Start Listening To: Nina Cobham

Nina Cobham talks trust, tenderness and the stories behind her debut album Basis Of A Pinky Promise.

Nina Cobham’s debut album Basis Of A Pinky Promise is a gently confident record, built from late-night thoughts and bilingual reflections on identity, trust and love. Written between Manchester, LA and New York, it captures both movement and stillness, shaped by the emotional clarity that comes with learning to listen to yourself. We caught up with Nina to talk about childhood homes, creative rituals, and the power of a pinky promise.

For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

Where I’m ‘from’ always feels a bit weird for me to answer, I think kids who moved around a lot growing up will understand this feeling - I was born in Leeds but left very young and moved around a lot of places, so I don’t really remember it… Where I would say childhood home is, is my town in Spain - all my core childhood memories are here, and for now, my current home is Manchester (Greater Manchester is also the place my family lived when we were growing up, so I have vivid memories of when we’d stay here! Memories of my grandparents and great grandparents are here, maybe that’s why I’m so attached). This subject is actually what the song ‘Mejor Contigo’ goes into on my album!

Basis Of A Pinky Promise feels both deeply personal and quietly defiant. When did you know you were ready to make a full-length album?

I didn’t really feel ready, honestly. I went on the trip to the US with the mindset of ‘lets make music for the sake of music’, and that was it. I had been having a hard time and I think sometimes when you put pressure on yourself to make music for the sake of a project, the music doesn’t always feel wholly authentic. Obviously I had in the back of my mind that I needed to make an album as part of my label deal, but I tried to focus more on the fact I was in the room having fun with my friends.

At the end of the trip, listening through when all the songs were together, I knew this was the album and that’s when I felt ready to put it out. I think tracklisting is so important as part of that, it tells a story, and these songs pretty much stayed in the same order from the beginning. 

You’ve described the album as being about trust, especially trusting yourself. What helped you get to that place emotionally?

I realised that to feel better I had to make decisions that aligned more with the relationship I wanted with myself; as in, stop self sabotaging and people pleasing. Your relationship with yourself is the most important one, you’re the one you spend the most time with. I started making decisions based on what I want, saying no, trusting my gut first. It then made it easier to trust this other person in a relationship, because I knew I could trust them as long as they keep giving me reasons to, and if not, I could trust myself to make the best decision. I think that takes away the fear of trusting, somewhat, or at least makes the idea of the scarier outcome being more palatable.

The title Basis Of A Pinky Promise is so evocative. What does that symbol mean to you?

It’s from the line in the song ‘Pinky Promise’ - “I’d do it all on the basis of a pinky promise” - it's this idea that you’re willing to dive headfirst into a relationship with someone, and giving it your all, instead of holding back incase you get hurt. 

I guess this project is about that, being vulnerable and saying what you feel and choosing to trust based on some small, flimsy demonstration from the other person.. Some people think pinky promises are childish, and it's this metaphor for the point that, if it means something to you (even if it's a small symbol, which means nothing to other people) it’s ok that it holds weight to you, and means something… if that makes sense.

Writing and recording between LA, New York, London and Manchester must have brought different energies. How did those cities shape the record?

London was only one song and it was more of a dark-feeling song; my home in Manchester brings this safe energy which is what I always return to - it’s where I started a bunch of the songs before going to America, and where I finished some of the songs when I got back, it’s my favourite place to write because it all falls out of me a lot easier; NY and LA there was kind of this energy of pushing the boat out, I’d never been to either of these places so everything felt new and fun and I think that's the energy that was channeled into the songs that were made there.

You’ve built your career on bilingual songwriting, moving between English and Spanish with such ease. How does language shape the emotional tone of your songs?

There’s something more passionate sometimes in Spanish, which I feel English can’t always convey. It just grabs the point I’m trying to make more easily. It feels more romantic, more poetic to me. The flow of it is always something I pay attention to, the language switching is only where it makes sense and naturally where I’d go.

I think metaphorically speaking it's also making the point of, there’s some parts of me which this person I’m writing about doesn’t understand and I’m having to translate to a language that makes sense to them, which is something we do in whatever form of relationship with other people as humans, and I think is beautiful.

Mejor Contigo (Homesick) captures the tension between independence and intimacy. Has writing helped you navigate that push and pull?

The process of writing and making this album has seen me through anxious attachment, to feeling secure in my relationship, and everything in between. It’s also pushed me to face myself more deeply - I think your art does that to you. It’s like a spiritual practice. Writing has always been my way of navigating and working through anything in my life, putting those thoughts into words and hearing them back to you out loud, that's what you do in therapy! It absolutely helps me navigate that push and pull, in any aspect of my life - sometimes I don’t fully know what's going on in my subconscious until I start writing and I’m like oh! I didn’t realise I was feeling this.

This record was made alongside your partner, who shot the artwork and was with you throughout. How did that intimacy affect the creative process?

I trust him, there’s something so much more personal about these photos where you’re not just staring into a lens, which can sometimes feel daunting, instead you’re looking at this person who loves you and sees the best in you.

And I also trust his work is going to be beautiful, he’s an incredible photographer, which is the primary reason I work with him - he sees things other people may not even notice.

So I trust that he understands exactly what I have in mind, he knows how much my work is like a whole, well rounded, body of work - I can picture exactly how it looks in my head from very early on, he knows how to translate that and exactly how to make that vision come to life. His work on this project was better than I imagined, it took away any insecurity.

You’ve said this is your most vulnerable work yet. Were there any songs that felt especially difficult or cathartic to write?

Not so much difficult to write, as I’ve grown up I don’t feel embarrassed at all about what I’m saying in songs, when I was in my teens I did, but I find it so easy to write about whatever it is - sometimes it does feel vulnerable to record these things with other people in the room - which is when I bring it back to my safe space, my home, and record and comp it on my own. It also adds more of a special way to record! At home alone is my favourite way to record vocals honestly, but being in the room with my best friends, especially on the more upbeat songs, the energy is amazing to be in, that’s one of my favourite feelings in the world. I think the most cathartic one to write was LOML, its the most vulnerable one, and getting that into a song was so special.

Do visuals play a big role in how you build your songs?

A hugeeee role. I’m very visual and I picture what the song would look like, what season, what time of day, where, I make moodboards for them all on Pinterest pretty soon after making them.

What do you love right now?

Summer meals, sitting int the sun, reading, hot yoga, mint choc chip icecream

What do you hate right now?

Trump. And people who ‘just aren’t political’.

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?

Any Jonas Brothers - I could give a more serious, sophisticated response but honestly, this is the most realistic one. My dad played such an eclectic mix of music when I was growing up, but I am also a girl who grew up on Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, High School Musical, Camp Rock… they’re still iconic to me.

If someone was listening to Basis Of A Pinky Promise alone on a quiet night, what would you want them to feel by the end?

Understood. I’d hope there would be at least one song on there that could meet them in their current situation, and make them feel like ‘oh there’s someone out there writing exactly what I’m feeling!’ - those songs that meet me where I am are the most special to me.