Smushie is the solo effort and childhood nickname of songwriter/producer Austin Koenigstein. A New Yorker by origin, Koenigstein moved to Chicago in 2019, where he has since distinguished himself with a torrent of releases - equal parts humorous, heartbreaking and unvarnished. A disciple of Paul McCartney, Patti Smith, Prince and Gorillaz, Koenigstein’s style weaves between R&B, punk, roots rock and disco with a sense of reckless abandon.  In 2023, he put out his debut record, Doofus Casanova and immediately followed it up with EPs Long Island Railroad (a collaboration with Ryan Gebhardt) as well as In Six Sketches before the year was through. In 2024, the ball keeps rolling, as an onslaught of new material arrives via Smushie and co-releases under LIRR and Berta Bigtoe (with Ben Astrachan).