Flow State

by Tash Sultana

Overview

With the sales of electric guitars not what they once were, many music business commentators have spoken out on the need for a new generation of guitar heroes. Since Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck don't mean much to most folks under 30 these days, they'd like to see some younger fret-wrestlers who will inspire America's youth to step away from their laptops and pick up a six-string. As it happens, it might be a Gen Z-er who does the trick, as evidenced by Tash Sultana on their first full-length album, 2018's Flow State. The 23-year-old Australian first found an audience through social media videos in which they created over-the-top guitar soundscapes through the use of looping pedals, and while Flow State is clearly intended to also show off Sultana's gifts as a vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (they play all the instruments on these recordings), their guitar work shines pretty bright on this album. These songs have more to do with contemporary R&B than rock & roll, but Sultana has a rocker's love of the big guitar solo, and when they turn up the amps and let rip on "Big Smoke," "Murder to the Mind," and "Pink Moon," they reveal a winning confidence and an ability to make their instrument snarl eloquently. Prince appears to be more of a role model to Sultana than any British blues guys, given the Australian's taste for pop-leaning R&B tunes, emotive high-pitched vocals, bold and personal lyrics, and a well-programmed drum machine. But Sultana clearly has a mind and a muse of their own and like Prince, isn't afraid to follow it, with languid, low-key numbers like "Mellow Marmalade" and "Harvest Love" sitting side by side with dance grooves like "Cigarettes" and the attitudinal, hip-hop-influenced "Salvation." Tash Sultana is a modern rarity, a gifted guitarist with a healthy appreciation for flash but practically no rockist impulses, despite the presence of the nine-minute showcase "Blackbird." Sultana could stand to edit themself a bit better, but Flow State is unquestionably the work of a first-rate talent with potential, and if anyone is going to teach younger artists about the innate coolness of the guitar, they seem like just the person to do it. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	08/31/2018
Label:	Mom + Pop Music
UPC:	0858275049220

Tracks

1. Seed (Intro)
2. Big Smoke
3. Cigarettes
4. Murder to the Mind
5. Seven
6. Salvation
7. Pink Moon
8. Mellow Marmalade
9. Harvest Love
10. Mystik
11. Free Mind
12. Blackbird
13. Outro

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tash Sultana   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Tash Sultana   Composer,Arranger,Producer,Art Direction
Ben Lopez   Paintings,Illustrations
Nikita Miltiadou   Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Richard Stolz   Engineer
Dann Hume   Mixing
Dara Munnis   Photography
Pat Fox   Design,Art Direction
Andrei Eremin   Mastering