I’ve been giving my website and blog a lot of thought and really trying to figure out what I should write about. I mean does it have to be 100% crochet related all of the time? Then I had my duh moment of… this is MY website, my blog, my decision.
So yea we will be mainly focused on my big crochet passion, however I’m gonna throw some other stuff out there as well. If some people don’t like it they don’t have to read it and can go straight to my crochet posts.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a woman of many talents. Crochet is just the tip of the iceberg!! I cook, bake, budget, craft, and come up with the the most innovative (or ridiculous) DIY ideas to achieve whatever I need at the time. MUSIC is another big one for me. Where I’m not very musically talented, I dig it. And by that I mean I branch out way beyond the confines of mainstream artists and find talent out there that most people don’t even know exist.
Since getting out of high school I’ve always skated the outskirts of the mainstream stations and music. I searched far and wide for anything and everything that grabbed me, and actually found a handful of artists that went from a few thousand followers upon finding them and now they are topping the charts on the top 40. I’m still doing the same but thanks to technology and services that are available now it’s easier than ever to find new music.
My favorite way to find new tunes is through Spotify.
I LOVE Spotify and I think honestly I would have a hard time trying to live life without it now. It’s brought so many smaller artists to the people who will love them and it’s amazing.
Tash Sultana for one is an absolute favorite that I’ve been sort of obsessed with for a few years now and they most recently released a new album this past year at the end of August and have now won several awards for it. No, not here in the United States, but in Australia, where they are from.
What makes Tash Sultana a force to be reckoned with is the fact that they are a one man band. Yes. A one person band, that is who this post is about. Don’t see those often anymore. Tash writes, composes, produces, and plays every part of every single one of their songs. Even when performing live concerts for sold out stadiums, it’s just Tash, no backup, no band. Tash is the band.
Ok so why am I referring to them in a general seemingly plural way? Tash Sultana is gender non-binary and uses the pronoun they/their/them. It’s incredibly important to be respectful of peoples preferred pronouns, and I expect any comments on this post or any of my posts to be respectful of this as well. If you’re not down to support the LGBT community, I will tell you right now, this is not the place for you. We not only support the community in my household, we are part of the community.
Now that we have that out of the way. I pulled this bit from their website, because what better source to tell you about an artist other than their own site. That being said, there is currently a lot of misinformation out there about Tash Sultana, mostly over exaggeration, but it’s still best to get the facts.
TASH SULTANA is an explosive live artist who has commanded global attention since homemade videos went viral. Tash was soon selling out major arenas globally and playing at the world’s biggest festivals – no mean feat for an artist who just a year before was recording songs on a go pro in a bedroom. Since Tash’s grandfather gifted a guitar at the age of three, the self-taught artist quickly developed a unique style that has people lining up to see around the world. Tash has mastered over 12 instruments, has a vocal that shine with a magical quality and a live show that needs to be seen to be believed.
The one-person powerhouse started out playing open mic nights on a fake id and busking on the streets of Melbourne, Australia. Recent accolades include over 500M streams, an ARIA award for Blues and Roots Album of The Year with ‘Flow State’, smash single ‘Jungle’ coming in at #3 in triple j’s Hottest 100, achieving platinum sales for the Notion EP and platinum sales for ‘Jungle’, winning the prestigious unearthed j award, numerous gold certified singles and recently playing a stand out set at Coachella & Lollapalooza.
Tash’s album ‘Flow State’ is out now worldwide.
All of that being said I’m sure you guys are curious about what makes their sound so unique and incredible to command a global audience. Here’s a clip of the first song that made me fall in love.
This song has a lengthy 1:58 intro before any lyrics begin. The radio edit takes it down to a 40 second intro but it’s just not the same.
This song is what launched them to fame. Tash uploaded a black and white video from their bedroom playing this song and the internet went nuts…. In one week that video had over 1 million views. As it stands today, this single video has over 51 million views. Watching Tash build and layer their music is a sight to behold in itself, but when you watch Tash play, you can really feel their passion for what they do.
Even in Tash’s earlier songs the lyrics are deep and meaningful, so few words in each song, yet each one packs a punch. The way that Tash writes, plays, and produces is unlike any other artist out there.
Their EP album titled Notion dropped in 2016 and had me hooked from that time forward. The songs were written during a very transformative period in Tash’s life and they feel that they have grown so much since then, and it shows in their most recent album, Flow State. Notion has to be one of my all time favorites of Tash, possibly because I connected so deeply with it and can feel the deep expression of emotions in it.
Notion is also the name of one of the songs on their EP Notion. It is still by far one of my absolute favorite songs by Tash. It’s so raw and extremely emotional about
But I can’t take my mind off of you
A thousand words, pouring out
The distance of over there
Is moving on and out
You said it’d be alright
How ’bout these notions
Hmm, they’re deep as ocean
Calling out my name
Screaming out in vain
Singing hallelujah
Notion – Tash Sultana
Flow State is by far the best album I have ever heard of any artist ever. Coming from me, that is quite a compliment. I may be biased because I’ve been in love with Tash’s music for the past 3 years, but I am not the only one that feels that way. Tash has millions of devoted fans worldwide and sells out every single show that they play.
When Flow State came out I was going through one of the most difficult periods of my life. I don’t know where I would be without it though. I don’t know if I would have been able to make it through without this album to help me along. It dives deep into the human mind dealing with ego, mental illness, and finding yourself through the mess and learning to let go of it all and just be.
It is one of the most comprehensive pieces I have ever heard start to finish. Usually when you listen to a full album of any artist you have clear favorites and then usually skip over others. I can happily say I don’t have a single song that I would skip over on this album. Though I do have my favorites.
Free mind was the first single released from Flow State and remains one of my favorites. It really speaks to an entire generation now that so many are struggling with some sort of mental illness.
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year. Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment.
Per the Anxiety and Depression Association of America
This entire album really addresses the realness of living with mental illnesses and the struggles that many face every day. I think many of us can relate. If you can’t relate maybe it will help you understand what others go through a lot better therefore helping strengthening your personal relationships.
Murder to the Mind is another really great song from this album, it talks about a darker time in Tash’s life when they were in with a bad crowd, on drugs, and had put themself into a drug induced psychosis. It has a very memorable line that I think a lot of people can relate to, whether they admit it or not. They also talk about getting clean in this song. They have been free from drugs for several years now.
I was begging for forgiveness, but I couldn’t forgive myself. And I was screaming out for help
Murder to the Mind – Tash Sultana
While these two songs are fantastic, and in my top, 7 from the album, they are not my absolute favorite. I have a couple that really speak to me and I can’t listen to them enough. I have been playing this album for over a full year and I still can’t seem to get enough.
In no particular order Big Smoke, Cigarettes, Salvation, Mystik and Blackbird are my top 5 from this album. Hands down.
Big smoke talks about their past drug use and the rewiring of their brain. At the time they said they were not in a good place and surrounded by people that they were uncomfortable with. That is really a bad start and can send you into a really bad trip. They ended up putting them self into a drug induced psychosis which took months of rehabilitation to break. Tash is extremely open about their experiences, good and bad, and has really become a strong voice for self awareness, mental health, and overcoming addiction.
No specific drug is mentioned though there is science to back up that, yes you can rewire your brain with certain drugs in a good way. Psilocybin is the “magic” part of magic mushrooms and it’s been discussed quite a bit as of late.
Scientists have discovered that psilocybin can actually change the way that the brain functions both short-term and long-term and it can even cause the brain to grow new cells. This helps to explain some of the anti-depressant effects and the lasting personality changes that can occur with the use of psilocybin.
Learning Mind
Now I’m not saying you should go out and buy a bunch of mushrooms and take them hoping it will “fix you”. It takes a lot of time and work, and for many, guided sessions. So please if you are looking for real insight and growth be sure to do ALL of your research and know exactly what you are doing ahead of time. Speak to professionals and do things properly.
Cigarettes is a song that for me is really all about stepping back, away from all the bullshit and drama that tends to coincide with everyday living and just doing what you’re passionate about. Letting go of your ego and just being.
It could just be my interpretation, but in the end we all interpret songs differently and feel them differently than all others.
Think about it in terms of your own life. Think about something you’re passionate about, something you like to do, or would like to learn to do and have always had that desire to do. When you get really stressed and overwhelmed by a to – do list that just never seems to end, while already having a million things to do on a daily basis, work, cook, clean, grocery shop, take care of the kids and maintaining relationships. It seems impossible to find some sort of balance to be able to literally do it all.
When you become overwhelmed, most everything is impossible. We have all felt this at some point, some feel it constantly.
When you’re overwhelmed you cannot be your best you. It is truly impossible.
But if you step back, take some time to meditate, focus, get your head on straight and look at things from a different perspective you start to see things more clearly.
Suddenly things don’t seem as impossible. They may even start to seem achievable.
Mindfulness goes a long way. Having that is how we become our best selves and how creators achieve their best products. I’m sure you’ve all heard of a flow state, maybe being in the zone. You can never get in the zone or in your flow state if your mind is cluttered. It takes another perspective. A lot of looking at the big picture, and letting the little things roll off.
I feel like this song is an embodiment of this message.
You just have to continue to push through the bullshit and do what you love. If you get too in your head and you start to feel suffocated and overwhelmed, take a step back, breathe, refocus. Be your best you for the ones you love, but more importantly, for yourself.
Let’s talk about Blackbird. This song is the epitome of a true flow state. It begins with an amazingly intricate instrumental intro that lasts about 3 minutes long and builds into an epic masterpiece by the time you start to hear their voice come in.
But the song isn’t even halfway through. This song is an impressive 9 and a half minutes long.
The passion in Tash’s performance is really the driving force for this song.
Throughout Blackbird you experience a wide array of tempo changes, moments of intensity, and finally a release to a slower end.
This song is truly a journey and one of their greatest artistic accomplishments.
Now if you still aren’t sold on Tash, that’s ok. I get it. Not everyone’s cup of tea. Though I will still encourage you to watch this next video of Tash performing Blackbird with nothing but an acoustic guitar, if for nothing else, to at least have an appreciation for the level of skill Tash brings to the table.
If you listened to the album version above, I know what you’re thinking. There is NO WAY that someone could do all of that on an acoustic guitar. I’ll let the performance speak for itself.
Their talent is phenomenal. Without a doubt.
What’s more is they are starting to branch out to do collaborations.
I’m happy to share that Tash got with Matt Corby for an AMAZING collaboration that I have had on repeat for months now. Their official music video for the song
If this is the direction Tash is headed in, I believe that they are going to hit the scene like no other. Get ready. Tash is changing our music culture from here on out.
I really hope that you guys enjoyed my first post about music!! More importantly though, I hope I’ve transformed at least some of you into Tash Sultana fans.
Truly one of the greatest artists of all time even though their career is just taking off. I can’t wait for many years to come.
Until next time!
Shara Edwards
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