ZG Smith is the Los Angeles-born, Nashville-based son of an English professor mother and a shipwreck diver and underwater archaeologist father. For over ten years, he fronted the band Smooth Hound Smith who headlined tours in the US, Europe, and the UK and supported artists like The Chicks, Collective Soul, Trombone Shorty, Jamestown Revival, and many more. Following the release of their third album in 2019 and a month-long European tour in February 2020, the band’s eventual hiatus caused Smith to refocus towards other artistic pursuits. “I started seeking out music again like I did when I was younger. I realized that I had been so focused on Smooth Hound Smith and had been trying to push the band forward, that I stopped listening to music just for enjoyment. Because of the pandemic, I had time, so I dug a massive hole in my backyard, leveled it off, and laid a patio of over 1,200 bricks, all by hand. It took me about a month. I would just be out there all day in the sun listening to North African desert blues, EDM, ‘90s hip hop, or bizarre, outsider folk music. A lot of that stuff really informed the music I ended up creating months later.”