Mikhaila Smith, the acclaimed South African composer and interdisciplinary artist known for her lush orchestrations on the Hulu series Rosaline and the Netflix film Look Both Ways, has released her debut piano album NOIR via Platoon.
A Fusion of Emotion and Classical Grandeur
NOIR fuses the grandeur of classical romanticism with deeply emotional coloring on the seven-track set. Three selections from the album – “New York City,” “Somewhere I Have Never Travelled” and “La Belle Époque” – are already captivating live audiences, each reading as a chapter in Smith’s personal story.
“When I fell in love with music, I became fully aware of the power it had to make me feel everything so deeply,” she once told Glamour South Africa during an interview for their Disruptor’s issue. “It was because I heard a melody that moved me and because of it, I had the compelling desire to chase that for the rest of my life.”
The Cape Town native has been chasing that desire since the age of eight when she first began playing an Otto Bach upright piano. She grew up marveling at and studying Alan Menken’s scores for Disney films such as The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas.
Mikhaila Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in concert composition from the University of Cape Town and honed her film scoring skills with a master’s degree from New York University.
More info about Mikhaila Smith
Since graduating, Smith has made her own distinctive mark on film, stage, and art. She has collaborated with fellow South African artist Mia Thom on works such as “Soil Lullaby” and “Idée Fixe.”
Her music has been exhibited in prestigious galleries around the world, including Galerie im Körnerpark in Berlin, JAG in Johannesburg, and Everard Read in Cape Town.
Mikhaila Smith is now an orchestrator at Joy Music House, where she has contributed to scores for Netflix’s Look Both Ways, Hulu’s Rosaline, and HBO Max’s Edge of the Earth.
Her orchestral work “Lighting Our Stories” debuted as the featured piece at the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival in 2023, and her score for the feature film Carissa premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2024.
NOIR is more than an album; it’s an invitation into Smith’s world – one of storytelling, collaboration, and emotional resonance where she is redefining the boundaries of classical music.
You can stream/download Mikhaila Smith’s Piano album HERE.
Watch her Morning Show interview below:
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