KT Tunstall turned to dance music after having a crisis of confidence in Greenland.

The Scottish folk rocker said she had a revelation while on a visit to the icy country, which she attended with a group of scientists and other artists for the Cape Farewell conservation project - which, while a personal triumph, made her reassess her attitude toward her career.

She explained: "I was living on a boat with 20 brilliant scientists and 20 fantastic artists - Jarvis Cocker, Laurie Anderson, Leslie Feist, Martha Wainwright, Ryuichi Sakamoto. Creative-wise, a bl***y nightmare!

"I ended up having a huge battle over where I sat in the panoply and suffered a massive confidence crash.

"Everyone else seemed so stellar, all of them big-hitters who were drawing from a much deeper well than me, this little jingle writer with her frivolous pop songs. I desperately didn't want to be there."

KT, 35, added that when the party arrived at the island's Disko Bay settlement, she performed in a local pub in front of The Others, but quickly came to regret it.

She added: "It was like I was holding up this very stark mirror - just awful. Afterwards, back in the crowd, I felt really empty. When music is the thing you're really passionate about, that's b****y scary. I got home thinking that if I was ever going to record again, I really had to do something different. For me, that trip was a serendipitous kick up the a**e."

As a result, KT decided to overhaul her sound and for a more dance music influenced sound, and the results can be heard in her third album, 'Tiger Suit'.

KT said she's always had an interest in electronic music since she was a teenager, which she pursued right up until she was signed to a record label as a singer/songwriter.

She added to The Scotsman newspaper: "A few weeks before I got signed I was freestyle singing and playing jazz flute over drum 'n' bass beats.

"One night I was supposed to jam with Goldie but he didn't turn up.

"Another time the backing track broke and the gig had to be cancelled. I decided I couldn't play music like that and be so reliant on equipment."

'Tiger Suit' is released on September 27.