Dan Sultan has released his brand new single ‘The Same Man’, following on from his earlier shot of soul-rock, ‘Under Your Skin’, his first new music in over four years – and the first taste of his forthcoming third studio album from the acclaimed singer-songwriter.
As raw and honest as it is necessarily prodigious, the album sets Sultan’s wide-ranging talent as a songwriter and performer at the fore. The powerhouse riffs of first single ‘Under Your Skin’ (written with Sparkadia’s Alexander Burnett and TZU’s Pip Norman) are met by crackling gospel interludes, old-school rock and roll jams, pure country tones, bare and aching ballads, harmonies, horns, banjos – even an Arabic scale or two.
The album was recorded over two months inside Nashville’s famous Blackbird Studios, from which it takes its title. Sultan and his band, along with producer Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Buddy Guy, Kings Of Leon), pulled twelve-hour shifts in the studio each day, six days a week. At midnight, Sultan would retire to his hotel room to listen back to the day’s work, ready for another energetic session with King the following morning.
The pair formed a strong bond. “We became pretty close,” Sultan says. “We had a really good time making the record. And there were some amazing moments. They have an old guitar there that they get some artists to sign and I was asked to sign it – you engrave your name into it. And my name was between Neil Young and Buddy Guy on this guitar. That’s a moment. That’s something I’ll never forget.”
Of course, there are reasons Dan Sultan has a collection of ARIA, Deadly and AIR Awards to his name, including the 2010 ARIA for Best Male Artist. But Blackbird is a different animal. It’s an Australian musician coming into his own, stepping out to show the country and the world the many facets of his identity and artistry.
The next moment of clarity is ours to experience.
BLACKBIRD IS OUT APRIL 4 VIA LIBERATION
