Having made her talents and songwriting intent clear at the top of 2024 with a dynamic debut single in ‘Electric Blue’, Sydney’s Tash Wolf today returns with ‘The Deal’. An attitude-heavy, driving piece of pop-licked rock music, ‘The Deal’ is the perfect summation of Wolf’s energy: unbridled, confident and striking.
Built on a bed of riffs and meticulously produced electronics, ‘The Deal’ hits hard and leaves the listener wanting more from this fresh voice; one that audiences are undoubtedly going to be hearing much more from as the year rolls out.
For Wolf, ‘The Deal’ explores themes of introspection and the unstable nature of relationships, especially in their early stages. Taken from Tash’s forthcoming debut EP, ‘The Deal’ riffs on propulsive rhythms as her vocals contemplate how to feel when in the midst of a whirlwind of desire tied with emotional unknowns.
“The story unfolded from the feelings I was having at the time. I was losing myself to someone whose intention didn’t match their words. The chorus belts, “When we go up and down, I don’t know how to feel…” One minute, feeling lifted off the ground, until they’re switching sides (in the third line of the chorus), and insecure about feeling vulnerable. The song is introspective as I try to figure out how to navigate these feelings which are heightened through the tumultuousness of the potential relationship.”
TASH WOLF
Written in a session with renowned producer Ethan Schneiderman (Julian Casablancas, Rosa Linn), and Dutch Writer, Blanks (aka Simon De Wit), ‘The Deal’ was born out of early sonic inspirations like The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’.
“We thought the song needed an edgy - sounding guitar riff, so we started writing the riff in Drop D Tuning to fit the pulsing kick drum, each note selected with intention. Guitarist at heart, I felt compelled to use the instrument in a unique way. The guitar slides you hear were tracked by Ethan, using a slide and a volume pedal on his Les Paul. We ended up using a combination of my demo vocals from the day; “rock-starring it”, according to Ethan, as I held the SM7 to belt those high chorus vocals. I love that the song really leans into my guitar style. It’s playful, danceable and full of energy..”
TASH WOLF
Though, with ‘The Deal’, Tash Wolf is introducing herself to more listeners and music-lovers, music and a creative drive has been part of her life from an early age. Becoming obsessed with the likes of The Beatles and David Bowie thanks to her parents’ musical tastes, Wolf developed an obsession for the guitar and the myriad sounds it can make, after being exposed to the music of artists as diverse as Jimi Hendrix and John Mayer as she headed into her teen years. She cites Haim, Arctic Monkeys and St Vincent as modern influences.
Wolf’s talents as a guitarist were encouraged by mentors early on, with songwriting and self-expression via singing soon following. Since those early days, she has built a solid and fierce following online; her catalogue of original and cover material that has been shared on the internet has been landing with impact, leading to further success on Spotify – ‘Electric Blue’ scoring editorial playlisting on Indie Shuffle and New Music Friday (Indonesia).
Collaborating with artists including Dave Stewart (The Eurythmics), Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park), Bryan Adams, Bruno Major and Mahalia Barnes, Tash Wolf’s talent is proving to be diverse and far-reaching, demonstrating exciting potential still to be tapped into. With ‘The Deal’, she takes a strong step forward into the spotlight, proving that she is only just getting revved up.
Tash Wolf has also recently confirmed that she will be joining Australian pop sensation Charley as a guest guitarist, for their tour alongside American artist Fletcher in Australia & New Zealand this July.
LIVE SHOW
Saturday June 15th Waywards Sydney, NSW
w/ Large Mirage & Megafauna