Tash Sultana smashes Courtyard Live set ahead of her two sold out Sydney dates.

It would be easier for me to sit here and list things Tash Sultana can’t do at the tender age of twenty one, as the self taught multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, singer songwriter, loopologist (the list goes on) seems to have conquered just about every musical feat possible. Trumpet? Plays that. First EP going straight to the Aussie top 10? Done that. But you won’t see it going to her head; Tash composes herself with the maturity of someone twice her age, and looks genuinely ecstatic to be on the stage.

The anticipation is almost tangible as the crew prepares the stage for Tash’s five o’clock set – the most excited I’ve ever seen a crowd at this hour of the day. She seems to have some kind of unexplainable hold over the Australian public; they just can’t get enough of it. Even before her whole body has emerged from the curtain at the back of the stage the guy behind me is chewing my ear off with the repeated chant of “I LOVE YOU TASH”, before confirming his adoration by shouting just as loudly at me “I JUST REALLY LOVE TASH”.

There’s something ethereal about the way she performs, taking her time to ensure every aspect of every song surpasses the last, ensuring the crowd revels in the silence just as much as the hypnotic rhythm. To call her merely talented would be an insult to the insane amount of hard work and passion that’s clearly gone into her eclectic style.

As dynamic and colourful as her hometown of Melbourne, Tash is set to become one of Australia’s biggest stars if her meteoric rise so far is anything to go by. Linda Marigliano got it spot on when she said “When you listen to her music it feels like there’s a full genre-bending melting pot of different influences, but it’s uniquely Tash and that’s what’s so beautiful about it”.

Catch her on the other side of the world at London’s iconic Scala on June 27th and 28th.

Photos: Anna Smith