Mikey Freedom Hart
BornLake Charles, Louisiana, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer
Years active1990–present

Mikey Freedom Hart is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He has worked with Bleachers, Taylor Swift, Empress Of, Dev Hynes a.k.a. Blood Orange, ASAP Rocky, Lana Del Rey, Tei Shi, and The Chicks.[1][2] He has received two Grammy nominations, of which he received one win.[3]

A classically trained pianist, Hart has performed and recorded with various musical instruments. He now currently plays live for Bleachers and Blood Orange.

Life and career

Hart was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana where he attended Barbe High School followed by McNeese State University. He started learning piano classically at age three, grew up performing and singing in church. He then moved to New York City at the age of 16.[2]

In 2018, Hart co-wrote the Dev Hynes song "Hope" featuring Puff Daddy and Tei Shi in the Negro Swan album.[4]

He has played and added additional production to Santigold's single "Banshee".[5]

He co-produced and co-wrote the Portugal. The Man's song "Easy Tiger".[5]

In 2020, he played and recorded DX7, electric guitar, nylon guitar, Rhodes, and celesta on Taylor Swift's song "Gold Rush".[6] He can be heard playing a number of instruments and adding his sound to Swift's albums Lover, Folklore, Evermore, Fearless (Taylor's Version), Red (Taylor's Version), Midnights, Speak Now (Taylor's Version), and 1989 (Taylor's Version).[7]

He played piano on Lana Del Rey's albums Norman Fucking Rockwell! and Chemtrails over the Country Club.[5]

Hart has also worked with several other artists including Empress Of, ASAP Rocky, The Chicks, and Emily Lind.[8][9]

He was a producer on the Jon Batiste's single "Freedom" and album We Are for which he was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2021.[5][10]

Bands

Hart plays keyboards keys for the Bleachers.[11][12] He also plays keyboard and piano for Blood Orange,[13][14]

He performed and helped direct the musical component of Louis Vuitton Fall 2019 Menswear Fashion show at Paris Fashion Week.[15]

Ex Reyes

In 2015, Hart started a solo project as Brooklyn-based psychedelic-soul band "Ex Reyes".[2][16] Different musicians are performing for the band.[17]

In 2016, music video for the song "Keeping U in Line" was released.[16] In 2017, an original song "Blame Me" was released with Amazon Music.[18]

Accolades

Hart was nominated for three Grammy Awards for producing and playing on Jon Batiste's album We Are in 2022 and for engineering on Taylor Swift's album Evermore in 2022 and Midnights in 2024. He won for We Are.[3]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2022[3] We Are (producer) Grammy Award for Album of the Year Won
2022[3] Evermore (musician) Grammy Award for Album of the Year Nominated
2024[3] Midnights (musician) Grammy Award for Album of the Year Pending

References

  1. ^ Wang, Steffanee (June 16, 2022). "Premiere: Tei Shi Hits Back At Music Labels With New Song "Grip"". Nylon. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Mikey Freedom Hart". Advanced Alternative Media. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e "2022 GRAMMYs Awards: Complete Nominations List". GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  4. ^ "Here are the full album credits for Blood Orange's Negro Swan". The FADER. August 24, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d "Mikey Freedom Hart Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  6. ^ Minsker, Evan (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift Releases New Album evermore: Listen and Read the Full Credits". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  7. ^ "All 214 Songs Jack Antonoff Has Produced, Ranked From Worst to Best". Consequence. August 26, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  8. ^ Gillespie, Katherine (July 30, 2021). "Emily Lind's New Music Video Feels Like a Lost Vacation". PAPER. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  9. ^ "Mikey Freedom Hart". Discogs. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  10. ^ "2022 Grammy Awards nomination list led by Jon Batiste". MARCA. November 23, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  11. ^ McKenna, Lyndsey (July 12, 2021). "Bleachers: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert". NPR. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  12. ^ Shaffer, Claire (July 12, 2021). "Bleachers Premiere New Song for NPR's 'Tiny Desk Concert' Series". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  13. ^ "Blood Orange announces 2020 tour with Tei Shi". The FADER. December 10, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  14. ^ Boilen, Bob (January 29, 2019). "Blood Orange: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  15. ^ Robinson, Roxanne (January 17, 2019). "Virgil Abloh's Fall 2019 Louis Vuitton Men's Show Waxed Nostalgic for Michael Jackson". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  16. ^ a b Bell, Sadie (December 12, 2016). "Video: Ex Reyes – "Keeping U in Line"". SPIN. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  17. ^ Maese, Sasha. "EX REYES: GREAT TIMING". ATYPICAL SOUNDS. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  18. ^ "Ex-Reyes". LPR. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
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