Suddenly I see... how a trip to jungle opened pop star KT’s eyes to harm wreaked by illegal logging
AS a solo singer with a guitar, she found fame with chart hits such as Black Horse & The Cherry Tree and Suddenly I See.
But KT Tunstall was shocked to find that many guitars are made from illegally logged wood.
The Scots singer now preparing for a UK tour with Gary Barlow travelled on an eco-expedition to Peru organised specially for musicians.
She was joined on the trip by Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine and the pair reached remote parts of the Madre de Dios, close to the border with Brazil.
She said: ‘The sad situation is that a lot of guitars in the Western world are made from illegally logged wood from the Amazon jungle.
‘It’s a bit of a shock because the last thing you want to do is be playing an instrument that is made from it.’
Previously, Gibson guitars have been fined for using illegal wood from Madagascar. Other firms have also come under scrutiny for their use of endangered wood. The trip was organised by Reverb, a non-profit organisation led by rocker Adam Gardner of the US band Guster and his wife Lauren Sullivan, an environmentalist.
Miss Tunstall, 42, who met a woman from the Saweto indigenous community whose father was killed by illegal loggers, added: ‘The pressure we put on really led to some movement in terms of trying to get some protection for these people because their family members are being murdered trying to defend trees. It’s so wrong.’