Hen Hoose is a songwriting collective funded by Creative Scotland based in Glasgow. It unites a rich and diverse array of wonderfully talented and award-winning female and non-binary artists, writers and producers collaborating on the creation of exciting new music across multiple genres. The Hen Hoose writers have had syncs on Hollywood films, Netflix shows, global TV adverts and have written for theatre productions, along with having highly successful careers as artists.
Hen Hoose completed the second round of their Creative Scotland funded project which included writers from beyond Scotland, thanks to additional funding from the John Lennon Foundation.
This last year has seen a huge growth for the Collective, who have curated Festival line ups, hosted audio production courses, songwriting camps, panels, events and are now offering mentorship schemes and bursaries along with expanding their collective members.
The SAY Award nominated Hen Hoose album 'Equaliser' is out now.
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Hen Hoose are releasing three collaborative EP's this year, their writers have composed music for various TV campaigns and the collective are collaborating with Universal Production Music and 23rd Precinct on songwriting camps.
COLLECTIVE MEMBERS
Amandah Wilkinson
Amandah Wilkinson is an Indonesian-Australian producer/singer/songwriter based between Scotland and Denmark. She is an ARIA Award winning + SAY award nominated artist whose bands Operator Please & Bossy Love have both toured internationally and released albums to critical acclaim. Wilkinson has compiled an impressive catalogue of songs that showcases her vast experience and myriad musical styles and has already seen her work with some of the biggest names in pop. Amandah has spent the majority of this year releasing new music under her solo project AMUNDA and is continuing to co-write and mentor up and coming artists internationally.
Amandah Wilkinson
Pop Rap R&B Electro
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The Anchoress
Music Producers Guild nominated producer and songwriter The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies) second album, The Art of Losing, is a collection of songs that Caitlin Moran hailed as “the inadvertent, beautiful, and truthful soundtrack to this moment." Reaching a top 10 position in the UK physical album charts, #1 spot on iTunes and a second nomination for the Welsh Music Prize, The Art of Losing was named album of the year by The Sunday Times, The Line of Best Fit, Mail on Sunday, Prog, and The Sun, and hailed as “one of my favourite records of the year” by Sir Elton John.
BISHI
An artist, composer, producer, technologist and broadcaster, Bishi has released three albums via her label Gryphon Records, as well as collaborating with the likes of Tony Visconti, Sean Ono Lennon, Jarvis Cocker, Daphne Guinness, the LSO, The Kronos Quartet, Manish Arora and as a soloist on Jonny Greenwood’s ‘Water,’ with City of London Sinfonia.
Bishi composed and produced her first full original score for a VR film, Maya, The Birth of a Superhero, currently shortlisted at Cannes 2024.
She has become part of a team developing an AI composer tool with University of Sheffield.
Bishi is the founder of WITCiH (Women in Tech Creative Industries Hub), a platform elevating women, trans and non-binary creative practitioners in tech. A current ambassador for Imogen Heap's Creative Passport, Bishi is also on the board of directors for FAC and The F-List for Music.
BISHI
Electronic Alternative Experimental
Cariss Crosbie
Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Cariss Crosbie’s powerful voice, highly attuned ear for harmonies and skill as a pianist have made her an extremely versatile and sought-after musician as both a front-woman and band member on the Scottish music scene.
Cariss is especially proud of her song-writing and live/recording session work with vocal trio Little Acres who have shared a stage with acts such as Kathryn Joseph, Tom McGuire and the Brassholes, Kitti, Fat-Suit, Start to End, Kris Drever, Siobhan Miller and Lewis Capaldi, and more.
Cariss Crosbie
Pop Indie-Pop Folk
Carla J Easton
Carla J. Easton is an award nominated singer-songwriter, releasing 3 critically acclaimed albums, writing for TeenCanteen, Belle & Sebastian, BMX Bandits, Hen Hoose & National Theatre Scotland. Championed by BBC6 Music, she has performed at festivals across the UK and internationally (SXSW, Pop Montreal, The Great Escape, Celtic Connections, Indiefjord and Pop Cologne) touring the UK with Camera Obscura, The Vaselines and Kim Richey.
Her fourth studio album ‘SUGAR HONEY’ will be released 20th October via Olive Grove Records.
Carla is Co-Director of the feature-length documentary ‘Since Yesterday: The Unsung Pioneers of Scottish Pop’.
Carla J Easton
Pop Indie-Pop Rock Indie-Rock
Djana Gabrielle
2019 Celtic Connections Danny Kyle Stage Winner, and one of the “most note-worthy performances” at the 2019 Kintyre Songwriters' Festival, Djana Gabrielle is a French-Cameroonian singer-songwriter. Earning a "New & Notable" feature on the American music platform Noisetrade in 2018, she now focuses her work on songwriting and theatre projects, playing shows and gearing up for her next release, hoping to introduce her soulful, soothing and melodious sound to new audiences in Scotland and beyond.
Djana Gabrielle
Folk Pop Indie Blues
Elisabeth
Elektra
Elisabeth Elektra is an alt pop artist who creates a singular sonic and visual world; one that you definitely want to be part of. Based in Glasgow, Elektra blends strong hypnotic vocals, analogue synths and weighty drums, to create music that is as anthemic as it is empowering.
Emma Pollock
A SAY nominated singer-songwriter, musician and founding member of The Delgados. She is also one of the founders of the independent record label Chemikal Underground.
Inge Thomson
A songwriter and producer whose work often concerns the environment and her place in it, Inge creates large scale multimedia shows using natural sounds and complex audio techniques. Inge has been creating music for over 20 years as a composer, producer, lyricist, multi-instrumentalist and performer. Although best known as a long-term collaborator with The Karine Polwart Trio, in her own right Inge produces content for radio and film soundtrack, performs and records in solo capacity and in cross-disciplinary collaborations including projects with scientists, visual artists, animators, theatre makers and textile artists.
Elisabeth Elektra
Electropop Synthpop
Emma Pollock
Indie-Rock Alternative
Inge Thomson
Pop Folk Alternative
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XZO
An up-and-coming rapper, songwriter and producer. XZO’s songwriting style is honest and they put an essence of who they are in what they make, a signature that no one can forge.
Jill Lorean
Jill Lorean is the nom de guerre of Jill O’Sullivan, a Glasgow-based multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/composer who writes and performs across popular music and theatre. Since releasing three critically acclaimed albums with her band Sparrow and the Workshop, O'Sullivan has worked with a multitude of musicians and performed at festivals throughout the UK and Europe. She is a repeat guest DJ on BBC Radio Scotland's Roddy Hart Show and also works alongside community-led organisations throughout Scotland to teach and mentor young and aspiring musicians. She will be releasing more new music as Jill Lorean in 2024.
K4CIE
SAMA Award winner K4CIE is a DJ & producer that has been shaping the Glasgow music scene with 'Peach'; events platform in Scotland. K4CIE's selections quickly grabbed slots at well-known events, store launches, tour supports, festivals and had guest appearances on national radio stations around the UK. Recently K4CIE launched her own music studio in Glasgow; 644 Studios with the first single of 2021 'BabySky Hook' landing Track of the Week on BBC Radio 1Xtra.
XZO
Rap Hip Hop R&B
Jill Lorean
Folk Rock Indie
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Karine Polwart
BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer Of The Year 2018, Karine Polwart is a multi-award winning Scottish songwriter and musician, as well as theatre-maker, storyteller, spoken-word performer and author. Her songs combine folk influences and myth with themes as diverse as Donald Trump’s corporate megalomania, Charles Darwin’s family life and the complexities of modern parenthood. She sings traditional songs too and writes to commission for film, theatre, animation and thematic collaborative projects. Karine is seven-times winner at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, including three times for Best Original Song.
Karine Polwart
Folk Indie
Kathryn Williams
Kathryn Williams is a Liverpool born, Mercury Music Prize nominated singer songwriter with 16 albums under her belt. Before her last release, Night Drives, the label OLI celebrated her career this far with a box set anthology strewn with her art.
She hosts her own popular podcast “Before the Light Goes Out”, which was put in the top ten best music podcasts by the Guardian.
Kathryn tutors at Arvon, Moniack Mhor, The Writing Squad and writes songs with many diverse artists around the world including Paul Weller, Ed Harcourt, Beth Neillson CHAPMAN, Michele Stodart.
Kathryn Williams
Cinematic Electro pop
Kiana
Kalantar-Hormozi
Kiana is an artist and entrepreneur based in Glasgow. Named one of 30under30 most inspirational women in Scotland 2017 and MDUK Campaigner of the Year 2018, Kiana debuted her singing-songwriting career in July '22 with Sirens, which has been played on independent radio stations, blogs and BBC Scotland’s The Afternoon Show. Kiana is currently working on material for a 5-track EP.
Kiana Kalantar-Hormozi
Alt Cinematic
Lucy Parnell
Lucy Parnell is a musician, composer and producer who, having recorded and toured extensively over the last fifteen years with a variety of artists at an international level, now creates delicate, hypnotic and beguiling songs and soundscapes from the quiet solitude of their studio in the hills of Scotland.
Lucy Parnell
Indie Contemporary Classical Ambient
Nightwave
Nightwave is a Glasgow based DJ, producer, vocalist and label boss whose records explore a vast array of influences grounded in Detroit techno, electro, acid, Chicago house and old rave nostalgia. Releases on Hotflush, Ministry Of Sound, Unknown To The Unknown, DABJ, Fool's Gold, Balkan Vinyl, Fabric etc received wide-spread support from leading press and radio outlets. No stranger to working with singers and rappers (Rye Rye, Ashnikko, TT the Artist, Chippy Nonstop...), she has lent her unique sound to Franz Ferdinand, Django Django, Wayward, D Double E and many more. In 2019 Nightwave also earned her first feature film soundtrack credit for Rachel Maclean's 'Make Me Up.'
Nightwave
Electronic Hip Hop Dance
PAIX
Gillian Katungi is an interdisciplinary artist (session musician, performer, poet, visual artist) and director based in Glasgow. She creates under the moniker Paix, which means peace. Her latest work includes; a number of short films, four collaborative records incl. co-writing and performing three tracks on the critically acclaimed album 'With Love, From Glasgow' with Producer Rebecca Vasmant - which made the Top 10 on the UK and International Jazz Charts, . Recent gigs include; We Out Here Festival, XJazz Berlin Festival, Stereo, Glasgow Jazz Festival, True North Festival, Edinburgh Jazz Festival.
PAIX
Jazz Soul Cinematic
Pippa Murphy
Pippa Murphy is an award-winning composer and sound designer known for combining orchestras, singers and instrumentalists with ambient soundscapes and electronic music to create bespoke sound palettes. She works with writers, film-makers and choreographers as well as Folk, Jazz and Classical musicians and has recorded sounds from around the world. Pippa is known for a unique cross-disciplinary approach to storytelling and creative collaboration. Pippa’s works are multi-layered and multi-sensory, dramatic and expressive. She is particularly interested in vocal techniques, phonemes and ‘found’ sound.
Pippa Murphy
Folk Indie Electro Classical
Ray Aggs
Ray Aggs is a multi instrumentalist and songwriter based in Glasgow. A specialist in euphoric post-punk, Aggs has achieved international acclaim with projects Trash Kit, Shopping and Sacred Paws. Creating zines and co-ordinating workshops that encourage women, non-binary people, and people of colour to form bands, Aggs has galvanised the DIY scene in the UK. Aggs' solo album on Lost Map records, part of their Visitations residency in 2019, and self released //Tape 1// in 2020 showcase their signature hybrid post-punk/highlife inspirations stripped down to new minimal extremes. Pulsating, electronic beats, coolly-recited lyrical mantras and spindly guitar lines abound in this life affirming music that speaks directly to your heart.
Ray Aggs
Indie Pop Rock
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Sarah Hayes
Sarah Hayes is a singer, flautist and keyboard player from Northumberland.
Based in Glasgow since 2005, she performs, writes and records with Admiral Fallow, Andrew Wasylyk, Field Music, Rachel Newton and more. Sarah released her extraordinary album Woven, a studio re-imagining of her Celtic Connections New Voices commission, in 2015. Working with Field Music's Peter Brewis under the name You Tell Me, their self-titled record was released in 2019 on Memphis Industries to widespread acclaim. Sarah composed the original music for Hold Fast, a circus show created in collaboration with Superfan Performance which toured Strathspey village halls in 2023. She co-produced the debut album from Laura Jane Wilkie and is currently developing work with new band Birdvox.
Sarah Hayes
Folk Indie Pop Cinematic
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Shears
SHEARS writes, records, produces & mixes electronic music at home in Leith, Edinburgh. Hailed as a ‘Next Wave’ artist by Clash Magazine, SHEARS has had a busy 2024 so far with new EP ‘Now We’re Getting Somewhere’ garnering extensive press support across the UK and Europe and playlist support from Spotify.
Following features and performances on BBC 6 Music, BBC Introducing in Scotland, and CBBC, SHEARS is now working on her debut album, due in 2025.
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Shears
Electro Pop Alt-pop
Susan Bear
Queer musician & producer Susan Bear (FKA Good Dog) – is a much respected and sought-after stalwart of the Scottish music scene and a lynchpin of Lost Map Records. Whether as bassist and keyboardist, producer, songwriter, sound-designer, or something in between, Suse has variously worked with Lost Map artists including Tuff Love, Pictish Trail and Martha Ffion, as well as The Pastels, Malcolm Middleton, Poster Paints, Karine Polwart, Amandah Wilkinson (Bossy Love) and created music and sound for a variety of visual media projects.
Susan Bear
Indie Rock Pop Electro Cinematic
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Tamara Schlesinger
As director of Tantrum Records, solo artist MALKA and former lead singer/songwriter of 6 Day Riot, Tamara Schlesinger has written and released 8 albums in 16 years. She has enjoyed chart success, extensively toured the UK and North America, played at numerous festivals such as Glastonbury and Bestival and has achieved acclaim from major press. Her music has amassed a vast amount of play on national radio and she regularly syncs her music to TV shows (Skins, Awkward, Finding Carter) and Hollywood films and trailers (Scream 4, 127 Hours).
Tamara Schlesinger
Alt-Pop Electro Dance Cinematic
Tanya Mellotte is a composer, songwriter, vocalist and producer from Scotland, currently based in Belfast. Tanya has scored a string of short films, including HOMEBIRD (Winner - Best Debut Irish Short Fiction, Galway Film Fleadh 2022). Tanya worked with David Holmes for his UNLOVED music project, co-writing some tracks on their debut album ‘Guilty of Love’. Several of these songs appear in the BAFTA & EMMY winning TV drama KILLING EVE. HEAVENLY RECORDINGS released the Killing Eve soundtracks in 2019. In 2020 Tanya was one of the first recipients of the PRS Foundation HITMAKER AWARD, which supports producers and songwriters working behind the scenes.
Tanya Mellotte
Tanya Mellotte
Indie Alt Dream Pop
ALUMNI
Beldina
Odenyo
A music and theatre master otherwise known as Heir of the Cursed. Beldina's performances at Celtic Connections Festival won her the Danny Kyle award. She was also the Musical Director for a production of Lone Wolves at the Edinburgh Fringe
Beldina Odenyo
Alternative Indie
Rachel Swinton
Alternative-Rock Indie
OPPORTUNITIES
WAHS x Hen Hoose Bursary for BPoC women and non-binary musicians.
Apply here.
LIVE
8th March: Paisley Arts Centre (IWD) TICKETS
FEEDBACK
Hen Hoose exists thanks to our funding.
Please help us shape the future of Hen Hoose by providing feedback here
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