On Learning Through Failure, Finding The Right Deal & Focusing On Breaking America

If you didn't manage to catch any of Harts' summer festival sets, the mastermind behind the moniker, Darren Hart, posted a couple of videos onto his Facebook page to exacerbate FOMO. "I've been getting more into photography and videography over the last year or so, um, and I just got a new camera for Christmas," Hart explains. "So we were just testing that out and [my girlfriend] was just filming some basic stuff on what I'd set up on the camera. And I was just using that as an opportunity to, I guess, hone my skills in editing video and putting together things. And it's something that I wanna do from now on anyway — like, I wanna, you know, pretty much whip out those things pretty soon after the festivals are done, or whatever shows — just to give us more video content and some more live content for people to see. And I enjoy doing it as a hobby, so..."

During their Beyond The Valley appearance the heavens opened and torrential rain poured down for almost the entirety of Harts' set. Hart laments, "We didn't get any of the moments where, like, the rain just came to hit and they had to put the storm warning on the screen and stuff; there was literally thousands of people that just walked away and it was, like, the most heart-breaking thing. I was like, 'Oh, man!'" This scribe was all poncho-ed up to brave the storm and can confirm that Hart and co were well worth the risk of potentially becoming a lightning conductor. "The people that were left there had a good time and we had a good time playing," he confirms.

"We've gotten so much good feedback [saying] it seemed so natural, like we've playing for years. But we haven't, we've only played [together] for a month."

By "we", Hart means his backing duo comprised of bassist Abel Mazo and drummer Craig Luekber. Has he been working with these gents for a long time? "No, I haven't! You know, it's funny — those two guys are literally, like, childhood friends of mine: the bass player I went to high school with since, like, Year Seven; the other guy went to another school but we used to jam when I started learning how to play instruments other than drums. But we never played properly as a band or anything before until, like, literally a few days before the Power single tour, which was 'round September/October last year." While Hart was searching for a bass player and drummer "to add to the mix", he recalls, "I just called up these guys," he laughs, "just as a last-minute thing. I was like, 'Oh, man, you gotta help me. I'm kinda struggling. I need players for this tour'... and we worked hard at it and we really just connected on a lot of musical stuff. They come from different musical backgrounds, but they're just very solid players so I knew they could do it. And then, since then, we've gotten so much good feedback [saying] it seemed so natural, like we've playing for years. But we haven't, we've only played [together] for a month.

"But I think the material that we're playing, and all the stuff that I write, lends so well to being in a band — and being a band-type performance — and it's something that I wanna develop as I go and add more people, and try to make it more of a band show, I guess, as my name keeps building. And, I guess, as the fees keep going up and I can afford more band members," he laughs. "But it is definitely a stronger live show than I've ever had before — just because of stronger musicians, I think, and there's a stronger connection between us; we understand where each other comes from, 'cause we literally saw each other grow up, and we know what styles of music each other likes, and we know how to use that to an advantage when we play live. And, you know, for example, when I bring out all the Jimi Hendrix blues licks and stuff like that I just get, like, smiles from the bass player 'cause he just knows where all that stuff comes from. And particularly with drums, like, when Craig adds all his Blink-182-type punk fills and chops and things like that to the mix I just smile 'cause I'm just, like — it just brings back nostalgia for me, in a way."     

Even though Mazo and Luekber are playing Hart's compositions, the artist recognises that because they are "strong musicians" they are also capable of "adding their own flavours". "I'm really impressed by the feedback that we've got from that last tour we did, plus all the festivals over New Year's and stuff, so I'm probably just gonna do the whole tour coming up as a three-piece," Hart reveals, "and maybe add a few horn players to some of the bigger shows like Melbourne and things like that. So I'm looking at other options now, but, yeah! Don't be surprised if it's just the three of us again, 'cause I know that it works."

Amazingly, Hart points out that his current bassist and drummer "haven't really been in other bands or anything before". "It's kinda their first time playing at festivals and things like that as well, but you wouldn't have been able to tell," Hart laughs. "They'll get a name off the back of this, and there's nothing I want more than that anyway, and it'd be good to see them play with other artists and have the opportunity to do bigger stuff as well in the future."

"A lotta people now are discovering me 'cause it's airing, like, almost every day in the US on NBC and they're like, 'What song is this? Where can I buy it?'"

This year is already shaping up to be a corker for Harts with his latest single Power featuring in the trailer for NBC's upcoming DC Comics workplace comedy, Powerless. So how did that all come about? "Well NBC actually reached out to my management and said they really liked the song Power — I don't know how they discovered it 'cause it's not even available in America; we haven't released the album there yet. But they discovered it and they were like, 'We think this would be perfect for a new show... called Powerless,' and they pitched the show and I was like, 'Yeah, sounds cool,' and then I read, like, the synopsis or the plot for the show and I was like, 'Man! It's like a perfect fit for the lyrics to this song, but nothing [like] what I was thinking when writing it'," he laughs. "So I was like, 'Yeah! This is actually a really strong match, let's do it!' So, they're using it. It's a brand new show, so you never know how it's gonna turn out or how people are gonna enjoy it. I know it's targeted at, I guess, younger people and kids and things like that — particularly with the super-hero kind of back stories and things — but it looks real promising and I'm hoping that, you know, it turns into a hit for them and they keep using my song to help me promote in America."

We discuss how many different sets of ears this song has now reached thanks to the Powerless trailer and Hart enthuses, "A lotta people now are discovering me 'cause it's airing, like, almost every day in the US on NBC and they're like, 'What song is this? Where can I buy it?' and stuff, and the song hasn't even been released [over there]!"

At the time of our chat, Hart is just about to jet off to the States, specifically New York and LA ("we're gonna work with the label that I got there to schedule everything in and we're gonna plan all the US release stuff"). On whether this trip was organised to capitalise on the interest generated thanks to the Powerless trailer, Hart enlightens, "Well it was always planned, but now that there's this and another couple of opportunities that I can't really talk about just yet that kinda just came outta nowhere, that really kind of gave us a push to [be] like, 'Okay, it's time to do the US and it's time to devote 110% to it, and really try and break in the market'. And I just finished negotiating a deal with a label there to release the next few Harts albums as well, so..."

Hart is particularly proud of the "amazing" deal he negotiated. "They give you free opportunity to do whatever [you] want, like, you know, and kudos to them — and it's Razor & Tie, the label — 'cause labels never give their artists the copyrights or any of their ownership, and let them have creative control and still fund and pay for everything; so they're really breaking the whole model of what the record label and artist relationship's supposed to be. And they've taken it way back to the '60s or '70s when the artists, you know, could actually work in a fruitful relationship with a record label and do good work. So I'm really excited about that prospect as well, and that means that I still own all the music and, you know, when the TV shows and stuff wanna use it they still have to ask my permission and things like that, which keeps me in control. So it's something that's really positive and it's a positive step for a lot of musicians, particularly in 2017."

"They've taken it way back to the '60s or '70s when the artists, you know, could actually work in a fruitful relationship with a record label and do good work."

Our discussion turns to artists such as George Michael who, especially back in the '80s, had to fight hard for artistic control and in order to reclaim rights to their music. "Those dudes were writing and recording all the material and then not owning it," Hart sympathises, "and they weren't making anywhere near the same profits or royalties that the label was making even like ten, 20, 30 years after the releases [laughs]. So they fought real hard for that and it'd be backwards if musicians didn't keep fighting the same fight that they had been fighting. So that was something that I've been fighting for a while, which is why it's taken so long for me to really concentrate on America, or any other market, 'cause I just haven't found the right people that were willing to accept me for what I wanted out of music and what I was trying to achieve."

He obviously possesses "an artistic mind", but Hart admits he's also very business-minded. "I'm always constantly battling that inside my brain," he shares, of reconciling "artistic decisions" with "the business behind it" and trying to eke out a living. "I've always been savvy about that stuff and that's why I've waited so long and that's why, really, I haven't taken off in America at all, so far," Hart explains, "because I haven't really had the opportunity to do so and have it be well-funded and well-marketed as well. Now that's happening, so I'm heading over there in a few days just to seal the deal on a few things and do some showcases and, yeah! That's about it!"

Reflecting back to 2013, when he was dropped from Universal's roster after just one EP release, Hart offers, "That's something that happened to me for a reason in terms of the universe... I completely understand how flimsy the industry is and exactly how things work, and why there is a need for an industry and what they can actually do for you, and what your role as an artist becomes then — if you're signed. So it really gave me a lot of learning experience in terms of how to navigate what I wanted out of a deal and what to look for in terms of things that you don't necessarily want. So it's all helped me in a way — like, even all the failure that I've gone through; I've definitely learnt how to succeed from [that] so, yeah!"

Given that he was flown over to work with Prince — who discovered him via some videos Hart uploaded to YouTube and later remarked, "He reminds me of how I was at that age" — we wonder whether he managed to catch any of Sheila E's shows when she toured our shores at the end of last year. "No, I didn't. I actually couldn't make it down for I can't remember what reason. I was away for a while...  wherever she was, I wasn't... I'm hoping that, you know, things in the US kick off then I'll do a lot more touring around there." However, Hart hopes to catch one of Sheila E's Stateside shows ("'cause I know that she plays a lot in the US") "sometime this year or maybe in the next year or so". "I know that I'm gonna be spending a lot of time in the US over the next few years so, yeah!"

Catch Harts on home soil while you can.