Mark Sultan

Mark Sultan has been a fixture in the ‘garage rock’ scene since fronting infamous Montreal punk rock band, ‘The Spaceshits’ as a teenager. From there, he helmed projects like ‘Les Sexareenos’, ‘BBQ’, ‘Mind Controls’, ‘The King Khan & BBQ Show’ and ‘The Almighty Defenders’. He has toured from North American through South American to Japan to Israel to Africa and back supporting many records on labels like Bomp!, Sympathy For The Record Industry, Goner, Fat Possum, Sub Pop, In The Red, Crypt, Vice, Norton, etc… He has toured with bands like Black Lips, King Khan & The Shrines, Vivian Girls, Clinic, etc and has opened for or headlined over a list of bands that reads like a music fan’s wet dream. Bands like Atlas Sound, Black Lips and Heavy Trash have covered/recorded his tunes. Recording as ‘Mark Sultan’ started in 2007 with his album ‘The Sultanic Verses’ (mastered by Jay Reatard), which garnered acclaim despite there being no publicity for it. The album ushered in a departure from the ‘garage rock’ sound he had pioneered – 2-3 minute masterpieces of well-written rock n roll; bona fide hits from eras past. He was the originator of the genre’s flirtation with ‘doo-wop’, and possessor of a voice comparable to soul greats like Sam Cooke. While Mark wasn’t trying to dismiss his love of all things rock’n’roll via his encyclopedic knowledge of obscure classics from the 50’s onward, he also needed to pursue other influences that had always haunted his brain; to explore the other sounds that shaped him since his teens: free jazz, noise, psych, country, etc… The formula worked. A true original sound was born. 2010’s new album ’$’ (recorded in 2008) on Last Gang Records will open ears and eyes to a name that is sometimes overlooked and to a voice and music that is sometimes miscredited – his talent and class will rise to the forefront without resorting to some peers’ manufactured hype.