Sultana's EP, Notion, was released on 23 September 2016, followed by a sold-out world tour in early 2017. An active musician on Bandcamp since 2013, Sultana's recordings were viewed millions of times on YouTube in 2016. Sultana grew up in Melbourne, and has been playing guitar from the age of three, beginning a career in music through busking. The following year, Sultana had three songs voted into Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2017 " Mystik" placing at number 28, " Murder to the Mind" at number 43, and their Like a Version cover of MGMT's " Electric Feel" at number 78. Sultana rose to international prominence with their 2016 single " Jungle", which was voted into third place in Triple J's Hottest 100 countdown of 2016. If there’s one thing Tash Sultana has conclusively proved in her fledgling career and in Notion, it’s that she knows how to make music that is creative, authentic and well-pitched for today’s ears.Tash Sultana (born 15 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music producer and audio engineer, described as a " one-person band." Not that there’s any need to remind her of that. The modern audience is impatient, easily distracted and fickle. Understandably, there was a bit of unease around whether she can pick up where she left off. Halfway through a tour and with her maiden LP in recording, Sultana announced that she was taking a break to recover from laryngitis. As she settles down, her selectivity will improve and any traces of grab-bag medleys should turn into fully-fledged songs. Extended live jams entitled ‘The Big Smoke’ really do push into self-indulgence, with Sultana beatboxing, whipping out some funk, misjudging the build-and-release and otherwise just padding out the run time. It’s a Frankenstein, with Sultana pitching all her ideas together across these four songs. The result is a track that does everything right and all without feeling either showy or hard-fought.įor such a bold opening salvo, Notion is undoubtedly more potential than portent. Sultana the guitarist superbly welds a swinging rhythm to a U2-style cascading lead and Sultana the producer sprinkles just enough reverb on her vocals to create a yearning atmosphere. There is no better showcase for her potential than the luminous precision of ‘Jungle’. “I got myself into the sweetest disposition/Only because I followed my intuition,” croons Sultana. ‘Gemini’ takes the best of both as a catchy hand-clap loop pushes the endless synths along at a glacial pace. ‘Synergy’ is built around a steady yet dance-worthy bass line and a wordless, slo-mo chorus. Notion’s unflinching spiritual poses, and its tightrope balance of DIY composition and hi-tech production are all ripe for cynicism but Sultana makes it work. Which is lucky, because both she and her debut EP really could have come across as a blissfully aware, all-too-perfect parody of Melbourne millennials. On her debut EP Notion, Sultana combines sweeping guitar arpeggios, sustained synth-beds and tingling electric drum loops to make music that is often evocative and exciting. What’s refreshing is how much the 21-year old lets her talent as a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer speak for itself: potential sympathy-point sob stories about her previous drug-addiction and homosexuality have been pushed into the background. Over the last 18 months, the Melbourne-born lass has skyrocketed from her word-of-mouth social media circuit to become the biggest thing out of her city since deconstructed coffee. Tash Sultana is both the archetype modern day pop success story and a throwback to a more retro era for the solo musician.
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