Sultana is back on firm ground
Few Australian artists could claim to have played in front of a crowd of 50,000 people this year. Multiinstrumentalist Tash Sultana had that many people flood into the streets of Montreal in June.
In July, tens of thousands more fans packed into a Quebec stadium to see them perform.
The same scenes were repeated throughout the European leg of their world tour in August, with the sea of ecstatic fans stretching outside the tent at the Lowlands festival in Netherlands.
Ask Sultana if Australia has a clue just how huge this one-person rock orchestra is on the global stage and they hesitate to blow their own trumpet. The trumpet is just one of the 20 instruments they play.
As Sultana returns home from the world-conquering Terra Firma tour to perform their first big gig in Australia in almost three years, the renowned musician says they had to go overseas before reconnecting with loyal fans here after the long pandemic pause on touring.
“I see my career in a broad spectrum and I know when I come back to Australia, I can play shows here whenever I like. I love coming back and being here,” Sultana says from their Victorian bush property.
“I have intentionally given it a rest for a period of time because there’s so much competition that I don’t like to compete. I never have, I never will.
“I like my own lane and (it) right now is showing itself to me in other parts of the world, and has been for quite some time.
“I don’t really know how it went down for me overseas but I go all over the world and play arenas and big festivals.”
As Sultana does during any break between touring legs, they are hanging out with their wife Jaimie at their out-of-Zoom range property in Victoria, surfing, making music and taking care of business as a director of the Lonely Lands Agency and indie label.
The isolation is both a blessing and a curse.
“We have really, really shit reception. It was cool for a bit but now when shit needs to get done, driving down the street and parking by the side of the road with the hazards on while we upload a video is more hassle than it’s worth,” Sultana says.
Sultana is one of a handful of artists not from the electronic world, who enthrals tens of thousands of people live as a solo performer on a massive stage.
It is a high-energy gig, even as they are tethered to the looping station and the rack of instruments employed in playing much loved songs from early hits Jungle and Notion to newer fan favourites such as Pretty Lady and Crop Circles from last year’s Terra Firma album.
Getting matchfit again for the American and European tours, which began in March after two years off the road, was a shock.
“Your body and your brain are not in the same place; it’s like you ran a marathon, had two years break before your next one, so there’s a lot more training to be done. I’ve done 64 shows since March and spent the majority of the year in some form of rehearsal,” Sultana says.
“Hitting the stage really shows you where the match fitness is. I’m singing two hours a night and I go all over the place with my voice and it needs to hold up and not be injured.
“Touch wood I don’t lose my voice, except for when I came home for three weeks and I was so sick for three weeks. And I sliced my finger from the nail to the knuckle with my new knife set just as my wife told me not to cut what I was cutting like that, and I cut myself.”
Sultana’s only Australian gig for the year will be headlining Ocean Sounds on Phillip Island ahead of next year’s performances at Vanfest and Bluesfest.
They have been a bankable festival headliner for several years now, that status bolstered by Terra Firma’s commercial success, with the album Sultana’s first release to hit the top of the ARIA charts. It was also nominated for the Best Soul/R&B release at the 2021 ARIA Awards.
“It’s cool (being a headliner) but that could change every year because there’s always going to be the next (big) thing,” Sultana says.
“I don’t want to be that next thing because I want to have longevity. And that’s not even up to you, it’s up to your audience.
“And they seem to come, wherever I play around the world and in places I’ve never even heard of before. I just played in Lithuania and it was a huge show at this old prison which they shut down during Covid and converted into this art space. Our dressing rooms were the jail cells. What the f--- is that?”
Tash Sultana performs at Ocean Sounds for Always Live with Pierce Brothers, Kim Churchill, Kee’ahn and more at Phillip Island on December 10. They will also play at Vanfest, Bathurst on March 3-4 and Byron Bay Bluesfest from April 6.
I have intentionally given it a rest for a period of time because there’s so much competition that I don’t like to compete