“Not just bonza, double bonza, 10 out of 10 with a koala stamp. Go and see Frencham Smith or I'll slash your tyres.”
Philip Adams, Late Night Live, Radio National

“Frencham Smith rings with authenticity and charisma. There is a real strength to this albums soulful instrumentation. Powerful yet emotive vocals and engaging lyrical themes ensure that Into My Room maintains its promise right across the ten tracks.”
Zolton Zavos, The Brag

“This CD firmly establishes Fred Smith in the top rank of songwriters. Frencham is a superb singer and a solid and melodic bass player"
Graham McDonald, Canberra Times

“The pair spark off each other and imbue the songs with an enthusiasm that bubbles along on the surface of the melodies”
Warwick McFadyen, the Age

“A delightful combination — entertaining, clever, and, at times, very moving”
Sue Barrett, Trad & Now Magazine

“Talent, voice and arrangement — what it’s all about”
Jim McQuarrie, Acoustic Folkus

“Fred Smith & Liz Frenchams new CD has to be the most interesting and refreshing music I have heard in a long while.”
Barry Parks, 2HHH 100.1 FM

“Liz Frencham and Fred Smith have come together to produce one of my ‘new’ favourite albums. ‘Into My Room” is a fabulous, lyrically rich album that tells so many great stories… Fred Smith proves yet again (or was there ever any doubt) that he is a master of the song-writing craft. This album is the benchmark for any aspiring song-writer to listen to.

The idea of Smith and Frencham working together is genius... it is a union of two musical soul-mates that will, I hope, continue for many years to come.
5 Very Big Stars out 5.”
Tigdh O ' Glesain 2006 www.indie-cds.com

This project had unusual origins. According to Fred, "In the late 90s, I found myself writing songs for a woman's voice for reasons I didn't understand at the time ‒ Maybe I was drawn to the sound, but beyond that, women seemed to live with a combination of courage and vulnerability that had me intrigued". He won a $5000 ArtsACT grant to record these into an album, but with a dozen of these songs in his kitbag and no idea what to do with them, Fred spent the next two years looking for the right lady to sing them. Fred eventually sent some demos and a copy of his Bagarap Empires CD to Liz. At the time, Liz was busy working as double bass player with the popular folk trio Jigzag. Liz says,: “At the time I wasn't looking for another project, but just one listen to the songs Fred sent convinced me that this could be something really special" . After a few discreet gigs, including a blackboard venue at the National Folk Festival, the pair went into the recording studio with jazz pianist Barney Wakeford and drummer Kevin Nicol from hard rocking 1980s band Noiseworks. The result was the highly acclaimed album Into My Room released in 2003. "We are still proud of Into My Room. We got a lot of things right. The songs have stood the test of time ", said Liz.
Frencham Smith has gone on to be a real force on the Australian festival circuit. In 2007 they released a second duo album (Lovethongs). During their long association, the pair has also worked on their own individual projects.
Sydney Morning Herald critic Bruce Elder may have hit the nail on the head in describing what makes the duo work: “Smith is a superb songwriter … Frencham has a voice with the appeal, emotional honesty and clarity of someone like Shawn Colvin … There is no other folk duo in Australia which even comes close to this magical combination.”
In 2011/12 Fred and Liz got together to play over 60 dates touring Fred's acclaimed Dust of Uruzgan album, on which Liz sings two songs written from the point of view of Afghan women. “It was a long hard tour” said Fred, “but the relationship held solid. We respect and understand each other... and when we hit the stage we are both all about serving the songs - with these foundations, the relationship endures, and I hope to be playing with Liz for a decade or two to come!”