Rose & Christy Arthur Isles Of Albion CD

In 2004 he was voted Scotland's Songwriter of the Year (Scots Trad Music Awards) and after this boost began working on an album of new songs, which became Tam O'Shanter & Other Tales. His musical reworking of Burns' poem is the culmination of a decade working on and off putting this epic poem to music, and the results were hailed as a "masterpiece" by critics.

Jim Malcolm was brought up in Perthshire and Angus and was steeped in the traditional music of Scotland from an early age. He learned to play guitar while at school and by his early twenties was winning songwriting competitions and playing in folk clubs all over Scotland.

His career began to take off when he hosted the open stage at Edinburgh Folk Festival, and through his own playing there secured a contract with Greentrax for his first solo album, Sconeward. Acclaimed by critics and chosen as one of the year's best by Radio Scotland's folk programmes Travelling Folk and Celtic Connections, the album brought in bookings at folk clubs and festivals in Britain and abroad, and established Jim as one of the leading songwriters in the traditional idiom in Scotland. He was dubbed: "The new male voice of Scotland."Songs from Sconeward have been recorded and are regularly performed by international acts such as The McCalmans and The Poozies, and Jim was asked to give songwriting and song accompaniment masterclasses at many festivals, including Scotland's foremost festival, Celtic Connections in Glasgow. Next up was Rohallion, a collection of Jim's new songs recorded with gifted pianist and fiddler Dave Watt and percussionist Iain MacFadyen. "An intoxicating display of lyrical and musical genius" was how Rock 'n' Reel described the CD, from which Jim's song Battle of Waterloo, to the pipe tune of the same name, was an instant hit.

Rohallion consolidated Jim's reputation as one of Scotland's most exciting young folk acts, and brought repeated requests for television and radio appearances. STV broadcast a documentary on Jim and Angus singer Jim Reid for its Artery series, and their singing was featured in the "best of" programme which rounded off the series.