Clive A. H. Smith (born, London, England) is a singer/songwriter (ASCAP writer and publisher member), composer/performer, arranger/producer, synthesist/programmer and sound designer.
He studied trumpet with Carmine Caruso and with Alan Dean of the New York Brass Quintet and composition with Richard Toensing, Lawrence Widdoes (of Juilliard) and Michael Czajkowski (also of Juilliard). He graduated summa cum laude from Upsala College in 1974 and in 1977 received his M.A. in composition from New York University with a straight A average.
From 1977 to 1983 he worked at PASS (Public Access Synthesizer Studio), first as Associate Director and later as Director. During this period he gave private instruction on a variety of instruments (trumpet, french horn, trombone, guitar, bass, analog synthesizer, and computer musical instrument), released 3 records (Interference, with his band, Conversion; Inquietude, with the Electronic Art Ensemble; and the soundtrack album for the feature film, Liquid Sky), was consultant for modular synthesizer manufacturer, Electron Farm, performed throughout the northeastern United States and Canada with the Electronic Art Ensemble (on electric guitar, electric trumpet, synthesizer, electronics, and computer musical instrument) and with Conversion (on guitar, piano, trumpet, synthesizer, electronics, computer musical instrument, prepared tapes, and voice), and composed music on the Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument (CMI) for the film,Liquid Sky, for the National Shakespeare Company's production of King Lear, and for a holography installation of Rudie Berkout's work in Italy.
Since 1983 Clive has given lecture/demonstrations on computer music/synthesis at such places as MIT, NYU, Connecticut College, Berklee College of Music, DIGICON (Digital Arts Conference in Vancouver, B.C.) and the Audio Engineering Society in Paris, has been a consultant and product specialist for Fairlight Instruments, Inc., has consulted for Technos, Inc. (the makers of the ACXEL Resynthesizer) and has programmed for Korg. He has performed on the Fairlight CMI with artists John Zorn, David Garland, Richard Horowitz, Sussan Deihim, John Abercrombie, Robert Dick, Eric Ross and others at such places as Carnegie Recital Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kitchen, La Mama, Dance Theatre Workshop (here's a link to a performance there with David Garland and another), and the Alternative Museum. He has programmed and/or played the Fairlight for a variety of people including Herbie Hancock, Yoko Ono, Bill Laswell, Sly Stone, George Clinton, Mtume, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, John Sex, Bootsy Collins, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Kid Creole, Malcolm McLaren, Robbie Kilgore, Clyde Criner, Elodie Lauten, Larry Kucharz, Hall and Oates (receiving a platinum album for his work on their Big Bam Boom record), and Freddie Jackson (receiving a platinum album for Just Like The First Time).
In addition, he did all the Fairlight Series III programming for the feature film The Boy Who Cried Bitch and programmed and played the Series III (and played guitar) on the soundtrack for the film, Native Son, which was almost entirely Fairlight. He has also appeared on Sesame Street with Herbie Hancock.
As a vocalist, guitarist and/or keyboard player Smith has performed his own songs and collaborative compositions at the Knitting Factory, Wetlands, the West End Gate, CBGB's, the Bitter End, Kenny's Castaways, LoveSexy, Maxwell's, and many other NYC area venues with the bands Conversion, TUBACZAR and In Real Time.
Use of Clive's music for U.S. television includes: ABC (All My Children , Civil Wars, The Commish, Dinosaurs, Family Matters, Growing Pains, Life Goes On, Matlock, One Life to Live, Prime Time Live, Sunday Night Movie, 20/20 and World News Now), NBC (Another World, Blossom, City Guys, Classic Concentration, Conan O'Brien, Dateline NBC, Days of Our Lives, A Different World, Ed, Empty Nest, ER, Faith Daniels, Fear Factor, Frasier,The Fresh Prince, Friends, Homicide, I Witness Video, The Jane Whitney Show, The Jerry Springer Show, The John Larroquette Show, Late Night, Law & Order, Leeza, Mad About You, The Maury Povich Show, Monday Night Movie, NBC Nightly News, NFL Football, Niteside, Now, Nurses, Passions, Preview, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In Special, Santa Barbara, Saturday Night Live, Scattergories, Seaquest DSV, Secret Service, Seinfeld, The Single Guy, Sisters, Sunday Night Movie,Third Watch, The Today Show, The Tonight Show, TV Nation, Unsolved Mysteries, Viper, The West Wing, Will And Grace and Wings), CBS (As the World Turns, The Bold and the Beautiful, CSI, CSI Miami, CSI NY, Family Matters, The Good Wife, Hard Copy, Last Call, The Late Show, The Late Late Show, The Mentalist, NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, Picket Fences, Rescue:911,and The Young and the Restless), FOX (America's Most Wanted, The Bernie Mac Show, Gordon Elliott, King Of The Hill, The Simpsons, andThat 70s Show), HBO (Inside the NFL, Sex And The City, Wimbledon 1990, World Figure Skating 1991), PBS and more (Apollo Comedy Hour, Comedy Central, First Look, Inside Edition, Jenny Jones, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, NFL Playoffs, Nickelodeon, Ricki Lake, Runaway with the Rich and Famous etc.) His music has also been used for television in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and Viet Nam.
Notable sound design credits are the authoring of two of the three CDs that constitute the Designer Sound® Library, which is being distributed worldwide by Sound Ideas. In a completely different vein, he is responsible for the audio production of the Baby Einstein Company's videos, Baby Dolittle Neighborhood Animals, Baby Dolittle World Animals and Baby Newton in addition to being involved in the music production of all of Baby Einstein's currently available CDs.
Some examples of his music programming can be heard in the Korg Karma and Korg OASYS music workstations. He created some of the factory GEs for Programs and Combis. He has also been involved with voicing some of the expansion boards for the Korg Triton and Karma.
Along with his own CDs Clever Animals , Clive Smith Non-Songs, and The Gallery Soundscapes, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 (with In Real Time), arranger/producer's credits include the album Retrofit, The Last Poets , which he arranged and produced for Celluloid records, and the CD Less=More by the Bone Brothers which he produced.
At present he continues to write instrumental background and theme music for TV and film for his publisher, DSM Producers who has, to date, released more than a dozen CDs containing some of Clive's music.
