I
t’s a crisp winter’s day in mel-
bourne and Dan Sultan, dressed
head-to-toe in black denim, is pac-
ing around the upstairs bandroom of
The Gasometer Hotel in Collingwood, not
far from his home in Fitzroy. When the mu-
sician sits, he compulsively sweeps his hand
a cross the t able. W hen he st a nds, he smokes.
He might have completed his new album
Killer, but the nervous energy is palpable.
Perhaps it’s because Killer is different.
After three albums of gutsy roots-rock, Sul-
tan’s legion of fans will laud Killer for its
big-swinging hooks, smart pop arrange-
ments and that distinctive voice – a soul-
ful, dusty bellow. That’s if they embrace
the sonics. It isn’t that Sultan’s gone elec-
tronic, exactly. But Killer’s genesis can be
traced to new song “Cul De Sac”, a down-
beat, synth-drenched co-write
with Julian Hamilton of the Pre-
sets. For an artist who’s previous-
lywonARIAsforBestBlues&
Roots Album (Get Out While You
Can,2010)andBestRockAlbum
(Blackbird,2014),thisisSultan’s
leap.
“I didn’t want to make the same
recordtwice,”hesays.“I’vegota
reallyshortattentionspanandIgetabit
disengaged if I’m not scaring myself. I think
jumping off the deep end artistically is a
genuinelypositivething.Itmightnotwork
allthetime.Imean,Iwrote60fuckin’songs
forKiller,soIknowitdidn’tworkallthe
time.ButIwanttomakemusicIwantto
listen to.”
Thesnappygroovesofbigbandstompers
“Hold It Together” and “Magnetic” preserve
Sultan’s hallmarks. But now there’s flash-
es of future R&B (“Over in Time”), stirring
Adele-like torch ballads (“Fire Under Foot”),
and gospel-flecked opener “Drover” – an ac-
countoftwobrothersworkingthelandin
theNorthernTerritory–isanchoredbya
minimalist hip-hop shuffle.
Killercame together with the help of pro-
ducer, friend and bandmate, Jan Skubisze-
wski, but sees collaborations with a diverse
lot,includingPipNorman(TZU,Jarryd
James,TroyeSivan),JonHume(Evermore,
Lisa Mitchell) and the aforementioned Pre-set. This creative stable shouldn’t shock,
says Sultan. “I’ve never belonged to a cer-
tain clique or style,” he explains, brushing
his arm across the table some more. “Which
means I’ve found it easy to play a guitar solo
on a Spiderbait record, then write a blue-
grass song with the Wilson Pickers or a hook
on a Hilltop Hoods or A.B. Original record.
It can be frustrating when people don’t re-
ally know where to put me or what I am.
But I can’t blame them. I don’t know what
I am either.”
Born to an Indigenous mother and fa-
ther of Irish descent, Sultan found his feet
at open mic nights and the thriving Mel-
bourne music scene of the early ’00s. He
never considered himself an Indigenous
musician, but others did. “I’d be playing in
a rock & roll band with a bunch of white
guys and they put me on the
world music stage after an Afri-
can drum band,” he says, still in-
credulous. “And we’re standing
there with pomade in our hair,
black jeans and cowboy boots
playing electric guitars. But I
got over it a long time ago. I’m
an artist who happens to be Ab-
original, I’m not an Aboriginal
artist. I don’t have to prove it to anybody. It
affects my music as much as growing up in
Melbourne or the people I’ve been in love
with. Which is in every way, so therefore in
no way whatsoever.”
Sultan speaks of love often on Killer, but
with resignation. “It’ll be over in time,” he
sings on the bruising “Over in Time”, “we
don’t have to make up our minds.” Is there
someone out there who thinks Killer is
about them? “Probably,” he laughs. “Might
be a few people, if I’m honest. It’s interest-
ing, you release a record and you tour and
you have this life. You’re cruising around,
you play Australia, maybe go overseas, and
shit fucks up in some way. You go through
some shit, then it’s time to start writing
about another record. So you write about all
that, then you release it and you go through
it all again. Then it’s time to start writing for
the next record. That’s how it’s worked out
so far.” He laughs. “But that’s OK. I’m noth-
ing if not honest.”DAN SULTAN
WON’T SIT STILL
BY MARCUS TEAGUEThe Melbourne singer-songwriter’s bold fourth
album balances new sounds with old hurtsCLOSE-UP
“I think
jumping off the
deep end
artistically is a
genuinely
positive thing,”
says Sultan.64 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com