Steven R. Smith
Steven R. Smith | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Indie rock, psychedelic rock Experimental music |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | Soft Abuse, Worstward Recordings |
| Website | worstward |
Steven R. Smith is an American musician, instrument-builder, and printmaker often associated with the Jewelled Antler collective.[1][2] Born in Fullerton, California and based in San Francisco and, more recently, Los Angeles, he has been musically active since the mid-1990s.[3] His main instrument is guitar, both acoustic and electric, although other instruments, including the hurdy-gurdy, bouzouki, fretted spike fiddles, and assorted ethnic instruments, have been incorporated into his work.[4]
Smith's music has drawn elements from psychedelic rock, traditional folk music, soundtracks, free jazz, and modern composers.[3] Throughout his career Smith has recorded for a number of independent labels such as Important Records, Soft Abuse,[5] Catsup Plate, Root Strata, Immune Recordings, Last Visible Dog, Jewelled Antler, Darla Records, and Emperor Jones.[6]
In addition to his ongoing solo work, Smith has been a member of the instrumental psych-rock group Mirza; the improvisational group Thuja; Hala Strana, a project which focuses on the traditional music of Eastern Europe; and most recently Ulaan Passerine, Ulaan Markhor, and Ulaan Khol.[3]
Discography
Steven R. Smith
- Log the Man Dead – CS (Autopia, 1995)
- Gehenna Belvedere – LP (Autopia, 1996)
- Autumn Is the End – CD (Darla, 1998)
- From Ashes Come – CD (3 Acre Floor, 1999)
- Slate Branches – CD (3 Acre Floor, 2000), LP (Little Brother Records, 2000)
- Death of Last Year's Man e.p. – 7” (autopia, 2000), CDEP (Emperor Jones, 2001)
- Tableland – CD (Emperor Jones, 2001)
- Lineaments – CD (Emperor Jones, 2002)
- Kohl – CDr (Jewelled Antler, 2002), LP (Emperor Jones, 2005)
- Antimony – CDr (Digitalis Industries, 2004)
- Crown of Marches – CD (Catsup Plate, 2005)
- The Anchorite - LP (Important Records, 2006), CD (Root Strata, 2008)
- Owl - CD (Digitalis Industries, 2007)
- Cities - LP (Immune Recordings, 2009)
- Floor of the Sky e.p. - LP (Burnt Toast Vinyl, 2011)
- Old Skete - LP (Worstward Recordings, 2011)
- Ending/Returning - 2xLP (Immune Recordings, 2013)
- A Sketchbook of Endings - LP/CD (Soft Abuse, 2019)
- The Loss of What We Keep e.p. - DL (Worstward Recordings, 2019)
- In the Spires - LP (Cold Moon Records, 2021)
- The Growing Surface e.p. - DL (Worstward Recordings, 2021)
- Spring - LP (Soft Abuse, 2022)
- Arroyo Tree Complex - CS (Worstward Recordings, 2023)
- Olive - LP (Soft Abuse, 2024)
- Triecade - LP (Worstward Recordings, 2025)
- Anacapa - DL (Worstward Recordings, 2025)
- Turning e.p. - DL (Worstward Recordings, 2025)[7]
- Karst e.p. – 3”CDr (Jewelled Antler, 2003)
- Hala Strana – CD (Emperor Jones, 2003), LP (Desastre, 2017)
- Fielding – 2xCDr (Jewelled Antler, 2003), 2xCD (Last Visible dog, 2004), 2xLP (Worstward/Desastre 2020)
- These Villages – CD (Soft Abuse, 2004)
- White Sleep - lathe cut 7" (Soft Abuse, 2006)
- Heave the Gambrel Roof - LP/CD (Music Fellowship, 2007)
- Compendium - DL (Worstward Recordings, 2011)
- Hala Strana boxset - 5xCS box set (Cabin Floor Esoterica, 2014)
Ulaan Janthina
- Ulaan Janthina (part I) - CS (Worstward Recordings, 2020)
- Ulaan Janthina (part II) - CS (Worstward Recordings, 2020)
- The Sea Surrounding - DL (Worstward Recordings, 2024)
Ulaan Passerine
- Ulaan Passerine - 2xCS (Brave Mysteries, 2013); cd (Worstward Recordings, 2014)
- Byzantium Crow - CD (Worstward Recordings, 2014)
- Light in Dust e.p. - 10" (Worstward Recordings, 2015)
- The Great Unwinding - 2xCS (Worstward Recordings, 2016)
- Moss Cathedral - CS (Worstward Recordings, 2016)
- The Landscape of Memory - LP (Worstward Recordings, 2017)
- New Evening - LP (Worstward Recordings, 2019)
- Crow/Olive - 7" (Samaritan Press, 2020)
- Fragments - DL (Worstward Recordings, 2020
- Sun Spar - LP (Worstward Recordings, 2022)
- Dawn - LP (Worstward Recordings, 2023)
Ulaan Markhor
- Ulaan Markhor - CD/LP (Soft Abuse, 2012)
- Spiral Horns, Black Onions, et al. - LP (Soft Abuse, 2014)
- Detritus: 2010-2016 - DL (Worstward Recordings, 2016)
- Helm - CS (Soft Abuse, 2018)
Ulaan Khol
- I – CD (Soft Abuse, 2008)
- II – CD (Soft Abuse, 2008)
- III – CD (Soft Abuse, 2010)
- La Catacomb - CS (Soft Abuse, 2011)
- Los Angeles e.p. - DL (Worstward Recordings, 2012)
- Ending/Returning - 2xLP (Immune Recordings, 2013)
- Salt - CS (Soft Abuse, 2015)
- Collapsing Hymns - CS (Worstward Recordings, 2019)
- Milk Thistle - CS (Desastre, 2023)
Thuja
- The Deer Lay Down Their Bones – CD (Tumult, 2000)
- Ghost Plants – CD (Emperor Jones, 2002)
- Museum #1 – 3”CDr (Jewelled Antler, 2002)
- Museum #2 – 3”CDr (Jewelled Antler, 2002)
- Hills – CDr (Last Visible Dog, 2002), LP (Rose Hobart, 2019)
- Suns – CD (Emperor Jones, 2002)
- All Strange Beasts of the Past – CD (Emperor Jones, 2003)
- Fable – 3”CD (Jewelled Antler, 2003)
- Pine Cone Temples – 2xCD (Strange Attractors, 2005)
- Thuja – LP (Important, 2008)
Mirza
- Mirza – 12”EP (Autopia, 1996)
- Anadromous – CD (Darla, 1997)
- Iron Compass Flux – 2xLP/CD (Darla, 1998)
- Last Clouds – CD (Ba Da Bing!, 2001)
43 Odes
- 43 Odes - CS (Eiderdown Recordings, 2019)
- HWN UN AMN - LP (Eiderdown Recordings, 2023)
References
- ^ "Pitchfork: The Out Door, Genres of One". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
- ^ Haynes, Jim (May 2002). "Trees Have Ears". The Wire. No. 219.
- ^ a b c "The Quietus: Lines in the Desert". thequietus.com. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
- ^ "Pitchfork: The Out Door, Genres of One". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
- ^ "Soft Abuse Records artist bio". softabuse.com. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
- ^ "Emperor Jones Records artist bio". emperorjones.com. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
- ^ "Official discography". worstward.com. Retrieved 2025-08-06.