London’s Nilüfer Yanya probes existential themes in the gorgeous language of twangy, rhythmic guitars.
This concoction sets her apart from other singer-songwriters. Nilüfer sews pop, rock and jazz sensibilities into a mesmerising patchwork of her thoughtful musings.
With her third album, My Method Actor, Nilüfer found herself asking what motivates her to continue performing. Caught in this transitional whirlwind, she responded by writing her most mature, decorative and triumphant record.
Nilüfer Yanya
- WHEN: 170 RUSSELL
- WHERE: 19 FEB
- Tickets: here
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Compared to her earlier, lighter releases, this album sees guitar – the first instrument she ever learned – further to the forefront than ever before.
“I feel the music has gotten richer and denser,” Nilüfer tells me. “It’s less minimal because when I think about my first record, every song was different, but this one feels more cohesive.”
My Method Actor came together with the help of Nilüfer’s longtime creative partner, Wilma Archer, recording across London, Wales and Eastbourne. Summarising their collaboration, Nilüfer says, “I’m much more focused on the melody and lyrics, he’s a lot more focused on the music and production.”
It’s a partnership she truly values as an artist. “Wilma has so many interesting and cool ideas. I think, ‘I would never have been able to come up with that.’ It’s inspiring for me.”
It’s no secret collaboration is at the heart of Nilüfer’s music, unlocking something larger than writing by herself.
“When something’s not all your idea, you really want to give it space,” she explains. “You’re not trying to cover it up. You’re not embarrassed about it, and you’re proud of it. You think something’s cool, so you’re like, ‘Let’s make that bigger.’”
This is where My Method Actor differs from everything before. To give the music what it deserved, she only recorded with Wilma. Usually, she’d “work with lots of people and try to bring the threads together,” but the results were never as satisfying as they could’ve been.
Working with someone on the same wavelength was the best way to handle the uncertainty she’d been facing, leading to fascinating insights.
“When you’re trusting one other person, it becomes shared,” Nilüfer says. “It becomes your project together. It’s not just your project. You’re giving a lot of responsibility to somebody.”
She describes this as “a relief” – there’s an expectation in the singer-songwriter world for such artists to make records by themselves. “I think I saw myself in that way,” Nilüfer admits. “But a lot of my favourite records have a whole band of people behind them. You don’t always have to stick to [writing alone].
“I felt like I needed to go on this journey of opening up creatively.”
However, she isn’t afraid to share how romanticised songwriting can be. The writing process was “gruelling at some points”, but the need to be there for each other in the room helped push them both forward.
Nilüfer clarifies: “When there’s just two people, it feels like it’s a mirror to yourself. That’s intense, and it’s not necessarily intense because of the other person, but because you see your own ideas and what you’re seeing in yourself. It’s like a weird therapy session.”
After touring My Method Actor, Nilüfer reconnected with Wilma to release the Dancing Shoes EP, leftover songs from the recording sessions now given a new lease of life.
Titles are another way Nilüfer breaks convention. “They can be something that throws people off, like Dancing Shoes,” she shares. “There’s that whole genre of dance music, which isn’t really in my world.”
Amid her reinvention, you may think there’s a need for Nilüfer to try to stay authentic, but that isn’t in the picture.
She says plainly, “I don’t know if it exists. It’s such a funny concept when you think about it. People are always trying new things to get to this true version of themselves, so what is authenticity?”
Maybe it’s resigning to her reality of being a touring artist: “It’s not for me to be on stage performing or be an entertaining person – I wouldn’t say it’s fake, but I really have to make myself do it.”
Perhaps it’s knowing what’s right for her. “The authenticity for me is accepting, ‘This is my life. This is what I want to make, and I want to be creating things,’” she reveals. “I feel there is something pure in that.”
Undoubtedly, Nilüfer’s deeply inquisitive nature is what makes her artistry so compelling to witness, both on and off stage.
Read more of Beat issue 1737 here.
