Over the past 15 years, mezzo soprano Nicole Smede has proven herself a versatile vocalist, musician and performer with experience spanning diverse genres. Nicole has performed and recorded repertoire from classical, theatre, rock and contemporary music through to film and other media. Her voice has been heard on Triple J as well as globally on award-winning film scores, and graced the stages of City Retail Hall, Parliament House, MONA FOMA festival to art galleries and venues across Australia.

A graduate from the sydney Conservatorium of Music, Nicole's voice has an unusual timbre making it possible for her to transverse genres from experimental, opera and folk music, with a voice described as haunting and rich in tone and depth. She has performed as a vocalist with The Song Company alongside the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and as a member of a number of Sydney based outfits including country pop inspired The Proposition, on keys and vocals with electro grunge duo Juniper, and indie 5-piece The Shipwrecked.

Nicole's passion for music and wide ranging musical influences has led to a number of collaborations. She is the lead vocalist for progressive indie chamber group Hinterlandt and frequently collaborates with award-winning composer Damien Lane, with vocals featuring in a number of film scores including Ivan Sen's 'Goldstone' and APRA Award winning film score '1919'.

Experimenting with layered vocals, loops and field recordings, in 2022 Nicole composed, performed and recorded the sound design for Mt Hopeless the Musical, by Tom Hogan and Elana Stone, performed at Merrigong Theatre. She is currently working on an Ep of songs for release in 2023.