Daniel Leo Sultan (born 1983) is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, actor and author. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 he won Best Male Artist and Best Blues & Roots Album for his second album, '' Get Out While You Can'' (November 2009). At the 2014 ceremony he won Best Rock Album for '' Blackbird'' (April 2014), which had reached number four on the ARIA Albums Chart. In 2017, Sultan's record '' Killer'' was nominated for three ARIA awards: Best Male Artist, Best Rock Album, and Best Independent Release. Sultan's debut children's music album '' Nali & Friends'' was named Best Children's Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2019.

Early life

Daniel Leo Sultan was born in 1983. He spent much of his early life in Fitzroy (a suburb of Melbourne). His father is of Irish descent, a lawyer who once worked for the Aboriginal Legal Service. His mother, Roslyn Sultan, is an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples o ...

of the

Arrernte Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia. It may refer to: * Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?) * Arrernte people, Aboriginal Austral ...

and Gurindji people. When Sultan was three, the family visited his mother's ancestral lands in Yuendumu (300 kilometres north-west of

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

) in the Tanami Desert; soon after they returned to Melbourne. When a teenager, his parents separated and he lived with his mother in Cairns for three years. At seventeen he returned to Fitzroy. Sultan started playing guitar at four and wrote his first song at ten. His mother's friend gave him an "old, clapped-out electric guitar" and, when living in Fitzroy, he began singing at local pubs. In 2000 he met Scott Wilson, a guitarist, at a Williamstown pub's karaoke night and the pair began writing tracks together. Wilson later recalled "What struck me at first was that he could play piano and guitar and he was a great foil for what I was doing... After a while playing together he said, 'Can I sing this one?' I said, 'Do you know the words?'...

e had a E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...

mighty voice. A lot of people can play guitar... Not many can sing like that."

Career

2006–2008: ''Homemade Biscuits''

Sultan released his debut solo album, ''

Homemade Biscuits ''Homemade Biscuits'' is the debut studio album by Australian singer Dan Sultan, released in March 2006. The album was produced with the help of funding from the John Butler's Seed program. Reception WaterFront Records said "Dan Sultan has emerg ...

'' on 13 March 2006, with most tracks written by Wilson or co-written by Sultan and Wilson. It was produced by Wilson at Flowerpress Studios, Newport, and True Form Services, Spotswood. Other performers on the album were Lazare Agnekis, Neil Gray, Elijah Maiyah, Lochile McKlean and Ben Wicks. He received the financial assistance of John Butler's Seed program. At the 2007 Deadly Awards, Sultan won the Single Release of the Year for "Your Love Is Like a Song", which was co-written with Wilson. Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. Your Love Is Like a Song; or at "Performer:" Dan Sultan He performed his self-written track, "Roslyn", at the National Sorry Day concert in May 2007, which describes his mother, a member of the stolen generation, removed from her family when she was six or seven. Sultan and Wilson were invited by Paul Kelly to record a cover version of "This Land Is Mine", originally by singer-songwriter

Kev Carmody Kevin Daniel Carmody (born 1946), better known by his stage name Kev Carmody, is an Aboriginal Australian singer-songwriter and musician, a Murri people, Murri man from northern Queensland. He is best known for the song "From Little Things Big T ...

, for a various artists tribute album of Carmody's work, '' Cannot Buy My Soul'' which was released in February 2007. They also performed at two concerts of the same name: the Sydney Festival in January 2008 and Queensland Music Festival in August 2009. In January 2008 Sultan's backing band consisted of Eugene Ball on trumpet, Ben Gillespie on trombone, Joshua Jones on bass guitar, Peter Marin on drums,

Ash Naylor Ashley John Naylor (born 1970) is an Australian musician, best known for his guitar and vocals in Melbourne-based band Even.Spencer et al, (2007Naylor, Ashleyentry. Retrieved 4 February 2010. In 1987 at the age of 17, Naylor played guitar in ...

on guitar and Gina Woods on keyboards.''The Newcastle Herald'', 24 January 2008, "He is the Sultan of sing" by Stephanie Bradley Sultan and his band have performed at Australian music festivals.

2009–2013: ''Get Out While You Can''

In November 2009, Sultan released his second studio album, '' Get Out While You Can'', which peaked in the ARIA Albums Chart top 100 in late May 2010 – six months after it was issued. It reached No. 1 on the independent Australian charts and was a

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

feature album. Sultan describes his music as "country soul rock'n'roll". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 he won Best Male Artist and Best Blues & Roots Album for ''Get Out While You Can''. In October that year, he also won Best Independent Artist and Best Independent Blues & Roots Album at the Australian Independent Record Awards (AIR Awards).

2014–2018: ''Blackbird'', ''Dirty Ground'' and ''Killer''

In February 2014 Sultan supported Bruce Springsteen's Melbourne and Hunter Valley gigs on his Australian tour. In April 2014, Sultan released his third studio album '' Blackbird'', which reached No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart and spent thirteen weeks in the Top 50. At the ARIA Awards in November that year ''Blackbird'' won Best Rock Album. Also in November he released his first

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, '' Dirty Ground'', which reached the ARIA Albums top 100. On 13 November 2015, Sultan released '' Open Live'', a live album recorded at his sold-out National Theatre show of his '' Blackbird'' tour. On 28 July 2017, Sultan's released his fourth studio album '' Killer'', which was produced by

Jan Skubiszewski Jan Skubiszewski (pronounced ) (born 1981) is an Australian multi-award-winning composer, record producer, songwriter and sound engineer from Melbourne, Australia. He is also a professional multi-instrumentalist. His work as a record producer and ...

. The album peaked at number 5 on the ARIA charts was nominated for three ARIA awards. On 19 May 2018, Sultan released his collaborative EP titled '' Killer Under a Blood Moon'' which saw Sultan re-record songs from this ''Killer'' album with other Australian artists. In June 2018, Sultan postponed the balance of a national tour after criticism of a live performance and issues with alcohol abuse.

2019: ''Aviary Takes'' and ''Nali & Friends''

In March 2019, Sultan released his fifth studio album ''

Aviary Takes ''Aviary Takes'' is the fifth studio album by Australian musician Dan Sultan, released on 15 March 2019. The album sees Sultan recording acoustic and piano versions of his most celebrated tracks from his four studio albums to date, as well as thre ...

'', which was preluded with the lead single "Love & Hate" released on 22 February 2019. In April 2019, Sultan released his sixth studio and first children's album '' Nali & Friends''. Produced by

and released by ABC Music, Nali & Friends debuted at #1 on the Australian iTunes Children's charts, and was named Best Children's Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2019. Sultan published his first children's book, ''Nali'' (co-written with Rhys Graham), in December 2019.

Other projects

Sultan made his screen debut in the 2009 feature film '' Bran Nue Dae'', alongside

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy Award, a Primetime Em ...

, Missy Higgins and Jessica Mauboy. Sultan is a sometime member of Black Arm Band, a loose collection of various indigenous musicians. He was also involved in Paul Kelly's '' The Merri Soul Sessions'' project.

Sexual assault allegations

On 28 February 2020, Sultan was charged with indecent assault by Victoria Police over a September 2008 incident in Melbourne. The charges led Sultan to withdraw from performing at the Perth Festival (which he was headlining), the Port Fairy Folk Festival (both scheduled to take place the following week), and the Parrtjima Festival in

in April 2020. The charges were dropped by Victorian police and struck out during a hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court in November 2020.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other appearances

Notes

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - , rowspan="3" ,

AIR Awards of 2010 The AIR Awards of 2010 (or Jägermeister Independent Awards of 2010) is the fifth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at The Forum Theatre, in Melb ...

, himself , Best Independent Artist , , - , rowspan="2" , ''Get Out While You Can'' , Best Independent Album , , - , Best Independent Blues and Roots Album , , - , AIR Awards of 2014 , ''Blackbird'' , Best Independent Blues and Roots Album , , - , AIR Awards of 2017 , "January 26" (with A.B. Original) , Best Independent Single/EP , , - , AIR Awards of 2018 , ''Killer'' , Best Independent Blues and Roots Album , , - , AIR Awards of 2019 , ''Killer Under a Blood Moon'' , Best Independent Blues and Roots Album , , -

APRA Awards

The

APRA Awards APRA Awards may refer to one of two awards ceremonies: *APRA Awards (Australia) *APRA Awards (New Zealand) The APRA Music Awards are several annual and two-yearly award ceremonies run in New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association ...

are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". ! , - , 2011 , , "Letter" (Dan Sultan, Scott Wilson) , , Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year , , , , , - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, "Under Your Skin" (Dan Sultan, Alexander Burnett, Pip Norman) , Song of the Year , , , - , rowspan="3" , 2015 , "Kimberley Calling" (Dan Sultan) , Song of the Year , , Note: user may have to click on a tab e.g. 'Song of the Year' to access further information. , - , "The Same Man" (Dan Sultan, Pip Norman) , rowspan="2" , Rock of the Year , , rowspan="2" , , - , "Under Your Skin" (Dan Sultan, Alexander Burnett, Pip Norman) , , - , 2018 , "Hold It Together" (Dan Sultan, Alexander Burnett) , Song of the Year , , , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, "Every Day My Mother's Voice" (with Paul Kelly) for ''

The Final Quarter ''The Final Quarter'' is a 2019 Australian documentary, directed by Ian Darling and produced by Shark Island Productions, about the final stages of the Australian football career of Adam Goodes, during which he was the target of repeated boo ...

'' , , Best Original Song Composed for the Screen , , , , , - ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

, "Every Day My Mother's Voice" (with Paul Kelly) , Song of the Year , , , - , 2021 , "Gadigal Land" by Midnight Oil featuring Dan Sultan, Joel Davison, Kaleena Briggs & Bunna Lawrie , Song of the Year , , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Sultan has won 4 awards from 15 nominations. , - , rowspan="3", 2010 , rowspan="3", '' Get Out While You Can'' , Best Male Artist , , - , Best Blues & Roots Album , , - , Best Independent Release , , - , rowspan="5",

, rowspan="4", '' Blackbird'' ,

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

, , - , Best Male Artist , , - , Best Independent Release , , - , Best Rock Album , , - , Blackbird Album Tour , Best Australian Live Act , , - , rowspan="3",

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, rowspan="3", '' Killer'' , Best Male Artist , , - , Best Rock Album , , - , Best Independent Release , , - , rowspan="2", 2018 , rowspan="2", '' Killer Under a Blood Moon'' , Best Male Artist , , - , Best Adult Contemporary Album , , - , rowspan="2",

, ''

'' , Best Blues & Roots Album , , - , '' Nali & Friends'' ,

Best Children's Album The Grammy Award for Best Children's Album (from 2020: Grammy Award for Best Children's Music Album) is an honor presented since 2012 at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honor ...

, , -

The Deadly Awards

The Deadly Awards, commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. The ran from 1995 to 2013. , - ,

Deadly Awards 2006 The Deadlys Awards was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. Music *Most Promising New Talent in Music: Sharnee Fenwick *Single Release of the Year: Lo ...

, himself , Most Promising New Talent , , - ,

Deadly Awards 2007 The 2007 Deadly Awards took place at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall. Featured guests included many people associated with the 1967 Referendum. Guest performances included Jessica Mauboy, Casey Donovan, Lou Bennett, Michael Tuahine and Kut ...

, "Your Love is Like a Song" , Single of the Year , , - , rowspan="2",

Deadly Awards 2010 The 2010 Deadly Awards were hosted by Luke Carroll and Naomi Wenitong (of The Last Kinection) at the Sydney Opera House on 27 September 2010. Performers included Archie Roach, Dan Sultan, Christine Anu, Frank Yamma, Ali Mills and the Bangarra Dan ...

, himself , Artist of the Year , , - , "Letter" , Single of the Year , , -

J Awards

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. , - , J Awards of 2017 , himself , Double J Artist of the Year , , -

Music Victoria Awards

The Music Victoria Awards, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005 (although nominee and winners are unknown from 2005 to 2012). , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

, himself , Best Indigenous Act , , - , rowspan="2",

, rowspan="2", ''Blackbird'' , Best Album , , - , Best Male Artist , , - , 2015 , himself , Best Indigenous Act , , - , rowspan="2",

, rowspan="2", himself , Best Male , , - , Best Aboriginal Act , , -

National Indigenous Music Awards

The National Indigenous Music Awards recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians from throughout Australia. They commenced in 2004. , - , 2011 , himself , Act of the Year , , - , rowspan="5",

, himself , Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", ''Blackbird'' , Album of the Year , , - , Cover Art of the Year , , - , "Under Your Skin" , Film Clip of the Year , , - , "The Same Man" , Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="3", 2015 , himself , Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", "Dirty Ground" , Film Clip of the Year , , - , Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", 2016 , himself , Artist of the Year , , - , ''Open LIVE – Live from the National Theatre, Melbourne'' , Album of the Year , , - , rowspan="4",

, himself , Artist of the Year , , - , "Magnetic" , rowspan="2", Film Clip of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", "

January 26 Events Pre-1600 * 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph. *1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people. *1564 – The Council of Trent ...

" , , - , Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", 2018 , "Kingdom" , Song of the Year , , - , ''Killer'' , Album of the Year , , - ,

, ''Avairy Takes'' , Album of the Year , , -

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. , - ,

, Dan Sultan , Live Blues and Roots Act of the Year , , - , 2018 , Dan Sultan , Live Blues and Roots Act of the Year ,

Screen Music Awards

, - , 2019 , "

Every Day My Mother's Voice "Every Day My Mother's Voice" is a song by Australian recording artists Paul Kelly and Dan Sultan. The song was released on 3 May 2019, and recorded for ''The Final Quarter''; a 2019 Australian documentary about the final stages of the Austr ...

" , Best Original Song Composed for the Screen , , -

South Australian Music Awards

The

South Australian Music Awards The South Australian Music Awards, also known as SA Music Awards, commonly SAM Awards, formerly Fowler's Live Music Awards (FLMA), are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary mu ...

(previously known as the Fowler's Live Music Awards) are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary music industry. They commenced in 2012. , - , rowspan="2" , 2017 , rowspan="2" , "January 26" (A.B. Original featuring Dan Sultan) , Best Song , , - , Best Video , , -

References

External links

*
The Black Arm Band bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sultan, Dan 1983 births Living people Indigenous Australian musicians People from Williamstown, Victoria ARIA Award winners 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian male singers Australian mandolinists