1.Who exactly are you and what do you do?

I'm Nicole Cox and I'm a vocalist and songwriter from Salford, as well as a Popular Music student at the university.

2. The basics...United or City?

You're asking a Salford lass... United all the way!

3. How did you get into singer/song writing?  

Well I'd done a bit of singing at high school but was more of a piano buff back then, but started taking it a lot more seriously when I was 16 at college and started my music A Levels there. Now however it's kind of taken over my life and I consider it my profession now and not just something I'm working with. The musicians you meet at university change your perspective on being a professional musician I think, and doing a course like that either makes or breaks you as a performer and muso. Song writing is a relatively new thing for me though, I'd never had the courage before to take it up, but again it's down to who you meet and who has that enthusiasm that rubs off on you. If it wasn't for those people I don't think I'd have that push to do this.

4. Why should I listen to you? 

I think you should listen to my songs because at the end of it, it'll broaden your outlook on different music genres and styles. In the music climate now people seem to be becoming narrower minded on what they should and shouldn't listen to. It's all down to commercialism and marketing. As a musician I'm trying not to go that way. I don't believe in using my money or image to sell what I do, it's just what I do and I enjoy it, and I try and reflect that on what I produce. There's a trend now for female singers and song writers, and no doubt I'll be categorised in that, but I try to make the music as original and thought provoking as possible. I'm not trying to do something madly outlandish or different, I just want to make good music, that's a bit more unique than what is out there at the moment.

5. What do you do when you are away from the microphone/recording studio? 

Sad to say but I tend to study more music and song write quite a lot. It's quite hard once someone has noticed you to keep ahead of what is expected of you so this is quite a tiring thing, but always worth it at the end. I'm lucky I guess because not only do I get to go out there and do what I love, whether it's gigging with friends or performing at university but I get to study it and get an education in it, so I'm pretty happy at the moment about that. At the end of the day, if I'm not singing, I'm writing. If I'm not writing, I'm studying it and if I'm not doing that I'm listening to it.

6. Manchester and Salford are areas which have a big history of music. Do you draw a lot of your inspiration from here? 

That's a difficult question for me, because in both areas there wasn't any real inspiration I could get from female artists, due to the lack of them. I understand there are quite successful female artists from both areas, but it was always hard to grasp onto that and I'd tend to fall back on the male side of music round here. As a performer I'd say I don't draw inspiration from female artists here, because I can't think of many 20 year old women from round here that performed, but male performers and listening to music, and wanting to be a song writer most definitely. Salford and Manchester has shaped most of my musical taste, especially when I became more aware of it in my mid teens. It's amazing how it's not just people from the area that it's shaped but all over the world. The great thing about coming from such a musically cultured area is how much it becomes a part of you, and especially when the song writers from these areas write songs so personal to your upbringing.

7. What are your other major influences? 

Like before, definitely the people I've met at university. It's just one thing where you are so appreciative of being in a room of people who understand what it's like and have such a love for it that it just makes you want to create more and more. It's such a sad statement I know but it's true, because you feel you've waited years to meet people like that and you get into a room with them and you can't stop talking about it. There's probably people I owe a lot to, that would be the people who were in my assessment band and Tantrum, who I met the lead guitarist and singer through university, because it was those people that told me to get everything down and enjoy it and they still do. Also I think I've listened to more music in the past 6 or so months than I ever have done because of them, and now I'm kind of getting ideas and such from artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Counting Crows, John Mayer, John Butler Trio, James Brown, Regina Spektor, Jeff Buckley... the list is endless.

8. What is the best thing about performing?

Oh dear, hard one! There's probably two for me actually. One is being on stage with people who are having a good time, and know what they are doing, proper professionals. I've done a couple of gigs with Tantrum who are a young blues band and are doing really well for themselves and you feel really comfortable with them on stage because they just don't give a thought to what people think of their music, they just do it, and usually to elated crowds. So you get up with them and it's just a buzz. The second is when you see those couple of faces in a crowd, and they're either watching you intently whilst you are performing and getting into the groove and flow of the music and you can tell they are enjoying themselves. If I can get someone to enjoy themselves by performing, I'm a happy lady indeed.

9. …And the worst? 

I always find getting on stage a bit of a nightmare, I always become a little embarrassed, I have no idea why, I'll get over that though! Also, sometimes I think too much about how I'm going to sing a certain line and worry if I'll go out of tune. I haven't done yet, but I need to loosen up.

10. In the music-making process (writing, performing, recording, gigs etc), what is your favourite bit?

All of it! Seriously there isn't one bit that I don't enjoy. All of them have their downsides, it's natural, but the positives always outshine that.

11. Who are your personal heroes?

The musicians I have met over the past couple of months without a doubt, and my friends for giving me that courage to not give up even if something won't go right, because the next day it'll turn out fine. I'm not listing the musicians because I'd have to go through my whole iTunes library and name every artist on there, because if I listen to their music it's making me want to create my own.

12. Finally…what does the future hold for Nicole Cox?

I have absolutely no idea! I'd be lying if I said I didn't want success but we'll see. If it happens for me, it happens, I'm only going to keep trying until it does. Right now we're getting the band together called 'The Ammo Ida', and we're still recruiting and I'm just waiting to start my new semester at university in September. So in the meantime it is more writing and recording for me!