By Colin 
The Scottish Hen Hoose collective of female and non-binary musicians has been one of our constant musical highlights over the last few years and they’re back with the first of three EPs that are set to be released between now and the end of 2024.
The seven-track Hen Hoose – EP1 – is a multi-genre collection of tunes featuring collaborations between Lucy Parnell and Djana Gabrielle, Tanya Mellotte and PAIX, Ray Aggs and Kathryn Williams, Shears and XZO, Cariss Crosbie and Elizabeth Elektra, The Anchoress and Jill Lorean and finally BISHI and Inge Thomson.
All of the tracks on Hen Hoose – EP 1 were written collaboratively, with many written remotely. In addition, these collaborations united artists who had never worked together previously, providing fertile ground for new partnerships and new musical directions.
Established during lockdown by artist Tamara Schlesinger, Hen Hoose was originally envisaged as a way to connect Scotland’s talent pool, helping local female and non-binary songwriters, producers and artists become more confident in their own music, while collaborating on exciting new projects across multiple genres.
Since then, Hen Hoose has experienced huge growth and success, and having recently received support from The National Lottery through Creative Scotland, the project will run as a not-for-profit organisation for the next two years. During that time, Hen Hoose will run a range of new events and expand its offering to artists beyond its core collective, introducing audio production courses, songwriting camps, mentoring sessions, and panel discussions, as well as the newly-established Beldina Odenyo Bursary.
Tamara said “It is so exciting to finally be able to release the music that was created by the collective last year. This is the first EP release of 3 and once again highlights the talent of our members and the art of collaboration. The songs were written, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by female and non-binary artists and we can’t wait to share the rest of the music over the course of the year.”
You can listen to Hen Hoose – EP1 here. You can also follow the collective on Instagram, X and Facebook.