Easily drawing in one of the most enthusiastic crowds at Sounds Australia’s Aussie BBQ at SXSW this year was Harts. Bringing some wicked guitar skills through to Brush Square Park, the guitarist killed it on stage and following his set, Harts came and sat down to have a chat with Sose.
Addressing the amount of hype that had been surrounding his SXSW appearances, Harts admits that it was slightly tough to gauge how people would be responding to his music ahead of the shows.
“Particularly with my music, it’s hard to gauge what people will enjoy, because it covers a lot of different styles of music. It’s hard to pick a set out of that, particularly with showcases, because it’s very short and you kind of have to stick with your singles and things like that. I stuck to the strongest material, I tried to hit them hard and a lot of the people who came out to see me, that said I was one of the buzz acts, said they weren’t disappointed, they really enjoyed it.”
Returning home to Australia to kick right into some well-received Bluesfest shows and then setting up for Groovin’ the Moo through April and May, Harts opens up about where he’s at with the completion of a new album of material, set to hit fans later on this year.
“There’s a lot more rock and blues and stuff that people love from me on the album.” he says. “I’m finishing it up at the moment, mixing it and getting things together but I think it’s a really strong album, I’m proud of it. I just hope people dig it as much as I do. I’m excited to get people to actually hear it, because it’s a lot more experimental than all my other stuff. People are going to be surprised.”
“The style of [guitar] playing I put in, the kind of Jimi Hendrix-meets-Prince type playing, I don’t see a whole lot of people doing that now.” he continues. “I think, for a lot of audiences and a lot of people, that’s unique. I really played to that and that was something that Prince himself really encouraged me with, ‘play more guitar and brand yourself as a guitarist, because it’s really a strong point in what you do’.”
Watch the full interview below!
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