If you’re going to emerge from burnout with a signature Fender Strat and a reinvigorated saxophone habit, you might as well call the album Terra Firma. Tash Sultana did just that—resetting after years of “carcass mode” touring, reassessing priorities, and returning with a record that’s grounded, groovy, and full of lush sonic dirt under its fingernails.
“Seriously, I was walking around like a carcass,” they told me, recalling the height of exhaustion with weekly vitamin IVs and intramuscular B12 shots to the ass. “That’s what years and years of excessive touring will do. I didn’t even go to my own high school graduation, but somehow I was on stage every night, completely wrecked.”
Terra Firma, thankfully, was the pause and realignment. The title track and songs like “Beyond the Pine” hint at something earthy and centering, which was no accident. “I just needed to feel like a person again,” Tash said. “To sleep in. To reset.”
But burnout didn’t slow the creativity. For the first time, Tash allowed others into the writing process. “I used to write alone, but then I started getting asked to do collabs. Turns out I really loved it,” they said. “When a massive act slides into your DMs and says, ‘Hey, can you produce our next track?’—it’s the most honorable feeling.”
They didn’t name names (though the tease was merciless), but they did confirm more collabs are coming. “I can’t tell you who, but they’re big. Like, really big.”
Despite their rep as a self-sufficient loop-pedal wizard, Sultana says working with others unlocked new parts of their songwriting brain. “It’s like mentorship. Other people hear things you’d never think of. They might say something you’d never say. It’s sick.”
That sense of exploration extends beyond the collabs. “There’s no genre,” they said. “It’s about sonics. Whatever it feels like, that’s what I do.” That includes the return of the saxophone—a long-lost flame from a brief stint in middle school band class, led by what they described as “a full-on, high school low-key alcoholic.”
The instrument’s now a centerpiece, weaving its way through Terra Firma like a comeback arc for a rejected lead character. “I’ve been whipping that out heaps lately,” they said with a grin.
Guitar, however, still anchors everything. “You can never really have enough guitar,” they said. Fitting, then, that their own signature Fender Strat was just released—based on the American Pro series, color-matched to the shirt they were wearing during the interview. “It’s crazy,” they admitted, still wrapping their head around the idea of having a signature model. “I tweaked the hell out of it.”
And while Terra Firma is full of personal excavation, it’s not a heartbreak record. “There’s definitely no heartbreak,” they clarified. “I don’t write about heartbreak. I’m in an amazing relationship with my partner—my one—and I’ve never felt more fulfilled.”
At the time of our chat, Australia was slowly reopening. Tash had just been cleared to play some shows again, including a pair of 500-person gigs that had them giddy. “I’ve never been so keen for a show in my life,” they said. “It’s wild—I’ve played Coachella, Lolla, Bonnaroo, massive crowds—but right now 500 people sounds incredible.”
They’re aware that the rest of the world was still catching up. “We’re just the civilians,” Tash said, philosophical and funny in the same breath. “Call your nana. Plant some veggies. Learn the saxophone.”
Honestly? Sounds like the perfect groove.
Watch the interview above and then check out the videos below.
