The Rediscovered: The Seven

The Seven is an eclectic, ever-changing, genre-jumping sonic collage that is the personal musical vision of Kevin A. Smith. Dedicated to the creation of great progressive instrumental music, Smith submitted a three song CD-R of his work containing excerpts from his upcoming CD entitled Meaning Of Is... The three tracks draw on influences such as jazz-fusion, hyper-technical prog rock, classical and new age, with Smith manning all the instruments. His guitar work sounds like the way a young Eric Johnson might play if he had one foot planted in progressive rock and the other planted in the blues. The third track, "Roll Over", features some nice trade offs on the guitar with Smith presumably playing all parts. The music really holds your attention--Smith seems to have everything going for him to advance further in the progressive rock arena. The Seven were originally profiled in the December-January, 1999 edition of The Undiscovered.

The Seven manifests itself primarily as recordings of Kevin's compositions through the years. He has recorded three albums ("Sounds"-1990, "Signs"-1993 and "Sphere Of Influence"-1996) and has built up a small but loyal base of fans. The concept arose when Kevin found himself writing primarily instrumental music and he had trouble finding musicians with the depth or ability to play the intricate works. He built a small recording studio and began experimenting. Kevin quickly discovered that being the sole creative force allowed him to develop a heightened sense of the interaction between the instruments and their relationships, both rhythmic and harmonic. He believes he has tapped into an interesting creative well working this way, and he is willing to live with the limitations in order to reach his listeners.

Smith's future plans include the scoring of a documentary for UNC-TV that will be aired nationally on PBS, beginning pre-production on a fresh set of instrumental tunes, and putting together a live set of some of The Seven's greatest hits with local musicians for performance at various festivals.

Kevin A. Smith
The Seven
3016 S. Bruins Ln.
Florence, SC 29505
United States

Web site: www.flosc.net/sixplus1