“Think Joni Mitchell meets Lisa Hannigan, with a delectably eccentric Scottish twist”
The Guardian
“Beautifully honest…sweetly poetic in its lyricism yet deadly accurate in arrangement”
Clash
“One of the most accomplished storytellers”
Line of Best Fit

Rachel Sermanni has announced a new EP, ‘Swallow Me’, that charts her journey to
motherhood. She has also shared the title track.

Written predominantly while pregnant on tour in the US, the lead single actually sees us begin at the journey’s end. Borne into the world two weeks ahead of the birth, the Scottish songwriter celebrates the innate spirituality that inspired her to surrender to the tides, sifting through any mud that came her way to achieve a clarity as crystalline and clear as the sea’s shimmering blue.

“This song is me asking for some sort of relief, or maybe release. I’m basically asking that the universe give me a break or, at least, a pat on the back. Some form of divine acknowledgement of the heavy lifting I’d been doing (physically and psychologically) in coming to surrender into the changes – of becoming a Ma – and finding love in what felt like a scary situation. In its entirety, with the chorus woven in, it is a balm in that it accepts that this path is my path”, says Sermanni of the track.

Sermanni has always sung of the struggle and desire to flow, to love, to live and to feel. The looming spectre of motherhood though was a test for her spirituality, which was furthered during a period spent residing in a Buddhist monastery, like never before.

Previous to her pregnancy, Sermanni enjoyed a life lived at play. She travelled the world, created boundlessly and enjoyed the romances that came her way. On the EP, she mourns that way of life, fearing a future where she cannot follow her whims so easily whilst also facing up to the choice she’s made.

Sermanni gave respect to every feeling and thought that arose during her pregnancy, riding them as if aboard a spooked horse, going whichever way they led her.

“The thread that weaves most clearly throughout this collection is one of letting go. Jellyfish go where the current flows. It takes courage to be passive. If you can accept everything, you can embody the jellyfish”

By sitting with these feelings and entertaining thoughts many would shirk, Sermanni grew content enough to surrender to wherever her future would take her.

A prophetic and wise creature, Sermanni makes music that inspires gathering, a coming together. She is a central totem for you to project your anxieties on and by hearing her conscious untangling, you discover a clarity all your own.