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Tash Sultana On World Cafe

Tash Sultana performs at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.
Abi Reimold
/
WXPN
Tash Sultana performs at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.

If Tash Sultana didn't put her guitar down at the end of her performance, you might assume it was attached to the end of her arm. The same is true of the pedals and her feet. If you've ever seen her live, you might still not be convinced that she and the instruments she plays are separate entities.

Sultana is a guitar prodigy, looping master and righteous singer from Melbourne, Australia, and she plays every instrument you hear in this session herself, live onstage. She also shares her life story — from receiving her first guitar at 3 years old, to busking in the streets of Melbourne, to the time playing music shook her out of a terrifying nine-month bout of drug-induced psychosis.

Copyright 2021 XPN. To see more, visit XPN.

Talia Schlanger hosts World Cafe, which is distributed by NPR and produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. She got her start in broadcasting at the CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster. She hosted CBC Radio 2 Weekend Mornings on radio and was the on-camera host for two seasons of the television series CBC Music: Backstage, as well as several prime-time music TV specials for CBC, including the Quietest Concert Ever: On Fundy's Ocean Floor. Schlanger also guest hosted various flagship shows on CBC Radio One, including As It Happens, Day 6 and Because News. Schlanger also won a Canadian Screen Award as a producer for CBC Music Presents: The Beetle Roadtrip Sessions, a cross-country rock 'n' roll road trip.