Tash Sultana rocks out in The Current studio

Tash Sultana doesn't take guff from anybody. "I wasn't going to conform to a society that told me what to do because that's just not the type of person that I am," Sultana says. "So I thought, I'm going to do this music thing."

In town for a sold-out show at the Cedar Cultural Center, Tash Sultana stopped at The Current for a session hosted by Jill Riley. Sultana is touring in support of her EP, Notion.

The Melbourne-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist dedicated herself to music from an early age. "I started playing guitar when I was three, and I picked up a bunch of other instruments along the way because I like to challenge myself," Sultana says.

Tash Sultana's musical output has landed her Australia's much-vaunted Triple J Radio's Hottest 100, and she's received nominations for other awards, including Australia's Best Live Act. "In Australia, the music scene isn't very big and we all know each other, and it's this nice interlinked web that we've got, and we're all friends with each other," Sultana says. "I'm stoked that I'm getting the recognition and all that — that's awesome — but also other people who have kind of been in the shadows for the last couple years, but working so hard but people not really seeing it."

In The Current's studio, Sultana orchestrated a carefully choreographed performance of her songs "Jungle" and "Notion," using numerous loops to lay down guitar tracks — starting with the basic chord progression, then moving to ornamentation, followed by a bassline. At that point, she shifted to percussion, and when all the pieces were in place, started singing to the layers of music she creates. Sultana also adds some rocking guitar parts to each song, showcasing a playing style that invites comparisons to Prince.

Use the audio player above to hear the complete in-studio session. We'll have video of Tash Sultana's in-studio performance soon.

Songs Performed

Hosted by Jill Riley
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Corey Schreppel
Visuals by Nate Ryan
Web feature by Luke Taylor

Resources

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