At Smith’s we love songs, and the songwriters that sing them. We host plenty of bands and we love them too, but every so often we’d like to strip the accompaniment away and hear the songs as they were written – one voice, one instrument, unadorned and vulnerable. For this tenth edition of Six of the Best, we have once again asked four very different song-writers to share six of their best songs with us. In order of appearance, we have…

Bec Taylor has been at the centre of a good deal of the interesting things happening in the local music industry over the last couple of decades, from her roles as songwriter and/or musician in a bunch of the most promising original bands in town (Fun Machine, Glitoris, Hashemoto, Cellblock 69..), starting up the coolest private music school in town (the eponymous, now Encore Music School) and now President of Music ACT, all while raising a little Bec Taylor and founding her eponymous band, Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds.

Den Hanrahan’s songs tell the stories of modern Australia - from the red dust of the land to the loves and losses of the people that have touched his life – from his years living and working across the country. After three years focusing on acoustic music with his acclaimed band the Rum Runners, Den is returning to his original love of electric guitar, playing songs from his new release 'SCARS'.  

SweetAz is a wheelchair-racing, chronic-pain-facing, South-African-Australian, language-collecting-and-retaining-'em, quirky-dream-girl-extrodinare who owes her success to winning the genetic lottery — erm... If you can call inheriting hereditary conditions, and being sure to hit *every* branch on the bad luck tree "winning" — who's been singing since *well* before she could carry a tune, and refuses to be stopped now.

Christopher Van Reyk is an international man of mystery. Born in Sri Lanka he now lives in Australia but no further details about his existence are available.