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With 24 hours to prepare for her performance, Tunstall

performed as a one-man band, using her guitar, tambourine and a

loop pedal, making a notable mark on the industry. The album was

then re-released, spurting to No.3 in the charts, having earlier

charted at No.73.

Across thepond andback again

Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall is currently in the middle

of what some have labelled a “triumphant return”.

Having taken some time out of her whirlwind music career, she is

back and ready to unleash a whole new catalogue of material.

Born in Edinburgh, she later moved to St Andrews, where at the

age of four, she began to spark her musical endowment by taking

up the piano.

Tunstall was said to have been a part of a very academic family,

but had dreams to persevere with a musical-oriented path.

She attended Lawhead Primary and Madras College, in St.

Andrews, before then progressing on to studying at the Royal

Holloway, London, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama

& Music.

During Tunstall’s 20s, she played in the band Elia Drew and

Tomoko, which produced predominantly indie music, before

moving on and turning her talents toward songwriting, alongside

preforming, with the novice Fence Collective

Tunstall launched onto the music scene in the early naughties,

with the release of her debut album, Eye to the Telescope,

in 2004.

She then went on to captivate audiences with her live solo

performance of “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree”, on Later…with

Jools Holland, which according to Chart Stats, went on to

become on of the most radio-played singles of 2005 in the

United Kingdom.

By Mari Acciaioli

With 24 hours to prepare for her performance, Tunstall

performed as a one-man band, using her guitar, tambourine and a

loop pedal, making a notable mark on the industry. The album was

then re-released, spurting to No.3 in the charts, having earlier

charted at No.73.

As Tunstall’s musical career blossomed, her material was being

used on the big screen, by the likes of Ugly Betty and The Devil

Wears Prada.

In 2006, she launched her second album, which was solely

acoustic. At first, the album was exclusively available via postal

orders, from her website, but it was re-released a few months

later in stores, worldwide.

Her third album followed nearly a year after, premiering firstly

in Scotland, with the remainder of Britain following a week

later. The album reached No.1 on the Scottish Album Charts and

No.3 on the British Charts, and was a considerable milestone in

Tunstall’s career.

Tunstall had come a long way from touring and supporting

other acts, to being nominated for a Grammy, winning a BRIT

and having her music used for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign.

In 2014, she decided to move to Venice Beach, California, where

she took time out to truly get to know what path to take next,

and dug deep to uncover what she was capable of and expand

her musical talents, after stating that she felt burnt out.

‘The Loft’ Review

The Loft

23rd Aug 16

According to the singer-songwriter, the music that she has

produced since moving to California is the most “impassioned

and inspired of her life”, invigorated by the inspiring nature and

scenic spots, and new memories.

This September, KT is introducing her new full-length album,

which has been branded as the follow-up to her debut and

described as psychedelic rock, a different musical perspective

on her earlier work.

She will also be performing with the BBC’s Scottish Symphony

Orchestra at the Proms in the Park, in Glasgow.

Tunstall is currently in the middle of the “Highlands and

Islands” tour, where she will be performing an array of material

in preparation for the launch of her new album.

The singer-songwriter has been performing in venues at

Aberdeen, Forres, Inverness and Lerwick. “As

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According to the singer-songwriter, the music that she has

produced since moving to California is the most “impassioned

and inspired of her life”, invigorated by the inspiring nature and

I fel

t lik

e I d

ied,

...”

What KT Did NextKT Tunstall's recent relocation to California has paid dividends

as her return to Scotland, for a tour of the Highlands and

Islands, found her reinvigorated and bringing the Californian

sunshine with her to her show at the Loft.

As KT was playing in the barn, yes an actual barn magically

transformed into a sold-out 500 capacity venue (490 humans

and 10 cows), we were guided to our table upstairs in what is

often used as the Loft's more intimate music venue.

The special gig menu went down a treat, the veggie burgers are

the best in the area bar none and we all agreed that the

raspberry cranachan was the best we'd ever tasted. Service was

well timed allowing us to make it to the show in time to see a

classy support act from Stornoway teenager, Eleanor Nicolson,

whose smoky vocals and dreamy tunes warmed the crowd up

for the main event.

Review supplied by Roddy & Pricilla Huggan.

KT was quite simply a phenomenon. From start to finish she was

full of energy, a whirlwind of new songs, classic KT material, and

even a song about losing her tambourine the night before in Wick

which we all enthusiastically joined in with.

A special evening from start to finish.