Tash Sultana is a full-fledged band for one person. He creates music, writes lyrics, plays all the instruments, and during concerts there is usually only one person on stage. He comes to Electric Castle 9 for the first time, where we had an exclusive chat with Tash.

One of Australia’s greatest artists and representative of pop and psychedelic styles is coming to Romania for the first time. Tash Sultana started her career on the streets of Melbourne, where she sang to passers-by and the recordings went viral. They are currently enjoying huge success in their home country, where their latest album reached number one. He’s going to open for Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay. But before that, he will visit us in Boncida during the Electric Castle festival, and the show is scheduled for Friday, July 21.

A one-band project is a rarity, not just in Australia, but in general. Was there an artist you saw and thought, “I could do that too”?

Not the way I came to do things. The “looping” technique has been present in music for a long time. I didn’t make this up. I just made my own sound. It wasn’t just one person, I was inspired by music in general, what I heard. The way someone wrote their lyrics or played guitar, samples, rhythms, saxophones and trumpets. Sounds inspire me a lot. I made a collage out of it all.

Your fame also comes from the fact that you can play many instruments. What is the most difficult tool?

I don’t own any instrument and I don’t think there is a person who can say that. There is no end. You can constantly improve. I think there are no masters. But for me it’s a violin. I was just never going to play it. It sounds terrible. But I don’t give up. I believe that anyone can learn to play any instrument if they try hard enough.

You hit the charts with new single ‘James Dean’ after a period of delay in releasing new material.

When we released ‘Terra Firma’, the previous album, we didn’t have a single gig. We were still in a pandemic. Then I said I wasn’t going to release anything until I went on tour. I haven’t been there yet. I kept writing songs, but what I wanted wasn’t coming out. Or I wrote for other artists and not for myself. It took me a while to find my own parts catalog.

“James Dean” is a song I wrote in five minutes. I was spending time at home, playing nylon-string guitar, and in an hour I had the whole song done, lyrics and everything. Sometimes it happens, sometimes I finish the work in a year or a few months.

The official website says that with the release of a new single, a new phase of the Tash Sultana project begins. What should we expect?

Mostly, that just means new music. Every time you release something, you enter a new era. This is another story, a new cycle. And I haven’t done that in so long! Everything is normalizing in the world, I have concerts again and the opportunity to perform in places I have never been before, for example in Romania, where I had no idea that people knew me. I didn’t even know I had fans in your country.

I want to have a long career. I want to do what Bruce Springsteen does or Coldplay, John Mayer, all artists who have been active for many years. They love to sing, all they do is write and release music. This is also my goal. Always releasing something, always having a concert to attend. So I will be able to develop as an artist.

Is there nostalgia for the early moments of your career?

Everything happens so fast. It seems like yesterday I was a young musician with many dreams, and now that I look back and realize that I have fulfilled them, I do not understand where the time flew. Those moments when I sang in the streets of Melbourne are some of the most beautiful in my life. And I think about them very often. And I am still on very good terms with many of my colleagues and friends from that time.

You once mentioned that you were electrocuted on stage. When did it happen and how was it?

I actually got electrocuted several times. But you know what’s interesting? The incident you are talking about happened at the Espy Hotel, a famous hotel in Melbourne which also has a pub where all the Aussies played, even AC/DC. I played every Tuesday in the front bar, that’s where I started playing live. And everyone was electrocuted, not only me. I was actually watching an emergency medical show the other day, something like ER Melbourne, and the episode was about a guy who ended up in hospital after electrocuting himself at Espy. It didn’t bring back unpleasant memories, I’m still a little different, that incident must have helped me somehow.

What do you expect from your first concert in Romania?

Arriving in a new country or a new city is very special, because the first experience cannot be repeated. I think fans in Eastern Europe don’t get the same musical experience as in Western Europe, a lot of people don’t get to play in that region. This is why there is another level of music appreciation. All of them go to Germany, France, Holland, Spain, but less – to Hungary, Croatia, Romania. They are not ordinary places. But I believe that you should also go to the place where tickets are sold. So the fact that I can get to Romania and have an audience there is something special. I can’t wait. And again, the first time is the best.

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