Meaghan Smith

Smith has cited a wide range of musical influences on her work. These include popular standards from the first half of the 20th century, Motown, modern electronic, sample and loop-based composition, the work of eclectic pop artists like Björk and Ellie Goulding, alt-rockers the Pixies, and contemporary Canadian musicians like Sarah Mclachlan, kd lang, Jane Siberry and Leslie Feist.[12][14][15]

The sound of The Cricket's Orchestra (2009) was dubbed 'modern vintage' by Smith, an aesthetic blending early 20th century jazz, swing band, country and folk music with contemporary electronic and club textures. Smith cited the song "A Little Love" as an example of the arrangements on the record. The song combines the turntable work of Canadian DJ Kid Koala with dramatic strings scored by producer Les Cooper.[16]

Smith made a conscious departure from her earlier sound with Have A Heart (2014), a recording she called "very pop".[17] The change in approach reflected Smith's desire to reinvent herself artistically, and overcome the creative anxiety she felt following her 2011 Juno win.[18] Have A Heart recasts the jazz, folk and baroque character of Smith's earlier work in a modern popular music context that Popdose reviewer Jeff Giles described as "designed to challenge her audience's expectations - and test her own artistic boundaries - without sacrificing her original appeal."[19]

Smith's lyrics are autobiographical, inspired by romantic and familial relationships.[20][21] In a review for The Cricket's Orchestra, New York Times music critic Jon Pareles opined that Smith's songs are "wry and retro, with wordplay harking back to Tin Pan Alley's heyday."[22]

Smith is a graduate of Sheridan College's animation program. Prior to her music career, she was an animator on Poko, a Canadian children's program produced by Halifax Film (DHX Media) between 2003-2006.[23] As a youth, Smith attended Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts and Bealart in London ON where she was trained in illustration, painting and other forms of visual self-expression.[10] A gallery on the website Meaghan Makes features samples of Smith's commissioned and sold art pieces.

In December 2015, Smith self-published her first ebook, 'How To Have A Heart (In 25 Not So Easy Steps)'.[24] The memoir recounts the circumstances surrounding the creation and release of her 2014 recording Have A Heart.[25]