LFZ is an ambient solo project of
Sean Smith, a California-based musician previously known for playing solo acoustic finger-picked guitar as well as electric neo-psychedelia. His work as
LFZ utilizes synthesizers and electronic effects as well as guitars, forming rich yet minimalist soundscapes reflecting on the cycle of life and death. After making its debut with a self-titled release in 2015,
LFZ issued a few additional cassettes before moving to Castle Face with 2018's
Name Plus Focus.
Originally based in San Francisco,
Sean Smith began releasing albums of New American Primitive-style acoustic guitar music in 2003. This included acclaimed albums on the Bay Area labels Isota Records and Tompkins Square, among them 2005's Sean Smith and 2010's holiday recording
Christmas. He also played with the psychedelic rock band
Citay, appearing on their 2010 album
Dream Get Together, and his own work became heavier, electric, and more experimental, as on 2011's
Huge Fluid Freedom. He also played in an instrumental rock trio called Twin Trilogy, who released a one-sided record in 2014, as well as a
Black Sabbath tribute band called Bobb Saggeth.
Smith debuted his
LFZ project with a self-titled 2015 release containing two extended, partially improvised pieces which reflected on the death of
Smith's father, and recalled works by
Terry Riley and Fripp & Eno. This was simultaneously released along with Pointless Prism, a cassette of brief, one-take synthesizer improvisations. Following a move to Los Angeles,
Smith began releasing a series of homemade tapes of
LFZ improvisations titled Sketches of Jupiter.
LFZ performed concerts in California and New York, sharing bills with artists such as
Jonas Reinhardt and
Steve Gunn. In 2018, Castle Face released
LFZ's album
Name Plus Focus. ~ Paul Simpson