Hailing from the Scottish Highlands and touring the world since the age of 18, Rachel Sermanni has never been short of inspiring surroundings.

Today is no different as we join Rachel at picturesque Monachyle Mhor Hotel, perched between Loch Doine and Loch Voil, in the heart of the Trossachs.

Rachel's love of adventure and the wild resonates in her music, and her lyrics speak candidly of her own experiences. We sit down with her to hear her story.

Rachel, congratulations of your new EP, Swallow Me. How did you first discover your love of singing and music?

As a kid, I was very much into performance and making little plays with family and friends. I don't necessarily know where I get it from, but I imagine the Irish ancestors on my mum's side probably have something to do with it.

I played the whistle from a young age, but not well, and I started playing the fiddle soon after - again, really badly. Then, at around the age of 14, I started learning the guitar. Someone at school taught me the basics and I led myself from there. Because there was no formal training, I think that led me to start writing songs very quickly. You learn the chords and then immediately you're trying to do something with them. I loved it. It was proper reprieve, relief, therapy.

I've kind of flown with it since then. By the time I was 18 I was touring, and when I was 19 I went on a major European tour with a band called Fink.

You and Finn Greenall of Fink have been friends for a long time, and Finn actually produced the four songs on your new EP.

Yes, Finn has been influential throughout my music career. Touring with Fink was my baptism of fire across Europe; very innocent Rachel goes on the road with older rockers. It was so much fun!

I remember during that first tour saying I didn't know if I even had an album in me, and Finn saying, "Yes, you definitely do." He said the same when it came to making a second album, and then he helped me find the recording studio for my third album in Berlin. So, it was a long time coming - I think he was keen to produce something of mine for a while.

I feel so lucky because I've found so many beautiful connections with humans in what I do. I think it comes down to the notion of play. As a teenager, I was a Peter Pan and didn't ever want to grow up. I really loved to play, and I've carried that through to adulthood. We learn more about each other in play more than anything.

I like how cheeky Finn is. For some reason, I think people think they need to  be really careful with me - they're scared to break me or something. There's no worry in that and Finn knows that. I like it when someone's able to speak their mind and their truth to me, and he's able to do it with humour. That's what makes him really fun to play with.

For anyone unfamiliar, can you describe your style of music?

My music is of the folk ilk, but not traditional. It's a form of telling a story, and it's got that simple acoustic line underneath it, but it isn't traditional.

Who are your main musical influences?

My early influences were Eva Cassidy, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan - the classic folkies. Also Karine Polwart, Dixie Chicks, Dolly Parton... I still listen to a lot of them. And lots of reggae - my mum played reggae music a lot when I was growing up.

These days I adore Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief, Sufjan Stevens, Sam Amidon - he is an ever-love! I also like jazz - weird jazz - where you don't know what's going on. Anything that's a bit guttural, like Charles Mingus or Tom Waites... something that kind of comes up from beneath.

Tell us a little about your new EP and the inspiration behind it.

The four songs on the EP were written before I had my daughter, Rosa. Love my Love was written pre-Rosa entirely, and addresses an old but everlasting relationship that I had. Brighton House and Travelled were both written while I was touring in the USA just after I found out I was pregnant, so I was on my own for almost five weeks processing that. It was great because I need to be alone, and I needed to have my adventure.

The whole EP is really an attempt to let go - to just flow with whatever is being and current.

And what about Swallow Me, the title track released earlier in summer?

Swallow Me was written just two weeks before my daughter was born. The song is me asking for some sort of relief, or maybe seeking some acknowledgement that I was going to be okay. Looking back, it was obviously just a massive growth spurt, but at the point of writing the song, I was like, "Holy crap, I'm literally about to give birth. I don't know if I can do it." The song speaks of my struggles, but also struggles that many people deal with.

The songs were written a couple of years ago, but when were they recorded?

I recorded the songs during the pandemic, in various living rooms and sheds, surrounded by a deconstructed sofa to act as soundproofing. I think that's quite cool because you can hear something's a bit weird, but it adds to it. It's reflective of that time. I then sent the songs to Finn, who has done a really beautiful job of giving them what they need.

How are you finding life as a musician and a mum?

It's been interesting as I'm coming back to music as I am, not as I was. Since having Rosa, it's taken a wee while to feel like the dust is settling enough so that expression can rise - and I was curious to know if expression was going to rise. I think it is, and that's very relieving.

I feel much more fearless thanks to Rosa; curious and courageous. Before Rosa, my main focus was to have adventure and save enough money so that I had a pile for the next project. Now, my aim is to have enough money to make sure that we're settled and that I enjoy an artistic life whilst also living as a mum. That's the new adventure and it's spurring me on to be more business-minded, which still feels cool.

I'm still navigating what it is to be creative in my new phase, but I'm getting there, and I'm so excited to take Rosa on tour when she's older. There are so many things I want to show her.

The pandemic has forced a different way of life for many, but it sounds like you were already preparing for a lot of change.

Yes, I totally got the head start on that. At the beginning of the pandemic, I saw loads of musician friends experiencing everything I had been experiencing just through being a mammy. I had been there already. You have to stop everything; recalibrate, reflect and figure out how to further yourself without the ease that came before.

Having Rosa as company throughout the pandemic has been amazing. We live in Portobello where we are surrounded by a really artistic and family-oriented community, and then you have the beach. It's ideal. I miss the wild of the north, but now that lockdown has lifted, Rosa and I can have those adventures and still have our base in Portobello. It feels nice.

When writing a song, what comes first, the words or the melody?

Generally, I see them as parallel streets. I'm always journaling, and always writing. Then I'm always picking up my guitar and trying out some things. At some point the streets will meet, and sometimes it will be a spontaneous combustion moment where I'm like "Boom! I've found it." Other times it's far slower than that, but a lot of the time I find that whatever I've been playing on the guitar and humming over the top starts to resonate with the words I've been writing.

Your lyrics are very poetic. Do you read a lot, and are you inspired by the literature you read?

Yes, I read a lot. That really does help. Especially fiction. I'm reading lots of non-fiction at the moment but when I read a good novel, it sets little fires alight.

I also use dreams. The minute I wake up, I write them down or record them into my phone. It's really funny to listen back to a half-asleep person telling you some weird story!

I'm very into Carl Jung and his way of thinking about being in the right relationship with the unconscious. If we're listening to that world, we're giving the unconscious an opportunity to vent itself, otherwise we're just putting all our fears and everything we're suppressing at the back of our minds, and it can explode out in various ways. That's why I'm a massive advocate for creativity. Even if you don't know what you're doing, the unconscious will take over.

I think of my life as being a healthy one, and I think that's a lot down to being creative and having means to express, even if I don't know what it is I'm trying to say. I just try. And I'm trying to find ways in which I can empower other people to feel like that.

You grew up in Carrbridge in the Scottish Highlands. What a beautiful place! Did you feel inspired by your surroundings?

Absolutely. You can see how nature affects people, and growing up surrounded by it was quite sacred and holy to me. The spirit of it imbued my early songs - they were more expansive, undulating and just had more space in them.

When I moved to a more urban environment, I felt that change. My songs got a bit more armoured; they became more percussive, needing of structures and they shouted a bit more, because you need to be heard in that space.

Growing up just outside of Speyside, you must have enjoyed a dram or two there?

The Old Bridge Inn in Aviemore was our local and I would always order a single whisky which I would savour throughout the night. And going back to my introvert ways, I've always loved a whisky and a book, on my own. I like peated whisky because it feels more medicinal - there's a total magic to it.

As the country reopens, what's coming up for you later this year?

I have a UK tour coming up in the autumn, and I'm feeling really excited to get back to performing. In saying that, I'm a little nervous because lockdown has meant that everyone has lost their stamina. For me, it will be playing gigs for seven nights in a row - I'm going to have to literally train for that! Lots of yoga for my voice and my breath, and I'm going to have to practice the songs.

Do you enjoy being on stage?

I feel very comfortable on stage; more comfortable. It just feels like a very good place to be. Maybe it's a sense of fulfilment and purpose. Maybe it's just knowing what my role is, to hold other people and express something for them. So yes, it feels very much like a comfortable place. Also, life is very short. If you can do something you enjoy, then just revel in it.

It took practice. I got very, very nervous when I was much younger, but now it kind of feels like yoga to me; lots of breath, lots of movement, and I always feel rejuvenated after it. It will be so nice to get back to it.

As well as touring, what do you look forward to doing as life becomes more normal?

That's a really lovely question. I will visit my friend in Orkney and my family in the Highlands, and I will cuddle people - unabashedly! It's going to take a moment to acclimatise to being allowed to cuddle people. I'll also look to have a wee housewarming, with plenty of tunes.

To hear Rachel's music and keep in the loop about tickets for her UK tour, visit www.rachelsermanni.com.

The original feature is from the Summer 2021 edition of Whiskeria, delivered to the door of W Club subscribers and also free with any Whisky Shop purchase in store or online. Click here to read the Summer 2021 issue of Whiskeria online for free.