Harts on The Top 3 Lessons He’s Learnt
“I released my last album with my last Harts tour in 2018. Since then, I’ve been doing a variety of other music and media related projects, and I’ve definitely learnt a lot.”
Beloved Australian singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and all-around one-man-band Harts, has just released the first taste of new music under the renowned mononym in six years. The new single, ‘Summer In June’, is a powerful hit of electro-funk; upbeat, hopeful, and nostalgia-inducing in the best way possible. In celebration of the release, Harts has shared with us three of the best lessons he’s learned in recent years since he took the name on hiatus, and which he’ll take with him on this new chapter in his musical journey.
Photo Credit: Offtime Music
1. Setting expectations
Through the ups and downs, I think this may be the number 1 thing that I’ve really had to learn. Setting realistic expectations sounds simple, but sometimes it’s easy to over-expect what I’m hoping to achieve with my music. I like setting high goals and shooting for the stars, but I also think it’s important now to really understand the challenges that may exist, especially in promotion and building an audience - which is something I’ve struggled with. Sometimes I forget that I’m just one guy handling the roles of full industry teams. So me trying to compare my success with some of those artists around me doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
2. Knowing what my value as an artist is, and what unique things I bring with my music.
Following on from above, I’ve been a D.I.Y artist for so long that I’ve built a unique set of skills that are pretty uniquely me. Handling the roles of the producer, all the instrumentation, all songwriting, all recording, mixing, as well as other broader creative roles; plus on top of all of that, with my experience as an accomplished live performer and guitarist - I’ve managed to build a pretty unique skill set as a creative. I’ve learnt that there’s tremendous value to that. It’s helped me attract unique opportunities that not many other artists would be suitable for. There’s value in being unique.
3. Being more proud/confident of my achievements to date.
Because I was always aiming higher and looking towards the next thing, I often missed the opportunity to really take in moments and appreciate all my current achievements. I didn’t reflect a lot, and hardly ever looked back. I was hyper focused on moving forward and moving forward fast. Something that I’ve had the chance to do over this hiatus is slow down and reflect. It’s taught me to appreciate things so much more. I used to be fixated on what things weren’t working in the moment, I didn’t fully appreciate the things that were working. Moving forward, I’m shifting my thinking to be more aware, and to try and enjoy much more moments this time around.
‘Summer in June’ is out now! Go go go!
