The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Young Black Isle singer becomes first act to sign for new Belladrum Records label
It’s known for providing a shop window for young Scottish musicians – and now Belladrum has set up its own record label to promote them.
Young Black Isle singer Tamzene has become the first artist to sign for the new Belladrum Records, a spin-off of the annual Tartan Heart Festival.
It is thought to be the first music festival to create its own label.
Tamzene, 19, from Cromarty, started her musical career at eight-years-old learning piano and violin, encouraged by saxophonist father and salsa teaching mother.
At 14 she expanded her musical horizons by learning guitar and starting to write her own material.
A scholarship took Tamzene to Gordonstoun School – while she honed her skills busking on the streets of Inverness to raise funds for a school project to build water tanks in Thailand.
Having spent the last year building her live profile across a host of venues and festivals, she is currently a full-time student at Leeds College of Music.
After a long period writing songs on her own, she has recently started collaborating with Scottish songwriter JoeMcAlinden at his studio in Argyll – a creative relationship which is seeing the young artist develop a bolder, more coherent musical identity.
She said her earliest inspiration came from hearing the likes of Aretha Franklin and Eva Cassidy played around the house – while her own tastes include Nina Simone, Birdy and Alicia Keys.
Her soulful debut release on Belladrum Records, “Lullaby”, was written and recorded with Mr McAlinden and mixed by Grammy winner David Donaldson.
Belladrum Records director Joe Gibbs said: “As one of the most exciting new artists we’ve seen in some time, we’re thrilled that Tamzene will be the first act to sign with Belladrum Records.
“The Highlands has always had a deep natural reservoir of musical talent and we’re delighted that these artists have the option of partnering with a strong regionally-based label infrastructure – a platform which is also directly associated with one of Scotland’s biggest and bestmusic festivals.
“With the creation of this label, the diversity of the musicindustry intheHighlands and islands continues to grow and our ambition is to complement the incredible range of creative businesses already based across this region.”
“We’re thrilled that Tamzene will be the first act to sign”