A BALLOCH singer-songwriter has been randomly selected in a radio competition to work with a French musician to reflect on their experience of the pandemic.

Iona James, a practice nurse at her local GP practice in Balloch, was partnered up with multi-instrumentalist Clint Slate to create a new song for an online radio contest.

The pair were set the challenge of writing lyrics and producing a song in just one month.

Iona told the Reporter: “The competition pulls two different names from a virtual hat to work together which is exciting.

“We have never met, and communicated through Twitter alone.

“The song started off as a simple guitar tune made one day by Clint. He sent it to me, and I added vocals to it.

“Clint then added his own vocals, chopped and changed my ideas, then sent it back where I added piano harmonies, and it went back and forth until it was completed.

“However the basic song was written within the day.

“Writing again has been a release for me during the pandemic, taking me away to a happier place, and working with another enthusiastic musician has grown my passion.

“It’s one good thing to come from the pandemic that we virtually met.”

The duo found that they made a great team working together from the start of February this year, and they have since produced 11 more songs.

Clint added: “Working from afar during the pandemic was a relief, a way of keeping the head out of the water, out of the sorrow and out of reality sometimes.

“The songs Iona and I have come up with were totally unexpected, even by us, but are thoroughly enjoyed – maybe even more because of the time we are living in.”

Their EP, ‘The Silent Sea’, takes lyrics born out of the feelings of anxiety Iona suffered during the Covid pandemic and combines them with Clint’s positive outlook to the situation.

The songs are available to download and listen to on all music streaming sites now.

For more information visit Iona James on Facebook.