Harts (musician)

Harts' first release, a teaser track and demo titled "Back to the Shore," was released on iTunes on 19 August 2010[9] through Australian independent A&R company, The A&R Department, headed by former Warner Music A&R Manager, Matt O'Connor.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12] 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".[13]

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.[14] The EP received positive reviews which included many online blog features and music publications.[15]

Music director of Australian radio station Triple J, Richard Kingsmill quoted Harts as "A one man music making machine."[16]

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."[17]

All tracks are written by Darren Hart.

On 4 October 2013, Hart revealed a new track via his Facebook page and blog, titled "Leavn It All Behind".[17]

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" mix and a Radio Edit.[18]

'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 "New Band of the Day" on 20 December 2013, in an article which referred to Hart as a "Super-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."[19]

The single was also released with an accompanying live video of Harts performing the song in a studio rehearsal room.[20] Hart reported on his blog that the video went on to catch the attention and praise of one of his musical idols, Prince.[17]

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.[21][22]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The West Australian	[23]
Rolling Stone Australia	[24]
Sydney Morning Herald	[25]
The AU Review	[26]

On 24 February 2014, Harts released the single "Lovers in Bloom" from his upcoming debut album.[27] The single charted at No. 30 on The Hype Machine, 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.[28]

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.[29]

"Red & Blue", the fourth single from the album was released on 15 August. 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. [30]

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". [31] '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."[32]

All tracks are written by Darren Hart.

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.[33] 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.[34]

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 as well as online.[35] Harts released his second album titled “Smoke Fire Hope Desire” on September 16, 2016. The album also featured the singles “Power”, “Hope” and “Fear In Me”.[36] 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”.[37]

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.[5]

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 U.S territory. The Album was released in the U.S on July 21, 2017 and was accompanied by a small U.S tour.[38] Razor & Tie was acquired by Concord Music on January 17, 2018 and have since parted ways with Harts.

All tracks are written by Darren Hart.

• 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 [US Release] (2017), Washington Square/Razor & Tie
• Queens Kings & All Big Things (2018), The A&R Department/Marshmallow Pavement Records

• "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" [US Only] (2017)
• "Ain't Nothing On Me" (2018) [45]
• "Mercy" (2018) [46]
• "21&19" (2018) [47]
• "Twenty Somethin'" (2020)[48]