Tash Sultana Lands Spot On Fender Stratocaster 70th Anniversary Celebrations

Aussie artist Tash Sultana (who uses they/them pronouns) has long played the classic Fender Stratocaster for their music, and there’s a reason why: the guitar itself is a classic.

With a timeless, simple and elegant look, the Fender Stratocaster is sleek and the ultimate guitar for players – lighter to hold than a Gibson and prettier than other brands you might want to name.

It’s the kind of instrument that artists can project their own dreams onto, with Sultana looping and offering fresh neo-soul sounds, Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello’s delay effect, and Nile Rodgers bringing the funk – all with the Fender Stratocaster as their backdrop.

This week, the Fender Stratocaster turns 70, and to celebrate, Tash Sultana performed in a video celebrating its durability and legacy alongside Morello, Rodgers, and other guitarists, including Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil, Ari O'Neal, Mateus Asato, Rei, Jimmie Vaughan, Rebecca Lovell and Tyler Bryant.

Together, the all-star team pay tribute to one of Fender’s most famous players, Jimi Hendrix, and put their own diverse spins on the classic, Voodoo Child (Slight Return).

You can watch the video below.

“I once was a little kid in a Music Store surrounded by guitars I thought I’d never be able to have,” Sultana said about their contributions to the “Forever ahead of its time” instrument’s epic celebrations on Instagram.

They continued, “For Fender Stratocaster’s 70th anniversary I was asked to join in this project considered among some of my absolute guitar hero’s which [is] fkn crazy”.

Sultana rematerialized last August with their latest release, the Sugar EP, which followed 2021’s Terra Firma.

The EP was billed as the first half of their unnamed third album, and, as The Music’s Ellie Robinson declared in a review, “This is one of those records primed for blissed-out highs and melts into couches – but as dorky as it may appear at face value [referring to the album cover], the six songs on offer here are some of Sultana’s tightest, most well thought-out and, to be frank, best.”

In a recent The Music cover story, Sultana affirmed that they’re in a “very freeing” stage of their career, which has led to them “writing way better music because of the headspace that I'm in. I'm not trying to write a hit or any shit like that. I'm just enjoying the process.” 

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