Navigator Records, whose roster, most recently, includes Bellowhead, Kitty McFarlane and Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, have revealed that Rachel Sermanni is to release her new album on the label. Dreamer Awake will be released on 15th September and available on CD, Digital and limited edition Ultra Clear Vinyl – you can Pre-order it here.
We first featured Rachel on Folk Radio in 2012 with the release of her debut EP ‘Black Currents’, shortly followed by a live review of a Union Chapel gig with Russian Red, at which our reviewer wrote:
Lyrically poignant and visually descriptive with a leaning toward the subconscious – “I write about my dreams a lot”, she informed us midset – at 20 years old, it is almost instinctive to look for comparisons with her contemporary Marling…but from this live performance which left the crowd captivated, on the edge of their seats, Sermanni’s undoubtedly blazing a trail all of her own.
Not a truer word was spoken…
We were clearly taken by her, as we interviewed Rachel the following month, during which she revealed, “I live in a valley, in a village called Carrbridge close to a mountain range known as The Cairngorms. It is very beautiful there. Many beautiful walks. Dark lochs and pine woods and rain and bog and happy galumphing dogs coursing through the heather…all that. It’s very calming to be there. The air is good, and the water is good.”
Many have fallen under the spell of The Cairngorms; most notably Nan Shepherd, whose book, The Living Mountain, inspired Jenny Sturgeon, who named her latest album after the book.
Shepherd also helped to shape Rachel Sermanni’s ‘newest foray into her sonic subconscious’ Dreamer Awake, which is also inspired by the works of Nan Shepherd and the parallel experience of the Heroine’s journey as one of descent, as opposed to the glorified heights of the archetypal Hero. Dreamer Awake is, as Sermanni tells us, about “…the journey of someone skimming the surface of their experience, resisting the pull of the earth initially then slowly descending into the dark and the unknown with fear, willingness and curiosity. Becoming pregnant, giving birth and crossing the threshold into motherhood is exactly this.” Channelling the metamorphic experience of becoming a mother, and processing the demise of a long-term relationship, Sermanni dove deep into her psyche and returned with songs that have a sharpness, an acuity of feeling, and that capture the fluidity of our mind and the depth of our emotional experience.
To realise Dreamer Awake, Sermanni decamped to Middle Farm Studios, Devon, with co-producer Peter Miles. Recording live to tape with people that, “most of the time, are jazz improvisers,” the sessions were conducted with an almost Lynchian approach, with Sermanni choosing “to flow through [the experience] like a dream”. The result is an album that captures the intimacy of the room and the immediacy of these songs that transform thought, memory and emotion into such wondrous light. We are given the first glimpse of this experience through her lead single ‘Jacob’, which explores the break-up that preceded the album, the complex realisations that followed, and the important step of practising or regaining self-love. In Rachel’s own words,
“This is a song that reflects on an ended relationship and the growing I’m doing thanks to therapy, a lovely therapist called Jacob and the VERY simple & clear tools he is offering me to help me see & understand old habits. Again, a kind of coming into power. A simple act of recognising that I’m loved, and worthy of love.”
Jacob is also our Song of the Day.
We’ve covered several of Rachel’s releases on Folk Radio – Under Mountains, Tied to the Moon, Everything Changes (which our reviewer called “…a milestone recording which also deserves to be seen as a landmark, paving the way for a larger audience to approach her work”), The Boathouse Sessions, So It Turns, Swallow Me and, most recently, Every Swimming Pool Runs to the Sea.
Every time we cover one of Rachel’s offerings, the reviewer falls for the introspective, poetic depths of her songwriting and music. While Jacob is no exception; it’s also a leap forward, one that is shaped by personal experiences and deep inner growth. The voice and the musical setting are sublime…the song gathers you in…the musical equivalent of forest bathing. We really are in for a treat with this new album.
Rachel also runs a songwriting workshop called Cultivating A Creative Life, and her podcast, Rachel Sermanni’s Finger That Points To The Moon, similarly explores her relationship to creativity and inspiration, with the hope that it will help point in the direction of truth for herself and those listening.
Dreamer Awake is out September 15th on Navigator Records on CD, Digital and limited edition Ultra Clear Vinyl.
Pre-order here
For more info about Rachel Sermanni:
Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / TikTok / Website
Rachel Sermanni 2023 Tour Schedule
28/07/2023 Inverness-shire Belladrum / Tartan Heart Festival – Tickets Here
06/08/2023 Near Auchterarder / MugStock: A Festival of Music & Merriment
12/08/2023 North Yorkshire / The Magpies Festival – Tickets Here
19/09/2023 Manchester/ YES – Tickets Here
21/09/2023 Bristol / The Jam Jar – Ticket Here
22/09/2023 London / Grand Junction – Tickets Here
23/09/2023 Oxford / The Jericho Tavern – Tickets Here
24/09/2023 Brighton and Hove / The Brunswick – Tickets Here
26/09/2023 Leeds / Mill Hill Chapel – Tickets Here
28/09/2023 Aberdeen / The Lemon Tree – Tickets Here
29/09/2023 Edinburgh / The Queen’s Hall – Tickets Here