Simone Schmidt has been writing songs, playing music and producing recordings for 17 years, fronting country act One Hundred Dollars (2007-11), psych rock unit The Highest Order (2011-2017), solo project Fiver (2012 – ongoing), and chopped electronic duo Splitter. Schmidt’s recordings have 4 times been nominated for the Polaris Prize (“Forest of Tears” 2008, “Lost the Plot” 2012, “Audible Songs From Rockwood” 2017 and “Fiver with the Atlantic School of Spontaneous Composition” 2020).
Schmidt’s musical collaborations are diverse and wide ranging; writing with punks Fucked Up and Bluegrass veteran Chris Coole; producing for singer songwriter Ansley Simpson and creating their latest full length with improvisational unit The Atlantic School of Spontaneous Composition (Bianca Palmer, Jeremy Costello and Nick Dourado). Their songs have been covered by musicians far and wide, including USGirls and Stripmall Ballads. They appear as a guest vocalist on a number of records, including Doug Paisley, Kristine Schmitt, Saltwater Hank, Tasseomancy and The Wooden Sky. They have produced original works for film , including Chelsea McMullan’s “World Famous Gopher Hole Museum”, Brett Story’s “Land of Destiny” and Gillian McKercher’s “Circle of Steel”. In July of 2022, Schmidt released “The Joe Wallace Mixtape”, the soundtrack to Sara Wylie’s hybrid documentary “A More Radiant Sphere” on You’ve Changed Records.
“One of Canada’s Best Songwriters” - Exclaim!
“Schmidt's voice is omnipotent, hearty and analeptic.” - Globe & Mail
“Schmidt predominates with a soft, eccentric voice. A rough husky alto, with a warm, eccentric phrasing like Karen Dalton and a bit of a Dolly Parton-ish trill, they expand the contours of the melodies with trills and slides and embellishments, shifting emphases and deconstructing phrases.” - Dusted Magazine