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"Wait for it to go cold, then butter it," yells Remi Nicole. An auspicious start to any interview surely and totally out of context given that the first question posed to the North London songstress was "How are you?"

Thankfully, Nicole's not suffering from an impromptu attack of Tourettes, she's merely giving instructions to someone on how she likes her toast.

"I hate it when the butter melts on toast. I like it to cool down first," she explains, in more considered fashion, before saying she's looking forward to her afternoon off, when she plans to sit on London's Primrose Hill and take advantage of a rare burst of sunshine.

It's ironic that Nicole's debut single, Go Mr Sunshine, was released last summer, as it offers an accurate description of what happens in Britain when the sun comes out to play.

According to the 24-year-old singer songwriter, when the sun shines, fights in pubs stop, lads walk around without their shirts on and girls flaunt as much flesh as possible in order to ensnare one of the topless males and avoid spending a cold winter on the shelf.

"I wrote it last summer, at work. I used to do administration for a company called Infection Control Solutions. Things are a bit more exciting for me these days," she giggles.

Now we all surf the net while we're working, spend way too much time on Facebook and waste afternoons emailing our friends, but sitting at the desk with a guitar?

"The boss wasn't in this day," she admits. "I always carry my guitar in the boot of my car, so I just nipped out and got it. It was always pretty quiet, but this day was especially so."

Not only was the song written while Nicole was at work, it was also the first song she wrote.

"I've had a guitar since I was about 18, and knew how to play an A, an E and a G
chord. I started playing seriously last October, and that's when I started writing songs.
It's all happened really quickly.

"I need to up my game, though. I just need to practise all the time - now it's a career I need to get better and better," she says with her guitar across her knee, signalling her previous statement is no hollow promise.

Nicole's as-yet-untitled debut album will be out in November and, while the aforementioned song is a standout, there's more to her than an ode to summer hi-jinks.

"It's just about observation really. Some songs are about how I feel, some are about how other people feel and others are just general stuff that most people can understand. I write about personal experiences as well.

"I wouldn't want to be graphic about things in a song if people are going to hear it, though. Unfortunately, I'm not as brave as an artists on this album as say Amy Winehouse was on her second record. I'm trying to bear in mind that I have to keep some things to myself.

"I write about personal stuff, but in a way that's similar to if I was talking to my mum about it. If I was talking to my friends about it, it would be a lot different. I suppose it's just a bit more of an edited version of things."

Rock N Roll deals with the corner of society who expect a young girl of mixed race to sing urban songs, rather than catchy guitar pop, but as she chimes in the blissful chorus "I've got no rhythm and I've got no blues, I'm as happy as can be," she can wind down low if she wants to, just like the girls on Channel U, she just prefers rock 'n' roll.

Despite being from North London, her vocal delivery bears an uncanny resemblance to Alex Turner's, all accentuated vowels and emphasised syllables. Similar, it may be, but it'd be foolish not to look beyond that to take in the rest of what she has to offer.

A former actress, Nicole changed her mind on pursuing a life in front of the camera due to the roles she was offered.

"I've not given up on it totally, I would like to go back and do more, because I did like it. I just wasn't doing what I wanted - I wanted gritty roles that I could get my teeth into, but I was getting easy, boring roles.

"It wasn't a hard decision to say no. With acting, you're saying someone else's lines, but with singing, it's all you. My songs are all mine, and it's much more satisfying”.

words: Andy Welch

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