It’s a well-worn truth: wearing your heart on your sleeve can be dangerous. But for Sydney born Tim Hart, it’s the only way to sing.
Best known to fans as the man behind the kit in Boy & Bear, Tim’s solo work has taken a backseat to the five times ARIA-winning outfit. Not any longer.
Tim began writing his debut album Milling The Wind over 18 months ago, knowing full well what sort of album he’d create when the timing was right. When listening to Tim’s mellow, soulful and melodic folk music it’s not hard to pick that he’s been a long-term fan of the classics – think Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Crosby, Stills and Nash. Milling The Wind not only draws on the classics, but it is also inspired by more recent spins by the likes of Fionn Regan and Sam Amidon.
“I was convinced that making records should be fun. I loved recording growing up: that’s what I was looking for – and for someone I could produce it with… be collaborative with, experimental.”
Recorded over two weeks in September 2011, Tim headed north to multi-instrumentalist and producer Mark Myers’ two-storey home/studio Queenslander in Cairns. The control room was Mark’s bedroom; Tim stayed upstairs next to a drum kit and a piano, once owned by Mark’s former bandmate, Rohin Jones. Tim had been a fan of Myers’ work with with ex-Townsville outfit The Middle East and QLD’s Emma Louise, and connected with him at festivals they both played at.
Many musical opportunities have opened up for Tim since he stepped behind the microphone. He is very much at home on stage, and has supported artists such as Sufjan Stevens, Michael Kiwanuka, Ben Howard and recently Angus Stone. You can expect to regularly see him strumming away at his guitar in intimate venues across Australia.
