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Sitting down with Rolling Stone AU/NZ Editor-in-Chief Poppy Reid, as part of the latest instalment of ‘Behind The Rolling Stone Cover’, Tash Sultana is clearly comfortable with being honest about their experiences in the music industry. And bugbear number one: lazy journalism (or, rather, journalists).
“I’ve read so much shit about myself that’s just like, ‘That’s not even what we fuckin’ discussed on the phone,'” they tell Reid – who penned the 2021 cover story with Sultana.
“When you have a direct conversation with somebody who is recording and taking notes, you’re literally giving them the facts as you’re having an interview before it goes to print. Mate, how did you fuck it up?!”
Which is how we arrive at a remarkably honest and important insight from Sultana, namely, that they’re not comfortable resting on their laurels, or dwelling on the past.
“I think the biggest thing that annoys me is people referencing ‘Jungle’ (their 2016 breakthrough song that exploded after Sultana uploaded a video of themselves playing it in their living room) today still. It’s been ten years, pretty much. I’ve done so much with my life.
“Like, move on. I honour that song every time I play it and I have an awesome time playing it. And I respect that people dig it, but, like, we’re not there.
“In that time I’ve done an EP, an album, an album, an EP, I’ve had other songs amass that type of streaming as well… I’ve had billions of streams. I’ve sold out most shows I’ve played, to be honest. I’ve headlined festivals all round the world. Sold out Red Rocks twice – once in under five minutes in pre-sale.”
And while it’s true that their career has skyrocketed since the early days of getting noticed for doing something different on YouTube, “Jungle” was a turning point in terms of fame, as well as something that resonated on a very deep level with a lot of Sultana’s new fans.
During the podcast episode, Sultana and Reid also discussed the former’s multiple businesses, world tours, personal brand, money, the dirty ways of the recording industry, and everything else in between – offering a rare insight into the inner workings of an artist in their absolute prime.
“That story is the story I really want to be told. Not the ‘so you were a busker and you had a mushroom trip and you wrote ‘Jungle?’ The story’s much further than that now.”
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