Born in Leicester and raised in the small village of Birstall, singer songwriter Niall O’Connor is looking to be the new acoustic artist on the popular music scene that everyone talks about. Niall was raised in a family where TV as a kid was limited and was pushed by his parents to do things creative in his spare time such as art, which is a possible foundation to his music creativity and imagination. Basing a lot of his academic years around Sport, in particular tennis, Niall had never actually picked up a guitar until he was 19. After only a year and a half of playing guitar and singing, Niall has started the pubs and clubs process; sharing his voice and songs with the Leeds music scene. Not yet gaining any awards for his efforts, but through studying at the Leeds College of Music for a year he has managed to breakthrough into paid gigs. Gigs where he has supported up and coming artists such as Leo Stannard and Charlotte OC. Not bad for a lad who’s only been involved in music for two years. But Niall is aspiring for more. A business brain is something distinctive that makes Niall stand out from other singer song writers on his scene. Whilst studying a music business degree at the Leeds College of Music and through observing the practising musicians around him, Niall has learned artists receive a lot of misconceptions with regards to the business side of the industry. He realises that focusing on self-promotion and being legally equipped within music, is an advantage and not a disadvantage as some artists may be led to believe. Through the course he managed to broaden his knowledge into these areas such as self-promotion and marketing, legal and commercial issues and digital and media literacy. Throughout his years of study he has also immersed himself into music’s historical, sociological and ideological contexts, including analytical approaches to, for example, youth culture, race, class, gender and audience perception and consumption. With plenty of originals to offer, Niall is looking to get four songs mastered for an EP launch and is hoping to boost his presence within the popular music scene. Niall articulates his take on the genre of music he is involved with: “Every listener, if they like it or not, has at some a point in their life felt vulnerable in some way. I feel a big part to connecting with an audience is through songs of heartbreak, anger or sadness; any song that expresses raw emotion. Then when you hear a song and appreciate something similar occurred during your lifetime, you then connect with it because you feel like that person understands you.” Niall recognises that personal experiences can effect a person’s musical interpretation, and hopes that through his own work he can use that ideal to his advantage when resonating with his listeners.