Fred returned from Bougainville to record the award winning "Bagarap Empires" CD (pronounced 'Buggerup'). Bagarap Empires is a CD of songs relating stories of humour, struggle and compassion against the backdrop of conflict in Bougainville and the Solomon Islands. The CD was rated amongst the top 5 albums of the year by ABC Radio presenter Paul Petran, and was also awarded the SreenSound Australia award for Best New Release of 2002. The mix of melody and reality in songs such as "Bougainville Sky" has become the hallmark of Smith’s songwriting.