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New Zealander Hollie Smith made her studio debut as a 16-year-old with 1999's Light from a Distant Shore, a Celtic music record, before going on to become one of the country's leading neo-soul vocalists. Having won Best Female Vocalist at New Zealand's National Jazz Festival in 1998, Smith had already caught the attention of her countrymen, and the existing buzz made the independently released Distant Shore a modest yet significant success. Several years later, she shifted directions by joining New Zealand's premier R&B, reggae, and neo-soul group Trinity Roots. After recording 2004's Home, Land and Sea with the group, Smith got her first taste of the road as the band performed throughout the region. The following year, Smith was able to record her own compositions for the first time, alongside unique arrangements of cover material. Hollie Smith EP not only scored her a national Top Ten hit with her rendition of Don McGlashan's "Bathe in the River," but earned her the clout and credi...