Harts (musician)

Darren Hart (born 1991), better known as Harts, is an Indian-Australian musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer and music producer from Melbourne, Australia. He composes, produces and records his own music in his bedroom studio. Harts' music has been described as dance-oriented alternative rock and electronic indie, blending elements of funk, post-disco, psychedelic rock, soul, jazz, new romanticism, and blues.

More recently, Harts has become known for his Jimi Hendrix-like guitar playing and blend of funk, pop, rock and soul music, which has earned praise from wide range of musicians such as Prince, Questlove, Nick Littlemore, André Cymone, Lars Stalfors and publications such as ''Time Magazine'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''NME'' and more. His voice and music also bears resemblance to that of Lenny Kravitz, who he worked with on the unreleased Rio 2016 Olympic Games theme song with American hip-hop band The Roots.

Harts was awarded the ''GQ'' Breakthrough Solo Artist Of The Year award at the 2016 ''GQ'' Australia Men Of The Year Awards.

Biography

Born to track and field athlete parents in Chennai, India, the family moved to Australia when he was around two years old. He grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Point Cook and went to Heathdale Christian College. He has said in interviews that he first started learning music in High School when he was 15/16 years old, starting with drums and eventually teaching himself guitar, keyboards and music production.

Albums

Offtime (EP): 2009–2013

Harts' first release, a teaser track and demo titled "Back to the Shore," was released on iTunes on 19 August 2010 through Australian independent A&R company, The A&R Department, headed by former Warner Music A&R Manager Matt O'Connor. The original demo, along with a few other tracks, attracted attention on the internet, leading to an offer from Lars Stalfors of The Mars Volta to mix the tracks. The newer versions of the tracks mixed by Stalfors formed Harts' debut EP, ''Offtime.''

The ''Offtime'' EP was released on 1 March 2013 through Island Records Australia under Universal Music Australia. All songs on the EP were composed, produced, arranged, written and performed by Harts. It was mixed in Los Angeles by Lars Stalfors and mastered in New York by Heba Kadry. Stalfors said of working with Harts, "He has such a great ear for melody and his production is so unique, which is what I love".

Although the EP was released in 2013, Hart revealed that the songs were written and recorded between 2009 and 2010, when he was 18/19 years old. The EP received positive reviews which included many online blog features and music publications.

The music director of Australian radio station Triple J, Richard Kingsmill, quoted Harts as "A one an music aking machine."

On 20 August 2013, Harts announced that he had now parted ways with Island Records and Universal Music Australia, planning to ''"''move on to the next phase independently."

Track listing

On 4 October 2013, Hart revealed a new track via his Facebook page and blog, titled "Leavn It All Behind".
The song quickly gained much attention on music blogs and social media, which led to the track being released independently as a single on 11 November 2013. The release featured two versions of the song: the extended 12-inch mix and a radio edit.

"Leavn It All Behind" was released to positive reviews and marked a clear shift in momentum for Hart. Paul Lester, of ''The Guardian'', featured Harts as the "New Band of the Day" on 20 December 2013 in an article which referred to Hart as a "''S''uper-talented Aussie pop funkateer who does everything – write, perform, produce, arrange – in his PJs", referring to Hart's bedroom home-studio ethic. Astonished by Hart, Lester wrote "...he's able to reference said genres so skilfully and assimilate their influence with such a mastery and attention to detail", later going on to make the remark that "In a world where someone like Bastille can become a breakout star, Harts should be No 1 everywhere, including other planets."

The single was also released with an accompanying live video of Harts performing the song in a studio rehearsal room. Hart reported on his blog that the video went on to catch the attention and praise of one of his musical idols, Prince.

French nightly news and television talk show, Le Grand Journal featured 'Leavn It All Behind' during the show's "Coming Next" segments, which aired weeknights on Canal+ from 6–10 January 2014.

Daydreamer (Album): 2014–15

On 24 February 2014, Harts released the single "Lovers in Bloom" from his upcoming debut album. The single charted at No. 30 on The Hype Machine and gained independent radio play worldwide as well as many blog features. Harts gained further exposure when the video for the single was tweeted by Questlove of The Roots and Prince's 3RDEYEGIRL Twitter account.

Prince was quoted as saying, "He reminds me of how I was at that age" after it was revealed that Harts had spent time jamming with Prince at his Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis.

"Red & Blue", the fourth single from the album, was released on 15 August 2014. It quickly landed a spot on Triple J's 'Hit List' as well as being added to high rotation. It was confirmed by Harts that the single was Prince's favourite song off the album.

On 5 September 2014, Harts released his debut album, ''Daydreamer'', in Australia and New Zealand. The album features the singles "Leavn It All Behind", "Lovers In Bloom", "Angels Walk Below" & "Red & Blue".
''Daydreamer'' was released to positive reviews, which included many online and print music publications and articles globally. ''Rolling Stone'' Australia described Harts as "A supernaturally talented young buck who's mastered Hendrix's blistering guitar shredding and the electro-funk pop perfection of Prince in his Eighties prime."

Track listing

Breakthrough (EP): 2015

On 7 November 2014, Harts announced and released a new single, titled "When A Man's A Fool". The single was added to high rotation on Triple J radio as well as landing another spot on the Triple J 'Hit List'. Harts announced Australian tour dates to promote the release throughout December 2014–January 2015. Another new single, titled "Breakthrough", was released on February 11, 2015, which was announced to be included on a new EP release of the same name. The ''Breakthrough'' EP was released on June 5, 2015.

Smoke Fire Hope Desire (Album): 2016–17

On February 25, 2016, Harts released "Peculiar", the first official single from his upcoming sophomore album. "Peculiar" went on to become Harts’ most popular song to date, earning him exposure through radio, streaming, and major online publications. Harts released his second album, ''Smoke Fire Hope Desire'', on September 16, 2016. The album also featured the singles “Power”, “Hope” and “Fear In Me”. The album charted at #20 on the ARIA Album Charts, while Australian radio station Triple J also selected the album as their “Album Of The Week”.

The album went on to earn Harts a '' GQ'' Men Of The Year award in 2016 in the category of Breakthrough Solo Artist Of The Year.

In 2017, Harts announced he had signed to American record label Razor & Tie/Washington Square for the release of ''Smoke Fire Hope Desire'' in the United States. The album was released in the United States on July 21, 2017, and was accompanied by a small U.S. tour. Razor & Tie was acquired by Concord Music on January 17, 2018, and has since parted ways with Harts.

Track listing

2019–Present

In 2018–19, American rapper Joey Bada$$ recruited Hart to play guitar in his live band for Triple J’s live music segment " Like A Version".

In February 2019, Miami-based rapper Denzel Curry also featured Hart on guitar for his cover of Rage Against The Machine’s " Bulls On Parade". The performance went viral, amassing millions of views online and critical acclaim worldwide. The performance resulted in a #5 position in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2019.

Also in 2019, Hart featured as the talent in iconic guitar brand Fender’s campaign for their new 2020 Ultra Series Stratocaster.

Hart also stepped into modelling in 2020, landing the front cover and a 10-page spread in the David Jones men's magazine ''Mr Jones''.

Hart was chosen to perform as the headline talent at the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup Opening Ceremony at Sydney Showgrounds Stadium in February 2020 after it was announced he had been hand-picked to record the official campaign theme song.

Hart also announced a special live Australian tour for 2020, dedicated to celebrating the work and the 50-year legacy of Jimi Hendrix. He announced on social media that the tour has now been postponed until further notice due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Aside from new singles, Hart frequently uploads mashups and live jams on his YouTube channel.

Discography

Albums/EPs

*''Offtime (EP)'' (2013), Island Records Australia/Universal Music
*''Daydreamer'' (2014), Offtime Music/A&R/Pavement Records
*''Breakthrough (EP)'' (2015), Offtime Music/A&R/Pavement Records
*''Smoke Fire Hope Desire'' (2016), Dew Process/Universal Music
*''Smoke Fire Hope Desire S Release' (2017), Washington Square/Razor & Tie
*''Queens Kings & All Big Things'' (2018), The A&R Department/Marshmallow Pavement Records

Singles

*"Back to the Shore" (2010)
*"All Too Real" (2012)
*"The Music" (2013)
*"Offtime" (2013)
*"Leavn It All Behind" (2013)
*"Lovers in Bloom" (2014)
*"Angels Walk Below" (2014)
*"Red & Blue" (2014)
*"When A Man's A Fool" (2014)
*"Breakthrough" (2015)
*"All Rise" (2015)
*"Peculiar" (2016)
*"Power" (2016)
*"Hope" (2016)
*"Realize" S Only(2017)
*"Ain't Nothing On Me" (2018)
*"Mercy" (2018)
*"21&19" (2018)
*"Twenty Somethin'" (2020)
*"This Way I'm Seeing" (2021)

References

External links

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Harts Blog
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harts
1992 births
Living people
Musicians from Melbourne
Australian indie rock musicians
Australian multi-instrumentalists
Australian electronic musicians
Australian singer-songwriters
Indian emigrants to Australia
Nu-disco musicians
Place of birth missing (living people)
21st-century Australian singers