After taking part in a star-studded 12-hour drumathon, the inspiration kept flowing for Aberdeen musician Mairi Newberry.
And while she has been providing the percussion from the back of the stage for more than four decades, it is only recently she has decided to step into the limelight.
Using the stage name Devanha, she has released her first single ahead of a full album roll-out – featuring a brand-new genre of music.
Last May, the 46-year-old was one of 20 musicians each taking on a mammoth 12-hour drumming session to raise spirit and money for NHS Charities Together.
Mrs Newberry’s shift was even more impressive as she completed it while suffering from the pain and tiredness of fibromyalgia.
But said she has developed methods of managing the condition – which meant she was the only drummer not in pain by the end of stunt.
And after completing her charity challenge the drummer, who has performed on the north-east events circuit since she was 12, decided it was time to capitalise on her dream.
She said: “It was early one morning when I realised you just have to go for things in life if you want them.
“I’ve been a big fan of smooth jazz and I’ve always been a drummer in the background.
“But I wanted to express myself more and thought ‘sod it, I’m going to do it’.
“I went to the kitchen, rigged up my stuff and started working.”
Mrs Newberry began working with one of her musical heroes, Bill Sharpe from jazz-funk band Shakatak, on the album.
The outfit, which still releases music regularly, is best known for its early 1980s singles Night Birds and Down On The Street.
Taking inspiration from the past, Mrs Newberry combined her loves of smooth jazz and pop into a new genre: Smop.
“I always wanted to write an album like this, but I also wanted it to have a 21st century edge,” she said.
“There’s a lot of smooth jazz out there, but this has more of a pop feel to it.
“I love the jazz chords so we’ve tried to create something quite traditional, in one sense, that is keeping up with the times.”
She added: “I’d never tried singing like this before but I wanted to give it a go and cheer everybody up during this horrible time.
“I want to give them hope that anything is possible.
“I’m 46 now and this is a big step to write my own album and sing.”
Mrs Newberry has today released the first single, Smooth Heart, which tells the story of a woman missing a man during lockdown.
She picked the stage name Devanha as a nod to her north-east roots, as the word was used by the Romans to describe Aberdeen.
Her artist logo also includes the silhouette of a cat – referencing architect William Kelly’s leopard statues adorning Union Bridge.
Further highlighting life in the north-east, Mrs Newberry filmed the Smooth Heart video at Newburgh beach.
“I want to remind people you don’t need to travel very far to find beautiful things,” she said.
“And when we live in the north-east, we have it right on our doorstep.
“I’ve been focusing on positive images for this and I want to say to people that, if you can’t go away on holiday, you don’t have to go far at all to find a lovely scene.”
Smooth Heart can be purchased via devanha.net or iTunes.
