The Scarlet Tulip EP is a 2011 EP studio release from KT Tunstall, recorded in her home studio in April 2011. The album was recorded and produced by KT Tunstall, co-produced by Luke Bullen and mastered by Jeremy Cooper. Tunstall wrote all songs on the EP herself, notably recording them in a single take. She used her own solar-powered studio in the Berkshire countryside. The Scarlet Tulip EP project was borne out of Tunstall's desire to record some songs she wrote whilst recording Tiger Suit which were not possible to include in the final album tracklisting. The Hidden Heart was written for the naturalist Bruce Parry's Survival project, "to try and gain land protection for indigenous people of the Amazon." All songs are played with acoustic guitar except for one song, "Shanty of the Whale", which Tunstall performs a cappella.