https://rollingstone.com.br/musica/tash-sultana-entrevista-2025/

*By Pedro Hollanda |
A lot has changed since the last time I Tash Sultana played in Brazil, during the Lollapalooza 2018. At the time, his debut album, Flow State (2018), was yet to come out. The Brazilian public only had the EP as a reference Notion (2016), the beginning of a discography that ranges from reggae to soul music, including influences from R&B and psychedelia.

Seven years have passed since then — a considerable period in anyone’s life, especially someone so young, now in their 30s.

Close to returning to the country with the EP tour Return to the Roots (2025) – November 4th in Rio de Janeiro (Circo Voador) and November 5th in São Paulo (Audio), with the 30e via ecosystem Indigo – Tash opened up to Rolling Stone Brazil about the changes since then. Starting with the show, which reflects his evolution as an artist:

“I’m a completely different person compared to the first time I came to Brazil, and the show is also completely different. The production is completely different. The setting is different, I’ve been practicing a lot for a long time to become a better musician than I was in 2018. I play the guitar better, I sing better, I perform better. That’s natural.”

Lonely show format — but not so much

The presentation remains centered around the performance creating loops instrumentals. Tash is a multi-instrumentalist and records his materials alone, in a format also reproduced at shows. Now, however, there is a band available to accompany the performance at certain moments.

The justification for this is quite simple:

“It’s well established that I’m a solo artist, but there comes a point where I need extra hands. It depends on the song. Some songs require changes in key, tempo. Not to mention you can’t change the speed of something once it’s looped. I can do things with looping that no one else on the planet can do. I’ve taken it to super technical extremes. But sometimes you just want to jam with other people.”

The decision to surround himself with a band could be seen by some as a sign of a decline in confidence. Sultana, however, guarantees that this is not the case. It is, in fact, something that made him enjoy the live experience much more:

“I enjoy being on stage a lot more these days compared to the past. When someone grows as an artist, as an instrumentalist, it comes with a greater dose of confidence.”

Personal moment

This confidence as an artist may have helped you recently in your personal life. Your wife, Jamiewas diagnosed with cancer in late 2024, and Tash also developed a mast cell activation syndrome, a chronic autoimmune disease that causes random allergic responses. This led to a reassessment of life and career priorities:

“The times where I play hundreds of shows a year… That’s not going to happen in the future. What I did for the last five to ten years was great, but it almost killed me at certain points and it’s not exactly what I want to do for the next five to ten years. I want to focus on other parts of my life, because playing music is just one part of the whole.”

Despite this, Tash showed excitement at meeting the Brazilian public again, reinforcing how much foreign artists feel the affection of the public here. Especially in requests to play in Brazil.

Sultana said:

“Almost every comment on my social media is a request to come to Brazil. I know the audiences will be incredible because I haven’t been in seven years and the new show is incredible.”

*Tickets for Tash Sultana’s shows in Rio de Janeiro (Circo Voador, 04/11) and São Paulo (Audio, 05/11) are on sale through the Eventim website.

• Tash Sultana