Tash Sultana has returned with their second single of the year, “New York”.
Set to be feature on an EP out later this year, the track was written about a specific experience the multi-instrumentalist had in the titular city.
“I will never forget a time last year when I was so fucked up,” Sultana recalls. “It was before my Pier 17 show, one of the lowest points of my life, professionally and personally, and I just wanted to know what it is or what I could do to make it stop. Do I run, do I scream, do I jump into the water, do I cry, what’s it going to take to get me through the night?”
What began as a simple jam project became a powerful track written in just an hour on a keyboard. “I have always found New York hard to find my place in,” Sultana adds. “Everything is so fascinatingly fast that I think people are running from something. The city never sleeps, and its people don’t either. Among the chaos, how do you cope, drink it, smoke it or medicate it away? What do people do to get through the night?”
As for the meaning behind “New York”, Sultana is staying quiet. “It’s not quite what you hear it as,” they insist. “I am telling a story, and it’s not a happy one either. “Cover me in sugar just to get me through the night” is a reference to self medicating yourself just to get by, which is something many people face as a coping mechanism in society.”
“New York” follows Sultana’s first single of 2023, “James Dean”, which acted as the singer-songwriter’s reckoning with self-reflection and transformation. Both tracks will feature on an upcoming EP from Sultana, who hasn’t released a full studio album since 2021 when their sophomore effort, Terra Firma, cemented their growing reputation as one of their generation’s strongest singer-songwriters. Terra Firma topped the ARIA Albums Chart and earned Sultana an ARIA nomination for Best Soul/R&B Release.
Next month will see Sultana embark on an extensive 50-date international touring schedule across Europe, UK and North America. You can check out their full tour dates here.
Tash Sultana’s “New York” is out now.
