NEW MUSIC: Smith & Thell ‘Row / Statue’

Maria Jane Smith and Victor Thell, collectively known as Smith & Thell, met as teenagers at a local music event in their hometown of Helsingborg in Southern Sweden. Since then, they have spent their time establishing themselves as one of Sweden’s most sought after songwriter and producer combos. They have contributed as writers on songs for major label artists that have combined to be streamed over 200,000,000 times (in Scandinavia alone). After deciding to launch their own artist project, Smith & Thell, they submitted their original song “Statue” to be considered for Sweden’s prestigious Denniz Pop Awards. With a panel led by multi-platinum producer Max Martin, the jury selected Smith & Thell as the “2015 New Artist of The Year” which is the same honor that was given to international superstar Tove Lo in 2014.
”Statue” is a strong, hopeful anthem about ripping the metaphorical bandages off your emotional wounds and letting your real feelings out”. The duo chose to write about this subject matter for very personal reasons since at age 13, Maria tragically lost both her parents. “I wasn’t mentally ill, just heartbroken and sad. Reluctantly, I was medicated by all these doctors, but what I wanted and needed was therapy, understanding and human connection, not pills” she says. The songs message has already resonated with fans as the group receives messages daily thanking them for being so open and honest about the issue of “over prescribing” which millions of people are effected by all around the world. Their second single ”Row” has also been released worldwide. Swedish duo Smith & Thell have emerged as two of the most successful new songwriters and producers out of Sweden during the last year or two. They have over 20 gold and platinum records to their name for other artists, and over 200 million streams to date. Last year at the prestigious Denniz Pop Awards, they were awarded “Best New Artist” by their peers, a jury of the most successful Swedish writers led by the one and only Max Martin. Listen out for Smith & Thell who will join Brian Peel live on 98.9 North West FM in the coming weeks!