Guest of the Month Sep 2012: Nicole McNeilly

Nicole is the newest member of the PRS for Music Foundation team, administrating our applications and funding payments, and coordinating the New Music Plus…UK programme. Originally from Northern Ireland, she studied music in Glasgow and has recently completed an MA in Cultural Policy in London. The trombone is her love, playing jazz, contemporary classical and free improvisation. She’ll be performing with Glasgow Improviser’s Orchestra for GIOFest V in November.

So, when she isn’t improvising with a trombone, here’s what’s rocking Nicole’s boat.

Adam Stafford
I chose him out of a host of Glasgow/Scotland based artists. Glasgow has an incredible music scene as we all know – and Stafford’s ‘Shot You Down Summer Wannabes’ has been a long-enduring favourite track.

John Martyn ‘Small Hours’
One of those songs that utterly took my breath away on first hearing and every time since.

Katherine Phillipa
I caught her in June at a gig at Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast. Though still young, she brings together and adds to the current female vocal sound at the minute and her song-writing skill and performance style make her someone to watch out for.

Purity Ring ‘Fineshrine’
I first heard Fineshrine on BBC 6 Music – this single and the album Shrines from the Canadian duo have been the soundtrack to my recent weekends. Fineshrine is beautiful in its simplicity – the whole album has an incredible sense of cohesion and craft.