Tamsin is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and film-maker based in Bristol, UK. With roots in the folk music of the British Isles, her interests and playing styles extend to the musics of Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East as well as experimental and classical.
She currently plays in and writes for critically acclaimed fusion project Solana (“Thoroughly invigorating” – Songlines), who have released several albums and toured extensively. She also performs solo, as well as in various traditional folk and ceilidh ensembles. Recent collaborations include with oud player Tarek Elazhary and percussionist Salma Amr in Cairo, Egypt.
Driven and versatile, in recent years Tamsin has composed narrative-lead accompaniments for festival performances with storyteller Hannah Steenbergen, performed with poet Rebecca Tantony, played keys with hip-hop band Almatic, and added her magic to immersive improvised shows with the Cairo experimental collective “Procession Towards The Unknown”.
Tamsin is a self-shooting creative director and works with moving image under the moniker Solanum Films. As well as directing and producing most of Solana’s music videos, she has worked with The Evil Usses, The Co-operators, Hands of the Heron, Sheelanagig and Jonny Enser’s Matters, in a range of contexts from filming live concerts to contemporary dance and more experimental music videos. Her long-form directorial debut [FROM THE COOP] is a hybrid music documentary, depicting life in lockdown through the eyes of her musical household.
Her critically acclaimed debut solo album ‘FREY’ explores themes of limbo, pain, healing and acceptance, reflecting on the microcosm of her personal experience of chronic illness alongside wider themes of societal disconnection and environmental grief. Tamsin’s recent collaboration with Egyptian oud player Tarek Elazhary won a spot in The Guardian’s top ten folk albums of 2023.
Tamsin Elliott was a participant on the New Voices 2020 programme.