Rachel Sermanni

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‘Sleep, baby, sleep, I don’t mind if you leave, we will part in our dreams, let them come…’

Il n’y a pas de vie humaine sans rêve, pas de nuit sans rêve même quand on ne s’en souvient pas. Mais y’a-t-il des jours sans rêve? il y a des jours sans souvenir de rêve et il y a des états de veille où le rêve et la réalité s’entremêlent de telle sorte qu’on ne peut pas distinguer l’un de l’autre.
Do you remember your last dream? I do.
Last night, I dreamt that I had the chance to interview Scottish singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni…Dreams do come true sometimes :)

Rachel Sermanni‘s debut album ‘Under Mountains’ is a hauntingly beautiful piece of work. I loved the album on first listen. Her lyrics and melodies inspire an instant dreamlike state, reflecting perfectly Rachel’s phantasmagoric universe.
My personal favorites on the album are ‘Marshmallow Unicorn’, ‘Sleep’, ‘Black Current’ and ‘Ever Since The Chocolate’ but it’s hard to choose the best song(s) as the whole thing is wonderful. The Tim Burtonesque track ‘Sea Oh See’ (aka ‘The Pirate Song’) reminds me of Claude Debussy’s words: ‘it’s the sea and its countless rhythms and presently, amongst the waves silvered by the moonlight, is heard the mysterious song of the Sirens as they laugh and pass on.’ Rachel feeds her imagination with literature, poetry and dreams recalled. I highly recommend you check out Rachel’s mini video teasers made by Quintana Films. They’re really fantastic and manage to capture well Rachel’s dark, romantic, and melancholic atmophere.

Rachel Sermanni is currently touring with Ericazette, Eroica and Mr Nosrati so make sure to catch her live! (in case you’re wondering, the names mentioned are the names of her instruments and not other touring bands!)

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And now the interview part :)

Which ice cream flavor(s) do you like the most?

Honeycomb.

What is your last or upcoming project about?

Well, the last main project was Under Mountains, the album. It was a huge project involving many people. It has been released under the label that my manager and I decided to call Middle of Nowhere Recordings. It has been 5 years or so of writing mainly on my own accumulated into a pot of other creative minds. There was the band, a group of my close friends, that helped me arrange the songs. There was the producer, Ian Grimble, who helped us all stay on track. There was the manager, Rob, who did a lot of stuff like organising promotion teams and radio interest etc.

In the new year, whilst I continue to tour the album, I am hoping to quietly publish a group of poems that I wrote. They are 12 sonnets, a sonnet for each star sign. It was a fun project that took me the best part of last year. I would like to join the world of poetry or, atleast, dip my toes in, to see what life is like. Words where the music has to be imagined. Words that have to stand on their own. Perhaps I’ll sell these along with the merchandise.

How do you make music? Any specific workflow or methods?

I really don’t know. It’s very easy to make music. Just pick up an instrument and warble a bit. But to make something that later you can repeat and perform, the method is impossible to pin down. It changes with the situation. I always have books with me for inspiration and I always carry note books for jotting down ideas and thoughts and a mechanism for recording (mobile phone) if any ideas ever strike. But when it comes down to sitting down and actually writing, it is like all the note making has been processed and has finally amalgamated into something comprehensible for me to write about. It’s too difficult to explain.

How do you make a living?

I am trying to make a living doing this. Writing and playing music. At the minute, I am just touring and touring and touring and hopefully this will pay off in the future.

How do you feel about people sharing your music?

Glad that it’s getting shared around. Honoured people are listening.

Who was your musical hero[in]s when you were a kid?

I liked Eva Cassidy when I was younger.
We listened to Simon and Garfunkel in the car when i was really young and my favourite song was Mrs Robinson.

What musical genre do you love but would never make yourself?

Heavy metal has really cool drums…
Classical music is beautiful but I could never do what a composer does and write out layers and layers of instruments on manuscript and expect it to sound other worldly. THat is incredible.

Which artists are you following at the moment?

I have been listening to Fatoumata Diawara a lot. Ken Stringfellow has an incredible album out called Danzig in the Moonlight.

*The Fog*

Deep Deep down under mountains I have heard them call my name.
Will I play their little game and tell them deep deep down I’ve been waiting for the fighting to begin.
Hold my hands up.
Deep sleep now under skies of pressing dark upon my dress
watch it turn from white to red under the bone clean moon I am clinging to this burning,shaking bed.
Must I hold my hands up, my bloody hands up.

Mercy mercy I’ve been caught lying with my darkest thought they grabbed my wings and pinned me to the wall.
Oh light please try to hold your ground lift me up before I drown
The din creeps neath my skin and I can’t hear no goodness speak.

From the neighbouring town there’s a boy who comes to sing upon our street
I watch him from the window thinking deep deep down he’d be richer if he just became a thief but still he holds his hands out
I walk down to the river stand and shiver in the wind
throw stones and watch them sink into the icy blue let it rise about my ankles
I don’t want this darkness but the sun just falls from the sky.

Mercy mercy I’ve been caught lying with my darkest thought they grabbed my wings and pinned me to the wall.
Oh light please try to hold your ground lift me up before I drown
The din creeps neath my skin and I can’t hear no goodness speak.

*Eggshells*

Preparing flowers she is faced with the man to ghosts is laced
A ribbon.
No amount of soul she’s giving
She don’t know what to give.
Sit in empty rooms together, she wants to fit the shards together
Find out what they lost when they lost him.
She fears she’ll crack the eggshells but the pendulum still swings
Delicate door, unhinged, is within sight.

As this rose it knows the
Cost of those who’re lost at sea.
These waves won’t carry everyone and they won’t carry me.

This tree is anchored to the ground
The birds take flight, the blossoms bound
I won’t let them fall I won’t let them fall.
Don’t make this cold for me I feel it snowing at my feet
Taking me down upon my knees, I think I need you.
I think I need you to know.

As this rose it knows the
Cost of those who’re lost at sea.
These waves won’t carry everyone and they won’t carry me.

She took the anchor from the light
Strength to hold but not lose sight
Togetherness is harder still, sleep easy in your bed at night.