Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez
“Aussie musician Harts finds his rhythm as a spiritual successor to Prince in a new wave of funk-rock.” – Time.com
“A one man music making machine” – Triple J
GQ Australia’s Artist of the Year (2016), Harts, has announced the release of his anticipated US debut album Smoke Fire Hope Desire out July 21st on Washington Square/Razor & Tie. To celebrate the release, Harts will embark on a series of exclusive dates beginning at Milwaukee’s Summerfest on July 7th.The tour touches down in LA, NYC, Chicago, Washington D.C. and more.Please see full routing below!
In conjunction with today’s album announcement, Harts has also premiered the official visual for the collection’s electrifying lead single “Peculiar”exclusively via CONAN’s TeamCoco. PRESS HERE to watch and experience the magic of Harts now!
The singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer is excited to finally release music in the U.S. after finding massive success in his homeland of Australia. His stateside debut sits comfortably between the turn-of-the-century production wizardry of The Neptunes and Timbaland and the primal Monterey Pop Festival fret-burning of ’67 Hendrix.
The album title “Is a play on that old saying, ‘Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,'” Harts admits. “I added a positive second line, Where there’s hope, there’s desire.’ That phrase really sparked the whole context, which means hope and desire are a direct response to smoke and fire. There’s a lot of sadness and trouble in our world, but there’s still a lot of love being born.”
Harts (born Darren Hart) is a one man show with no external producers or other collaborators. The 14 tracks on the album came to life in his bedroom studio with the virtuoso acting as an architect building, playing and recording every single note. The lead single,“Peculiar” flaunts a hummable guitar solo between orchestral horns, slinky bass and an urgent and chantable refrain. While “Fear In Me” ponders the state of the world, the funked-up strut of “Power” gives way to an uplifting message and another electrifying display of six-string fireworks. “Hope” delivers a hip-hop inspired bounce over a hypnotic refrain, and the album culminates in a 6-minute blues-inspired odyssey “Ain’t Too Far Gone,” which respectfully pays homage to some of Harts’ heroes, Buddy Guy and B.B. King.
Rolling Stone Australia, NME, The Guardian, Herald Sun, Sydney Morning Herald, Vogue Magazine Australia and more are all fans of the artist’s signature genre-bending mix of equal parts pop, electro, funk and rock ‘n’ roll, and Harts has had several songs land on Triple J’s coveted ‘Hit List.’ He’s enchanted audiences around the globe with ground-shaking performances at Splendour In The Grass, Pinkpop Festival, Stereosonic + more, and his music has sound-tracked national Rimmel London and Subaru campaigns. Even the late, great Prince personally invited Harts to Paisley Park Studios proclaiming “He reminds me of how I was at that age.”
July 7th – Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee Summerfest
