Flow State (album)

Flow State is the debut studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Tash Sultana, released on 31 August 2018, through their[4] own record label, Lonely Lands Records (distributed by Sony Music Australia in Australia, and Mom + Pop elsewhere).[5]

Flow State
Studio album by
Tash Sultana
Released31 August 2018 (2018-08-31)
StudioThe Music Farm, Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia ● Woodstock Studios, Melbourne, Australia ● Lonely Lands Studios, Melbourne, Australia
GenreNeo-soul, psychedelic soul, psychedelic folk, psychedelic funk, downtempo, psychedelic rock, folk rock, funk rock
Length61:00
Label
ProducerTash Sultana
Tash Sultana chronology
Notion
(2016)		 Flow State
(2018)
Singles from Flow State
  1. "Murder to the Mind"
    Released: 21 April 2017
  2. "Mystik"
    Released: 6 October 2017
  3. "Salvation"
    Released: 21 June 2018[1]
  4. "Harvest Love"
    Released: 13 July 2018[2]
  5. "Free Mind"
    Released: 17 August 2018[3]

Sultana spent parts of 2017 and 2018 writing and recording the album, and was seen working with Matt Corby and Anderson Paak throughout their album sessions.[6] Melbourne audio engineer Nikita Miltiadou was pictured in recording session images, and was a previous engineer on Sultana's prior EP and singles.

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, Flow State won the ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album.[7]

Background and recording

Following the release of their extended play Notion in 2016, Sultana toured worldwide. In between tour dates, Sultana spent time in the studio to work on what was described to be their first album. In June 2017, in an interview with Fairfax, Sultana described their plans to release an album in April 2018.

While the timing was pushed back, due to several health issues, and touring delays, Sultana gradually released sneak peeks of the album recording process via their social media channels. Those snapshots featured footage and imagery of them in the studio. In 2017, Sultana released the two singles. "Murder to the Mind" and "Mystik". On 21 June 2018, Sultana premiered the song "Salvation" live on triple j Breakfast with Ben and Liam, and announced the forthcoming release of their first studio album, Flow State.[8][9] They have subsequently released two further singles, "Harvest Love" and "Free Mind". In a Gold Coast Bulletin interview in August 2018, Sultana commented (regarding alcohol and other drugs in music) "you (I) hear all of the stories again and again and again (sic) from other musicians about alcohol and drugs and while it's fun to do for a bit, I don't know that is fun enough to try to sustain a life".

Artwork and title

In an April 2018 interview with online Spanish blog Indierocks, Sultana spoke about the influence behind the name Flow State and said "it's the term to refer to when you access a part of your mind known as your being, and you find something you are passionate about."[10]

In Sultana's social media, they make reference to Ben Lopez, and Pat Fox as being responsible for the creation of the art for the single "Salvation”, with Fox being responsible for the album art creation.[11]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76/100
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Consequence of SoundB+[13]
The Guardian[14]
Rolling Stone[15]
Beat Magazine[16]
Herald Sun[17]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 76, based on 4 reviews, an indication of "generally favorable reviews".[18] Ryan Bray of Consequence of Sound gave the album a B+, commenting "This is great pop music with an edge, a record full of good vibes and bad attitude, that somehow manages to work everything out splendidly."[13] Maura Johnston of Rolling Stone awarded the album four of five stars (or 80%), stating that "After years of being a festival and YouTube sensation, Sultana's thrown down the gauntlet forcefully."[15] For Beat Magazine, Nathan Gunn commented "This record (Flow State) represents a quantum leap -- a major milestone in Sultana's seemingly short career. But don't underestimate her. This is just the beginning." and appointed the album a rating of 9/10[16] Of Flow State, AllMusic's Mark Deming wrote "Sultana could stand to edit herself a bit better, but Flow State is unquestionably the work of a first-rate talent with potential, and if anyone is going to teach young women about the innate coolness of the guitar, she seems like just the person to do it.", giving the album 3.5 of 5 stars, or 70%.[12] Mikey Cahill of the Herald Sun rated the album four of five stars, commenting "I thought she’d boxed herself in on the eager Jungle EP. Here she shows us she can go toe-to-toe with Hendrix, Erykah Badu, India. Arie and plenty more. She punches. She reigns."[17]

In a more critical review, Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian awarded Flow State 3 of 5 stars, commenting "Lacking any particularly memorable melodies, it is expansive and mellow, recalling 90s singer-songwriter fare with added R&B flavours, spacey instrumentation and psychedelic guitar wigouts.".[14]

Release and promotion

On 21 June 2018, Sultana announced Flow State was available for pre-order, and was confirmed to be released on 31 August 2018.

The album was announced to be released through Sultana's own record label Lonely Lands Records, an imprint of Sony Music Australia, and through Mom+Pop Music in the US.

Singles

In 2017, Sultana released "Murder to the Mind" and "Mystik", which have both been certified gold in Australia in 2018.[19] In June 2018, Sultana released the album's official lead single, "Salvation". On 13 July 2018, Sultana released the single "Harvest Love", followed by "Free Mind" on 17 August 2018.

Music videos

On 13 July, Sultana released a 'live lounge' recording of "Harvest Love". As of August 2018, the "Harvest Love" live lounge recording has over 300,000 views on YouTube.[20]

Sultana released a lyric video for "Free Mind" on 17 August 2018. On 12 September 2018, Sultana released the official music video for "Free Mind" featuring footage from Sultana's tour and travelling, filmed and edited by Dara Munnis, and directed by Munnis and Sultana.[21][22]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tash Sultana.

No.TitleLength
1."Seed (Intro)"2:36
2."Big Smoke"3:58
3."Cigarettes"5:22
4."Murder to the Mind" (album mix)4:16
5."Seven"5:06
6."Salvation"4:19
7."Pink Moon"6:50
8."Mellow Marmalade"3:52
9."Harvest Love"6:05
10."Mystik" (album mix)4:08
11."Free Mind"3:25
12."Blackbird"9:34
13."Outro"1:51
Total length:61:00

Personnel

Credits obtained from All Music.

  • Tash Sultana – executive producer, composer, arranger, composer, primary artist
  • Nikita Miltiadou – producer, engineer, mix assistant
  • Dann Hume – mix engineer
  • Andrei Eremin – mastering engineer
  • Richard Stolz – engineer
  • Ben Lopez – illustrator, painter
  • Pat Fox – art director, graphic designer
  • Dara Munnis – album photography

Charts
Chart (2018–19) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] 2
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[24] 43
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 41
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 168
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27] 22
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[28] 18
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] 18
Irish Albums (IRMA)[30] 67
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[31] 12
Scottish Albums (OCC)[32] 64
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[33] 57
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 22
UK Albums (OCC)[35] 67
US Billboard 200[36] 51
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[37] 4
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[38] 5

Release history
Album formats and release dates
Region Date Format Label
Australia 31 August 2018
Lonely Lands Records/Sony Music Entertainment Australia
New Zealand
United States
Mom+Pop Music
United Kingdom
Columbia Records
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gollark: Discord counts them.
gollark: It is now more popular\* than Esolangs.\* by member count
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References
  1. "Tash Sultana releases "Salvation" - first track off new album Flow State". triple j. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  2. "Tash Sultana releases soulful new track "Harvest Love"". triple j. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  3. "Tash Sultana releases new track "Free Mind"". tonedeaf.com.au. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  4. "Tash Sultana Will Leave The Past Behind On Flow State". 7 August 2018.
  5. "Flow State by Tash Sultana". Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  6. "Matt Corby & Tash Sultana Are Collaborating On New Music - Music Feeds". Music Feeds. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  7. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (28 November 2018). "And the ARIA Award Goes To..." Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  8. http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/news/musicnews/tash-sultana-new-single-salvation-debut-album-flow-state/9890848
  9. http://themusic.com.au/news/all/2018/06/21/tash-sultana-reveals-first-single-from-upcoming-debut-album-flow-state/
  10. "Entrevista con Tash Sultana". Indie Rocks! (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  11. "TASH SULTANA on Instagram: "Tune into @triple_j this Thursday 7am(AEST) to hear the world premiere of my new single 'Salvation' and debut album release info.. Art..."". Instagram. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  12. "Flow State - Tash Sultana | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  13. "Album Review: Tash Sultana Delivers Dazzling Debut with Flow State". Consequence of Sound. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  14. Aroesti, Rachel (31 August 2018). "Tash Sultana: Flow State review – Australian one-person band's passionate debut". the Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  15. Johnston, Maura (31 August 2018). "Review: Tash Sultana's Excellently All-Over-the-Place 'Flow State'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  16. "'Flow State' is only the beginning for Tash Sultana". Beat Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 December 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  17. Cahill, Mikey (11 September 2018). "First review: Paul McCartney refusing to live in the past on new album, plus Troye Sivan, Tash Sultana, Jake Shears and more". Herald Sun. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  18. Flow State by Tash Sultana, retrieved 11 September 2018
  19. "ARIA Charts Accreditations 2018 singles". 31 October 2018.
  20. Tash Sultana (12 July 2018), Tash Sultana - Harvest Love (Live Lounge Recording), retrieved 26 August 2018
  21. Tash Sultana (11 September 2018), Tash Sultana 'Free Mind' (Official Video), retrieved 12 September 2018
  22. "✨ TASH SULTANA | 'FLOW STATE'#1 ARIA AUSTRALIAN ARTIST ALBUMTOP 20 CHART DEBUTS GLOBALLYRELEASES VIDEO FOR 'FREE MIND' ✨". mailchi.mp. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  23. "Australiancharts.com – Tash Sultana – Flow State". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  24. "Austriancharts.at – Tash Sultana – Flow State" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  25. "Ultratop.be – Tash Sultana – Flow State" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  26. "Ultratop.be – Tash Sultana – Flow State" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  27. "Tash Sultana Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  28. "Dutchcharts.nl – Tash Sultana – Flow State" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  29. "Offiziellecharts.de – Tash Sultana – Flow State" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  30. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Tash Sultana". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  31. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  32. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  33. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 5: del 25.1.2019 al 31.1.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  34. "Swisscharts.com – Tash Sultana – Flow State". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  35. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  36. "Tash Sultana Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  37. "Tash Sultana Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  38. "Tash Sultana Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
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