Musical chameleon Miranda Sykes, the stand-out bass player and spine-tingling vocalist who has enriched the unique Show of Hands sound for seven years, will launch her new duo album with mandolin maestro Rex Preston at the Frome Folk Festival.

On Sunday, February 19 festival-goers will be treated to an hour-long set at 2.30pm from the Bath-based duo at the Cheese and Grain to officially launch their eponymous album.

They will be joined by Irish singer and blistering banjo/guitar player Damien O'Kane.

Miranda and Rex's debut album weaves a timeless, magical mix of traditional and contemporary songs covering folk, blues, Americana and jazz with sensitive and skilful instrumentation and warm, engaging vocals.

The rare fusion of double bass and mandolin makes for one of the most exciting new pairings on the acoustic roots scene.

Free form rather than formulaic, the 12-track album offers fresh arrangements of songs by songwriters from both sides of the Atlantic – from UK folk stalwarts Karine Polwart (Only One Way) and Kate Rusby (Old Man Time) to, more unexpectedly, English Grammy-winning singer songwriter's Imogen Heap's sensuous Between Sheets.

American roots songwriters have also proved a rich vein to tap and the duo include two beautiful poetic "relationship" numbers by American Peter Bradley Adams (So Are You To Me and I Tell Myself) as well as Slaid Cleaves' New Year's Day, Patti Griffin's evocative Rain and Trouble written by Karin Bergquist of the Ohio-based band Over The Rhine.

The album has been produced by Preston and Joe Rusby.

Lincolnshire-born Miranda has been playing bass since she was nine and started out with a college country rock band but was lured back to her folk music roots and went on to tour Europe and America with folk-rock band, Pressgang.

She has since worked with Kirsty McGee, Robb Johnson, Firebrand, Stefan Hannigan, Leon Rosselson, Bill Jones, Roger Wilson, Alan Burke, Jennifer Crook, Little Johnny England and Reg Meuross.

Alongside her work with Show of Hands Miranda also released an acclaimed solo album Bliss (2006) and, more recently, the EP Sweet Pea which left listeners in no doubt that she has what it takes to seamlessly genre-hop.

Rex Preston, who has been dubbed "the best mandolin player in the UK", moved to Bath in 2008 to study for a music degree.

At the same time, banjo player Leon Hunt was putting a band together for a high profile concert alongside Bela Fleck and the much-feted Celtic/bluegrass band The Scoville Units was born. Miranda has also guested with the Scovilles.

In 2009 Rex flew to Winfield, Kansas to take part in the coveted Walnut Valley Mandolin Championships, with past champions including Chris Thile and Matt Flinner, winning a Weber mandolin for his efforts.

More recently he has been experimenting with electronica and tutoring young mandolin players.

Rex co-produced The Scoville Units debut album this year and has recently featured in a Cara Dillon session for BBC Radio 2. He also guests on The Ravishing Genius of Bones – the solo album from Ireland's Brian Finnegan.

Together they have produced an album that dips and dives through its broad musical palette with Preston taking lead vocal on Love is Not A Flower, delivering his own arrangement of A Kiss in the Morning Early and showcasing his inspired playing in his restless tune 4am charting the journey of a sleepless night.

An incredible roster of many of the top names in English folk will appear at the Frome winter festival including several 2012 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards nominees. Headliners are Spiers and Boden and Show of Hands frontman Steve Knightley.

For tickets and further details visit www.fromefolkfestival.co.uk.