. For my songs that I’ve released so far, I’m happy with the sound. Amazingly, this simple setup just works for us completely. I wouldn’t mind being endorsed by any of these companies — just let me know [laughs]! I’ve also used the PreSonus StudioLive mixer for my backing vocals as well as our Behringer U-Phoria UMC404HD to complete our sound. It’s a great combination, I think, and then we go straight into my Apple MacBook Pro without any other preamps or compressors and record to external hard drives.
My dad uses mostly Waves plug-ins as well as the Logic FET studio compressor. He uses Waves Greg Wells VoiceCentric and the API 550 B EQ on my vocal chain along with the DAW’s stock/native plug-ins to get my songs mixed and polished, ready for airplay on radio and streaming platforms such as Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, YouTube — you name it. The Waves S1 Stereo Imager is a big part of my bus setup, in which I send different instruments and backing vocals for spreading out my sounds in the stereo field for a tight, even mix. Finally, we add the Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor going into the Waves Greg Wells ToneCentric plug-in on our master output, and that completes my sound. After that, we send the final mix to our mastering engineer, Chris Scott at Castek Mastering — one of the best mastering engineers here in New York — for the overall shine on my music.
What’s your favorite part about being a Sweetwater customer?
Hmm, there is so much benefit to being a Sweetwater customer, but I have to say the customer service is definitely some of the best in the world. No other company comes close in my opinion. When I saw that my order even comes with a bag of candy in the package, I thought, “These people are really nice to their customers.” It shows how much Sweetwater wants to be a part of my music journey from a child to an adult. They have everything you need. Sweetwater has made my dreams come true — an inspiration to me and where my music is heading. They play a major role in my dreams as a young musician and artist. I will always be looking to Sweetwater for my needs because you always come through. I can tell that the atmosphere there is beautiful. Thank you, Sweetwater, for this opportunity.
Please, everyone, be safe through this COVID-19 pandemic and remember while you’re at home [to] continue to make great music along with our friends, the Sweetwater family. A special thanks to our Sales Engineer Anthony Longano and his team. Much love. We appreciate all of your hard work and dedication in helping us to accomplish our musical goals.
- To learn more about Janessa, visit https://janessasmith.com/
