KitMonsters

About Us

The Pearl Harts

Hannah Smiles

Mark Hibbert

The Pearl Harts are a kick-ass rock duo with heavy duty riffs that stick. They’re amazing live, with an explosive sound - their mission is to make the biggest sound possible from the smallest lineup. Their dark blues-driven tunes have won over critics and radio DJs on both sides of the Atlantic, with songs about deals with the devil and bad acid trips, and there’s always a big chorus. They’re currently supporting Skunk Anansie on tour. The Pearl Harts are Kirsty on vocals, guitars and loops, and Sara on drums, vocals and samples.

Hometown:: London
Debut:: 2013
Homepage:: www.thepearlharts.com
Twitter:: @ThePearlHarts

Black Blood Kirsty talks guitar Sara talks drums and samples Kit List

Black Blood

When we meet them The Pearl Harts’ latest track Black Blood has been going down a storm with its live performance video, growling guitar and take no prisoners attitude. It’s available as a free download too. We talked to them about how they get their amazing sound.

Drummer Sara explains the band’s ethos.

The sound that we’re aiming for in The Pearl Harts is to take I guess what people would call a classic rock sound - we’re really influenced by Led Zeppelin, Queens Of The Stone Age, Fleetwood Mac - but we’re using triggers and loop pedal and samples, so we’re trying to take it to that next level.

Live sound is really important

And they definitely are taking it to the next level, with performances that stop people in their tracks.

Our live sound is really important to us, it’s how we started as a band anyway, basically we played live together for a few years and before we’d even written anything we already determined what we wanted our live sound to be. We wanted to involve all the equipment that we’re using at the moment and we wanted to make the biggest sound possible with the smallest lineup. So I think, to us, to come and see us live is definitely what our priority is, to get people interested.

People can’t work out how they create such a monster sound. It’s not just in the writing but also in the way they use kit that’s not usually associated with rock.

There are no backing tracks

We played a gig in London a few months ago and somebody was like, oh who’s running Ableton, who’s running the backing tracks and we were like, well, there are no backing tracks because we loop. Kirsty loops riffs live and I’m playing drums and samples and we’re trying to create the biggest sound we can, but just with ourselves, so we’re not going to let the fact that we don’t have a bass player or a keyboard player hold us back.

It’s a startling combination and some of the responses to their shows are pretty memorable too says Kirsty.

A guy said about us, ‘tiny tiny girls that at first you want to take out for ice cream, but then all you’ll discover is that they’re going to firebomb your car and wreck your house’, which I thought was great!

Because we kind of look quite sweet and innocent, and then we go on stage and just hopefully rip it up.

You’ve got to make it new

Their technical approach may be unconventional, but they are both very experienced musicians and say they love pushing things forward and taking risks live.

People are all like, oh they shouldn’t have samples or loop pedals if it’s a classic rock band, but you know we’re not in the 70s any more, we’re in 2014 so you’ve got to make it new, two people making a sound that maybe a four-piece band would create.

Skeleton Made of Diamonds

So how do they write those songs that stick in your brain?

We have lots of ideas in a melting pot and then we pick out the bits that we like and then Kirsty will add a riff or a melody, or I’m coming up with a drumbeat.

Sometimes it’s real life that inspires them too, says Kirsty.

This new song that we’ve got, called Skeleton Made Of Diamonds, is about a friend of Sara’s who won’t die - not that we want him to die, not at all.

He’s one of these guys, so many things happen to him. I saw him get hit by a car for example and against all odds he survived and is just completely fine actually.

We’ve even had songs that start off with Sara saying, I’ve got this really cool drumbeat that I want to put something to, I want it to be a swing feel and we will run with that. I think the other day I had a riff because I was listening to a lot of delta blues and then we were OK let’s run with that theme, let’s run with Southern American, sort of ZZ Top-esque, and then put some sub-bass in there and all of a sudden it’s not ZZ Top it’s… Pearl Harts!

It’s important to have good songs

But it’s vital that their music is more than just a particular kind of sound and vibe says Sara.

I think it’s really important for us to have good songs, it’s not just about being on stage and making our hair go mental everywhere because that, as fun as that is, if the song doesn’t stand the test of time then there’s not really much point in it really. Lots of people can swing their hair round or thrash a guitar or thrash a drumkit. We invest quite a lot of time in melodies and lyrics.

They have spent plenty of time in the studio too, but are careful not to embellish things too much as they want to keep their music authentic in every environment.

With certain kinds of music, it’s easy to make it in the studio and quite easy to take it from the studio to live and everything’s as it should be and it’s quite perfect, especially with electronic music. But with rock music, if you write it in the studio and then you go to play it live it doesn’t have that energy.

We ask them about their dream support slot, and they say that’s often a matter of heated debate. Any Led Zeppelin reunion would be right up at the top of the list, and Manic Street Preachers are also favourites. Kirsty says:

I would love to support Them Crooked Vultures, because you get a mix. John Paul Jones, you get Josh Homme and you get Dave Grohl, and then all the other people that are around them being awesome, and I think we could rock just as hard as them.

Dave! We’re coming for you!

Kirsty talks guitar

Kirsty has a fierce guitar sound. It turns out she started on bass then progressed to guitar, and she is constantly developing her style.

I started out with a real sort of punky sound, listening to bands like Rancid, The Distillers, Hole, they were all the bands that I grew up with and really enjoyed listening to, and then moved on from there to more solid rock, bands like the Foo Fighters.

And then the Foo Fighters led me into Led Zeppelin, and then people that I was meeting and playing with got me into more bluesy styles, and even now I’m listening to more stuff like Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Bonamassa, slightly more bluesy players, Clapton, and Page.

Kirsty’s go-to guitar is a 1972 Gibson SG Deluxe and she told us about her set-up.

I love my SG

The SG was a present for her 21st birthday.

I was over the moon with it. I love my SG because it’s got a nice thin neck for me, it’s lived in, the P-90 pickups give me enough sound that I want, it’s comfortable, it’s light, it’s durable. I’m not worried about scratching it because it’s probably got a million dents in it anyway.

The intonation isn’t perfect, it probably needs to get set up every six or seven months and the G-string goes out of tune like nobody’s business. But I’ve got no one to really be in tune with. I tune my guitar to E Flat anyway, so the only person I’ve got to be in tune with is the drums, so it’s not really that hard, if I go out of tune I’ve just got to make sure that I get the right note when I sing!

Gnarly almost phonic tone

The ‘72 SG is obviously famous for Angus Young, ACDC, it allows you to have that gnarly, almost phonic tone, something that sounds like something muffled but also cuts through really deep. Les Pauls are going to be fatter and Strats and Telecasters are going to be a lot thinner, but obviously as a player you can adapt to that, but the SG is almost like an all rounder, something that you can rely on to go to, for me personally anyway.

I love being able to just pick it up and say, right OK, I’m going to run this through Fuzz Face and I’m going to crank it up full volume and it’s going to sound old and it’s going to sound dirty and it’s going to sound fat. You know, that’s what I get out of it. It’s proper reliable even though it’s like a good 30-40 years old.

Kirsty showed us round her guitar sound and how she loops her riffs.

I’ve always been a fan of valve amps

Kirsty has an interesting amp set up too - using guitar and bass amps.

The set up I use live is the Fender Deluxe Hot Rod guitar amp. I’ve always been a fan of valve amps, you get a warmer tone. I split my signal for my live sound between guitar amp and a bass amp, any bass amp I can get my hands on.

So from the guitar it runs into my pedal board, and then from my pedal board it goes into my guitar amp and the loop pedal that I use in my pedal board splits the signal between the bass amp and the guitar amp. So I’m on stage and I’ve got my top end from my guitar amp and my bottom end from my bass amp. Which basically runs through the whole set. Plus I use an octave pedal on top of that, which gives it a really sinister, eerie sort of sound which I really like.

I use the loop pedal to gain a bigger sound

Kirsty uses a DigiTech JamMan Stereo Looper/Phrase Sampler pedal. A friend of hers had an earlier model and showed her how it worked, so she homed in on the new version when she spotted it in a music shop, then was treated to it by her Dad.

A friend of mine actually has the one before, which is just the two bank. He showed me around it a bit and I recognised it when I went in and I was, oh ok, well this one’s got the four banks and it’s got loop up and loop down, record overdub and reverse. There’s loads of stuff you could do with it and the guy in the music shop was like, have a go with it and I was jamming and playing and ‘Oh my god this is the most amazing thing I’ve ever done in my life’. And walked out with it.

I use the loop pedal basically to gain a bigger sound, Pearl Harts is all about making the biggest sound with the smallest amount of people.

The loop pedal was primarily used so that I was able to do some lead parts over rhythm sections and that’s how it started. Then we started messing around with sounds and saying well OK what if we use a really lower tone on this and made a bassline out of it, and then we can go over the top of that with a guitar sound. Then there’s overdubs and a million different things that you can do with that loop pedal, which I’m still discovering, but it’s a great tool for the use of layering, allowing your sound to progress.

You’re in control, you’re doing it. If it goes wrong, that’s your fault. You can’t turn round and go, oh the bass player played a wrong chord, that’s why the set sucked. Well no, that was all up to you, which is quite tricky sometimes, you’re doing a kind of dance on the floor but, it’s good.

DigiTech JamMan Stereo Looper/Phrase Sampler It’s got loop up and loop down, record overdub and reverse, there’s loads of stuff you could do with it Read More

I’m still experimenting with it as well, there’s loads of reverse guitars that you can do. It’s really good to use live with Sarah because she can link up in the back and get the rhythm out sound, so the loop that I make she’ll hear that in her headphones so I can do all the stuff over the top and we’re never going to go out of time with the drums.

Gibson SG Gnarly, an all rounder Read More

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Amp I love the Hot Rod Read More

Mooer Audio Pure Octave Pedal Eerie sound I really like Read More

Black Blood

Sara talks drums and samples

I like a bluesy feel, really loud, warm tone

Sara got offered free drum lessons as a teenager at school, and never looked back. Forming The Pearl Harts has given her a lot of musical freedom.

It’s the kind of drumming that I’ve always enjoyed doing, ever since I first started. I’ve really been into rock and blues playing, I’d say my favourite drummer was John Bonham. I also like Mitch Mitchell as well. I like a bluesy feel to it, really loud, and warm tone. They’re my favourite players, they’ve influenced my drum sound, even down to the kind of drums that I play. I’ve got a vintage Ludwig kit and I like a big, bombastic sound which suits Kirsty’s guitar playing.

It’s basically the same kit that The Doors had in the late 60s early 70s, it’s got the same finish to it. It’s your typical 70s drum kit, big sizes, it’s just got a really warm tone to it. I bought it for a good price about two years ago, and I just love it. Every time I use it people compliment me on the sound of it.

I’m quite a heavy player, I like a more light cymbal sound

Sara has been using Sabian cymbals since she started playing, and has an endorsement with them. She particularly likes the hi hats she has been loaned at the moment.

They feel quite thin and crispy and that’s the kind of sound that I like. They’re not too heavy. I feel I’m quite a heavy player and despite wanting to hit the drums really loudly, I don’t like laying into the cymbals so much. I quite like a more light cymbal sound because I think it sounds a bit nicer. So that’s what Sabian cymbals do for me, give a nice ambient sound over the top of a more beefy drum sound.

I also use sample pads

Aside from the traditional standard drumset, I also use sample pads and a range of triggers and pads on top of that. I’ve got the SPD-SX, I’m really lucky, I’ve got an endorsement deal with Roland, so I got that through them and because we’re just a two-piece it’s really important for us, the layering of the sound to make it sound like you’re hearing more than just a two piece.

I use some pads around the kit to trigger additional sounds and also play some bass sounds. We don’t want it to feel like you’re really missing a bass player or a keyboard player or something and we want to bring in sounds where the audience will be like, where’s that coming from? It’s quite a fun thing to add to the kit and it doesn’t really feel like it’s been done that much in rock music before, so it feels like a new area which I’m quite keen to develop a bit more.

We’ve got one track, which we actually recorded today for Kitmonsters as an acoustic version, and live it’s got a solo guitar part with the riff. The riff is quite a mid-sounding riff rather than a lower riff which is what a lot of our songs are like.

So you miss having a bass player there, or somebody to play a bass part so I basically spent a bit of time finding a sound that would go with the guitar part and I’ve programmed it into my sample pad, and I just play it with my hand.

And at the end there’s quite a big solo, so that’s even more involved, because I think there’s five notes that I have to play as well as keeping the beat. It’s quite a challenge but I think it works quite well. It’s easy to become complacent as a musician and especially in this kind of music where I feel most comfortable, it’s nice to throw something in there which is a bit like, ooer, I’ve never done this before. It keeps it fresh and interesting.

Roland SPD-SX Versatile Sampling Pad Read More

Kirsty talks guitar