IT HAS been a long time coming, but the Hen Hoose album is almost out in the world.

Born in opposition to the rank inequalities in the music industry, the collective of female and non-binary artists came together to write, produce, record and master something to showcase their raw talents.

Equaliser, to be released this Friday, November 5, only serves to further underline the ability of female and non-binary artists in Scotland, while offering a sobering reminder to those that fail to recognise the gender imbalance in the industry. 

The album features 12 original tracks with contributions from dozens of artists including Emma Pollock, Pippy Murphy, Rachael Swinton, Karine Polwart, Amandah Wilkinson, Carla J Easton, Jay Puren, Elizabeth Elektra, Susan Bear, Inge Thomson, Sarah Hayes and Beldina Odenyo Onassis.

Hen Hoose was formed during lockdown by Tamara Schlesinger - of MALKA and 6 Day Riot - as the ongoing issues continued to remain relatively unchallenged.

She said: “So many of us have grown tired and frustrated at seeing festival line-ups and album credits full of men, when we all know that we have talent that deserves to be heard as well.

"It would have been easy to sit back and get more despondent, but instead I wanted to do something to try and level the playing field.”

Schlesinger, whose work also features on numerous Equaliser tracks, added: "To the best of my knowledge, there is no all-female production house in the UK. My goal would be to create music for film, TV and ad campaigns collaboratively moving forward and to build on the collective, widening to more writers and producers across the UK and beyond.”

To pre-order Hen Hoose - Equaliser, visit www.henhoose.com/shop