Taj Hendrix "Tash" Sultana (born 15 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music producer, described as a " one-person band". Sultana rose to international prominence with their 2016 single "

Jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

", which was voted into third place in

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

's Hottest 100 countdown of 2016. 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 ''Like a Version'' is a long-running weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves musicians playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs and then a cover version. The series was created by pres ...

'' cover of

MGMT MGMT () is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by singers and multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser, Ben Goldwasser. Originally signed to Cantora Records by the nascent ...

's " Electric Feel" at number 78. Sultana grew up in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and has been playing guitar from the age of three, beginning a career in music through

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

. An active musician on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

since 2013, Sultana's recordings were viewed millions of times on YouTube in 2016. Sultana's EP, ''

Notion Notion or Notions may refer to: Software * Notion (music software), a music composition and performance program * Notion (productivity software), a note-taking and project-management program from Notion Labs, Inc. * Notion (window manager), the ...

'', was released in September 2016, followed by a sold-out world tour in early 2017. Sultana plays a large variety of instruments including guitar, keyboard, bass, percussion, beatmaking/sampling, trumpet, saxophone, flute, mandolin, oud, harmonica, panpipes; and arranges it into loop style performances along with percussive and finger tapping style guitar playing. Sultana has a vocal range stretching five octaves.

Early life

An Australian of Maltese ancestry on their father's side, Sultana was born in and grew up in

. They received a

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

from their grandfather at the age of three.

Career

Early career: "Jungle" and home busking videos

At the age of 13, Sultana performed in

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, often taking place at night (an open mic night), in which audience members may perform on ...

nights up to 6 times a week across Victoria. Their refusal to conform to social norms pushed the artist, who at the time was unable to find regular work, to

on the streets of Melbourne to make a living. From 2008 to 2012, Sultana was the vocalist of the band Mindpilot with Patrick O'Brien, Emily Daye and David Herbert. This band won several Battles of the Bands competitions in Melbourne. The band split in 2012. In 2016, Sultana shared a video on social media of "Jungle" that amassed over one million views within five days, and has since been viewed over 40 million times. In the same year, they won Triple J's J Award for Unearthed Artist of the Year, and had two tracks voted into the Triple J Hottest 100, 2016: "Jungle" (No. 3) and "Notion" (No. 32). Both are singles from their subsequently released EP, ''

''. Sultana performed at the Woodford Folk Festival, Southbound, and St Jerome's Laneway Festival. Sultana is managed by Lemon Tree Music with whom they signed in June 2016. Sultana spent time in the recording studio with producer Nikita Miltiadou, and began working on the EP release ''

''. In September 2016, they released the EP through their own independent record label, Lonely Lands Records. The EP reached a peak position of number 8 on the ARIA Album Chart.

2016–2017: Debut world tour, and singles

Following the success of ''

'', Sultana announced a world tour, which included hundreds of live performances across Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Their father resigned from his job to become their roadie. A product of sessions with Miltiadou in April 2017, Sultana released " Murder to the Mind", the first single since the release of ''Notion''. It reached number 59 on the ARIA Australian Singles Chart. Not long after the release of "Murder to the Mind", Sultana was diagnosed with laryngitis, and was forced to cancel and postpone shows across Australia. In a June 2017 interview Sultana told Fairfax that their debut album was slated for release in April 2018, after which they had planned to tour, record a second album, tour again, and then take a break and return to normal life. On 25 July 2017, Sultana announced the Homecoming Tour, including performances in Adelaide (Entertainment Centre), Sydney (Hordern Pavilion), Fremantle (Arts Centre), Margaret River (3 Oceans Winery), Melbourne (Margaret Court Arena) and Noosa (Noosa Sporting Grounds), with Pierce Brothers and Willow Beats as supporting acts. In October 2017 Sultana announced the premiere of a new single " Mystik" on

. Also in October, Sultana made their US late-night television debut on ''

Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire variety talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing w ...

'', performing "Jungle". In the same year, Sultana was nominated for four

ARIA Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

: Breakthrough Artist, Best Independent Release, Best Blues and Roots Album and Best Australian Live Act. Following the Homecoming Tour, Sultana continued work on their debut LP, '' Flow State''.

2018: Debut LP ''Flow State''

On 13 June 2018 Sultana sent out a private Facebook message to selected fans, with a video sneak peek of a new single titled "Salvation", accompanied by footage in the studio. In the same month, Sultana announced that the new single would premiere on

on 21 June, and would be released the following day on 22 June. On 21 June 2018 they announced the album's forthcoming release date would be 31 August 2018, and made pre-orders available. Sultana also announced the album's tracklist, including the previously released tracks " Mystik", " Murder To The Mind", "Harvest Love" and "Free Mind". The album was released on 31 August 2018 via Lonely Lands Records, distributed by Sony Music Australia in Australia, and

Mom + Pop Music Mom + Pop Music is a New York City–based independent record label. Founded by Michael Goldstone in 2008, its roster includes Alicia Keys, Courtney Barnett, Magdalena Bay, Madeon, Tom Morello, Porter Robinson, Maya Hawke, Tycho, Tash Sul ...

across the rest of the world. ''Flow State'' peaked at number 2 on the ARIA Albums Charts.Peaks in Australia: * All except noted: * "Murder to the Mind": * "Mystik": * "Salvation":

2019: ''Flow State'' Tour, "Can't Buy Happiness", "Daydreaming" and "Talk It Out"

In February 2019, and in support of ''Flow State'', Sultana played their biggest headlining Australian shows yet, including a sold-out show at Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and Brisbane's Riverstage. Sultana's first release for 2019 was the standalone single "Can't Buy Happiness", released on 4 April. Then, on 10 July, Sultana released their first collaborative track " Talk It Out", which featured Australian singer

Matt Corby Matthew John Corby (born ) is an Australian singer-songwriter. He achieved his commercial breakthrough with his fourth EP, ''Into the Flame'' (2011), which peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Charts, ARIA Singles Chart, and by April 2012, was certi ...

. Sultana's third and final single release for 2019 was the single "Daydreaming", a collaboration with Milky Chance.

2020–2022: Sophomore album ''Terra Firma''

Early in 2020 Sultana announced they were recruiting for live session musicians to round out their on stage presence on social media, stating they 'didn't have enough hands' to play all instruments on stage at the same time. On 26 February, Sultana played their final partial solo live show at Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl as part of the one-day fundraising music festival Down To Earth. The event was raising funds for bushfire relief, following Australia's Black Summer bushfires, and included performances by Gang of Youths, Angus and Julia Stone and more. In April 2020 Sultana announced that they had found session band members to take on the road. They subsequently released their first single for 2020, "Pretty Lady" on 9 April. The track was premiered on triple j Breakfast the same day. Shortly after, Sultana released the "Pretty Lady" music video, featuring a selection of fans, friends and family from across the world dancing. In June 2020 Sultana announced the next single "Greed", which was released on 20 June 2020. This was followed by a third single, "Beyond The Pine" in September, and a fourth single "Willow Tree" in October, which featured Australian rapper Jerome Farah. On the same day as the release of "Willow Tree", Sultana announced that their new album Terra Firma would be released on 19 February 2021. Written and recorded over a period of almost 2 years, between 2019 and 2021, Terra Firma saw Sultana lead the entire recording process. They recorded, engineered, performed, arranged and produced the album in its entirety. On 22 January 2021 Sultana released the fifth and final single from ''Terra Firma'', "Sweet & Dandy". ''Terra Firma'' was released on 19 February 2021, and was met with generally favourable reviews from critics. In 2021 Sultana announced a United Kingdom and Europe tour in support of ''Terra Firma'', with dates taking place from March 2022. They also announced a one-off performance at Colorado's

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also known colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheater in the Western United States, western United States near Morrison, Colorado, approximately southwest of Denver. It is owned and operated by the c ...

, which sold 10,000 tickets within five minutes. On 1 February 2022 Sultana announced their anticipated two-month tour of North America. The North America tour has dates listed from 10 June (Las Vegas) to 23 July (Los Angeles). On 18 February 2022 Sultana released "Coma", the lead single from ''MTV Unplugged, Live in Melbourne'' album, scheduled for release in May 2022.

2023–present: ''Sugar'' and ''Return to the Roots''

In March 2023, Sultana released "James Dean", the lead single from an EP scheduled for release in 2023. In July 2023, Sultana released "Bitter Lovers" and announced ''Sugar'' would be released on 11 August 2023. In February 2025, Sultana released the single "Milk and Honey", their first released since 2023. In March 2025, Sultana announced the forthcoming release of the EP ''Return to the Roots''.

Personal life

Sultana identifies as gender-fluid and uses they/them pronouns.

Discography

* '' Flow State'' (2018) * '' Terra Firma'' (2021)

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". , - ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, , "Jungle" , , Song of the Year, , , - , rowspan="2" ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, "Murder to the Mind" , Song of the Year , , - , "Jungle" , , Blues & Roots Work of the Year , , , - , rowspan="2" ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, , Tash Sultana , , Songwriter of the Year, , , - , " Mystik" , , Blues & Roots Work of the Year , , , - ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, , "Blackbird" , , Most Performed Blues & Roots Work of the Year, , , - ,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, , "Pretty Lady" , , Most Performed Blues & Roots Work of the Year, , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

are annual awards, which recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. They commenced in 1987. Sultana has won one award from thirteen nominations. ! , - , rowspan="4",

, , rowspan="3", ''Notion'' , , Best Independent Release , , , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="4" , , - , Breakthrough Artists , , , - , Best Blues and Roots Album , , , - , Notion Tour , , Best Australian Live Act , , , - , rowspan="6",

, , rowspan="2", ''Flow State'' , , Best Female Artist , , , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="6" , , - , Best Blues and Roots Album , , , - , Homecoming Tour , , Best Australian Live Act , , , - , Tash Sultana for ''Flow State'' , , Producer of the Year , , , - , Ben Lopez for ''Flow State'' , , Best Cover Art , , , - , Glenn Mossop and Tash Sultana for "Salvation" , , Best Video , , , - ,

, , "Can't Buy Happiness" , , Best Soul/R&B Release , , , , - ,

, "Pretty Lady" , Best Soul/R&B Release , , , - ,

, ''Terra Firma'' , Best Soul/R&B Release , , , -

Environmental Music Prize

The Environmental Music Prize is a quest to find a theme song to inspire action on climate and conservation. It commenced in 2022. ! , - , 2023 , "Willow Tree" , Environmental Music Prize , , , -

J Awards

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J, and which also extend to sister stations, Triple J Unearthed and Double J. The awar ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. , - ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, Themself , Unearthed Artist of the Year , , - ,

, ''Flow State'' , Australian Album of the Year ,

Music Victoria Awards

The

Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...

are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. ! , - ,

, Tash Sultana , Best Female Artist , , rowspan="2", , - ,

, Tash Sultana , Best Solo Artist , , -

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. , - ,

, Tash Sultana , Live Roots Act of the Year , , - , rowspan="4" ,

, rowspan="4" , Tash Sultana , Live Country or Folk Act of the Year , , - , Live Guitarist of the Year , , - , International Live Achievement (Solo) , , - , Best Live Voice – People's Choice , , - ,

, Tash Sultana , International Live Achievement (Solo) , , - , rowspan="2" ,

, rowspan="2" , Tash Sultana , Live Blues and Roots Act of the Year , , - , International Live Achievement (Solo) , , -

Pop Awards

The Pop Awards are presented annually by Pop Magazine, honoring the best in popular music. Tash Sultana has won two awards from two nominations and is the first artist to win multiple Pop Awards. ! , - , rowspan="2" , 2019 , ''Flow State'' , Album of the Year Award , , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2" , , - , Tash Sultana , Emerging Artist of the Year Award ,

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year. ! , - , rowspan="2" , 2021 , "Pretty Lady" , Best Single , , rowspan="2" , , - , Tash Sultana , Rolling Stone Global Award , , - , 2022 , ''Terra Firma'' , Best Record , , , - , 2023 , Tash Sultana , Rolling Stone Global Award , , , -

Touring

All tour dates and ticketing information can be located a
www.tashsultana.com
* Gemini Tour: Australia (2016) * Notion World Tour: Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand (2016–17) * USA Tour 2017: United States (2017) * North American Tour: United States (2017) * Australia/New Zealand Tour: Australia, New Zealand (2017) * UK/Europe Tour: United Kingdom (2017) * Homecoming Tour: Australia (2017) * World Tour 2018: Europe, United States, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom (2018) * Flow State World Tour: Canada, United States, Europe, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand (2019) * Tash Sultana And Friends: Australia, New Zealand (2019) * UK And Europe 2022: United Kingdom, Europe (2022) * North America 2022: North America, USA (2022)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sultana, Tash 1995 births Living people 21st-century Australian LGBTQ people 21st-century Australian singers ARIA Award winners Australian LGBTQ singers Australian LGBTQ songwriters Australian multi-instrumentalists Australian non-binary musicians Australian people of Maltese descent Genderfluid writers Mom + Pop Music artists Non-binary singers Non-binary songwriters One-man bands Queer singer-songwriters Singers from Melbourne Sony Music Australia artists 21st-century Australian singer-songwriters