From busking on the streets of Melbourne to a sold-out international tour, Tash Sultana has built her success on nothing but pure talent and a love for what she does best: holding a crowd at the very tips of her insanely talented fingers.
The musical range of this singer-songwriter and storyteller knows no bounds. Sultana’s performances are a mix of carefully layered pieces featuring beatboxing, percussive finger-tapping and guitar work. Now, after a string of positive reviews around the country, Sultana is expanding her horizons across international borders.
“It consistently blows my mind how different countries react to what I’m doing,” the 21-year-old Sultana says, with the thought of her upcoming US tour on her mind. “We get word that it’s going really well in another country and I’m just like, ‘OK, let’s put on a few shows over there.’ Then those shows sell out, and we have to put on even more shows, and it’s just like, ‘When did this happen?’”
For the millions of fans who have been introduced to Sultana, it was love at first sight. Her homemade videos, filmed from the gritty setting of her bedroom, usher in the raw and soulful sounds of songs like ‘Jungle’ and ‘Gemini’, which can be heard on her debut EP, Notion. With a season of summer festivals in Australia on the horizon, Sultana is preparing to further flex her multi-instrumental skills on the stages of festivals like Strawberry Fields, Mullum Music Festival, A Day On The Green, Festival Of The Sun, Southbound, Woodford Folk Festival, NYE On The Hill, Laneway, Port Fairy Folk Festival and more.
“I’ve played so many festivals lately, I can’t even think,” she says. “But I love playing festivals and at [bush] doofs, they’re an awesome experience. Something is always popping up. All the artists on festival lineups are pretty nice too, and we all merge by the end of it, so overall it’s a really good time.”
Performing alongside the likes of Californian artist Anderson .Paak at Listen Out festival this year, the genre-defying Sultana is further breaking the boundaries of her sound by collaborating with the hip hop star. “I jumped on Anderson .Paak’s new album that’s coming up, and I’ve done a track with him on that,” she says.
Among a jam-packed schedule of gigs and festival appearances, it’s the sheer number of crowd members waiting eagerly for Sultana’s uniquely crafted performances that stands out to her the most. However, 2017 promises a new adventure altogether. From the intimate venues and buzzing festival stages of Australia’s major cities, Sultana is taking her loop pedal melodies and reggae-soul sound to the US in mid-February.
“I’ve got absolutely no idea what to expect,” she says. “We are flying out of the country because it’s a completely different vibe. It’s impressive to see where people have found you. It’s across the ocean in another country and people are getting the buzz, so that’s cool to see.”
Having only previously been to the US for a holiday, Sultana will be stepping out of her comfort zone to impress her overseas fans with the same passionate and hypnotic performance style that captivates her audiences back home. “I haven’t been to any of these cities before, except Los Angeles,” she says. “The tour is almost sold out as well, and that is so exciting for me.”
But the enormous and seemingly exhausting series of shows on Sultana’s calendar doesn’t end there, with an exciting diary date in Amsterdam in mid-2017, and even plans for some exciting festival appearances towards the end of next year. “I’ve been confirmed for a massive festival in South Africa and I’m so keen for that, but I can’t disclose too much information on that one,” she says.
Tash Sultana’sNotion is out now independently. Supporting The Temper Trap at the Enmore Theatre on Wednesday November 30, Tash is also appearing at Mullum Music Festival, The Plot, A Day On The Green, Woodford Folk Festival and Laneway Festival.
