It's natural for a young artist to evolve but Melbourne musician Darren Hart's progression from promising multi-instrumentalist – composing, producing and recording his own music in his bedroom –to internationally recognised rock artist has been extraordinary.
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Hart, 24, (who performs as "Harts") has just released an EP, Breakthrough, through his own independent label, Offtime Music. Featuring huge grooves, fuzzed-out bass lines and blistering guitar work, Hart plays to his strengths. He knows his blues history and digs deep for inspiration.
However, to understand where Hart is coming from with the new material you need to go back to mid-2014 when his musical idol, Prince, invited him to jam at the Purple One's famed Minneapolis mansion, Paisley Park Studios.
"Prince gave me a lot of advice and he really influenced the direction of this EP," Hart says.
"A previous single of mine, Red and Blue (from Harts' 2014 album, Daydreamer), turned out to be a big hit but I didn't really hear it at the time. Prince was the first person to point it out. He listened to the song and he flipped out. He wanted to know if I had more material like it. I said, 'Not really, that was more of an experimental blues thing that I wanted to do'. He said, 'Well, that's your direction; you should continue with that'."
Focusing on the blues side of his sound suited Hart just fine. After all, it was legendary Chicago blues artist Buddy Guy who inspired Hart to pick up the guitar.
"I remember one day on TV seeing some really old footage of a festival in 1970," Hart says.
"There was this blues guitar player on TV and he was going off. He went off the stage and was playing in the audience and he was just really flamboyant and he was this awesome blues player. I just happened to be walking past the TV and I stopped and was like, 'Who the hell is that guy'? I waited till the credits and it was Buddy Guy. That's what inspired me to learn guitar."
Hart talks about his reaction to the death of blues legend B.B. King.
"I was shattered," he says. "I just wish I had the chance to see him live but I never did and now I never can.
"It's always a big thing for me when a legend passes because I haven't experienced much of those old school legends live. Another one was James Brown. I just wish I had the opportunity to see that guy because he's so amazing. But B.B. King has left a legacy behind and he's one of the most influential blues artists ever."
Hart has attracted plenty of positive attention in his short career. The Mars Volta's Lars Stalfors mixed his first EP, Offtime (2013), after being impressed by an early demo.
In 2014, Questlove from The Roots retweeted Harts' video for Lovers In Bloom to his 3 million-plus followers.
Britain's The Guardian and Rolling Stone both sing his praises.
Hart says he deals with the pressure by trying to improve as an artist.
"I just want to keep developing my own sound," he says. "I really want to brand a particular sound so that someone can say, 'That's a Harts sound', or if you hear it on the radio you instantly recognise it as a Harts song. Like when we listen to Jimi Hendrix or Prince, you just immediately know who it is regardless of genre.
"Prince also does this so well. Regardless of genre, when something comes in that has that classic Prince spark to it – that funky bass or that LinnDrum or his vocals or whatever – you immediately know it's Prince and can relate to it and I really want to strive to be an artist like that."
HARTS
When: July 4, 8pm
Where: Transit Bar, Civic
Tickets: $12 + BF available from moshtix.com.au
