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Rachel Sermanni was 18 when she was spotted by an agent of the Queen of Jordan. The Carrbridge singer-songwriter, who has been compared to Eva Cassidy and counts Mumford and Sons among her fans, was playing at a Homecoming gig in Edinburgh at the time. Within the year, she'd travelled to the Middle East to collaborate with local musicians and perform in Jordanian theatres.
"It was such an adventure," recalls Sermanni, now 19 and based in Glasgow, "like one of those weird dream-come-true things."
A striking folk-pop vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Sermanni is equally at home playing ceilidhs or touring with indie rockers British Sea Power, Stornoway and KT Tunstall. If her goals include mainstream airplay, a record contract (she is still officially unsigned) and a multiplication of fans, then it is likely that she will encounter more "dream-come-true things" before this year is out.
Co-managed by Robert Hicks, who promotes the Rock Ness and Belladrum festivals (both of which she has played), Sermanni has already attracted admirers such as BBC Radio 2's Janice Long and soft-rock deity John Grant, who has likened her to a cross between the Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser and The Sundays' Harriet Wheeler.
Ben Lovett of Mumford and Sons, meanwhile, featured her on last year's Communion compilation album, for which he produced her track My Friend Fire. It's big-league ballad that allies the vast piano-rock of Tori Amos with the bluesy...