NILÜFER YANYA

“I’d love to drown in my own costume” sings Nilüfer Yanya on the blistering titular single from her upcoming album My Method Actor, released on Ninja Tune in September. The song, an Opening Night-style ode to losing oneself in performance, is apt: the life of a touring musician involves similar transformations to Stanislavski's notorious theory of performance, picking at the scabs of past selves and performing vulnerability night after night. Written during a period of late-20s transition, the album is Yanya’s most bracing and confrontational album yet, building upon the oppositions – tension and release, love and anger – that made her 2022 album PAINLESS so satisfying. It is a record that responds to the strange contortions of public life and the strength required to stay true to oneself. By the end of the chorus, Yanya is resolute: “I gave you everything you needed”. TANK spoke to Yanya on the method acting, cruise ship anxiety and her upcoming performance at RALLY festival. 

TANK Your new album is called My Method Actor. How did you chance upon the metaphor and how did it pertain to your own experience?
NILÜFER YANYA I didn't think much about it when I wrote it as a lyric, but when it came to naming the album it was the only reasonable title. What I find interesting is that the theory behind method acting says that you're no longer acting because you’re so embodied in a character: you’re both of those selves on stage. Once you’ve linked you and them together, you’ve stopped acting and started reacting. That’s the only way I know how to perform: I don’t have a character I turn into on stage or an on/off switch, it’s just me. With this album, the reality set in that this is what I do now. I'm the least likely person to be onstage shouting, and sometimes I don’t know if I'm the right person for the job, but it's just become part of me. It's a weird turn of events, but my attraction and repulsion towards it keeps it interesting. I've seen myself develop through music as a person. I would just be a totally different person if I hadn't given myself these opportunities.

TANK The record was recorded with just you and Wilma Archer, who has worked on both of your past albums. Why just you two this time around?
NY We've been working together in an increased capacity over the last two records, and this time, we decided from the start we would work just us two. I’ve known Will for over six years and it took a while for me to trust somebody enough to get to that point. I’m happy with the end result because it’s just two people’s visions. Collaboration in the music industry can feel quite shallow, like an exchange of goods and services, and I don't choose to work like that. It comes down to luck and mutual respect, honest, realistic understanding, and knowing that the ideas may be coming from a deeper place. When I was younger, I used to do a lot of sessions, but after a while, it feels like you're wasting a lot of energy and getting to know people a tiny bit like speed dating. Sometimes it’s worth it, and sometimes I’d rather just get on with what I’m doing.

TANK Within a band context, some artists thrive off clash or artistic friction. Is there an element in you that enjoys that quality?
NY I hate it! [laughs] I don't like any kind of conflict. I’m learning it’s okay to have different ideas from a person and still really like what they're doing. It's okay to say, I don't like that, and it doesn’t mean I hate you. There's always going to be a little bit of friction or conflict, but it's worth it. Will writes the music and I write the melody, vocals and lyrics, that’s the way we work together. That’s something I never would have done before when I was younger and first started performing, it would have felt like cheating. Now I realise it’s totally fine to work by yourself, but it’s interesting to collaborate with someone else in a shared sense.

TANK There’s the weird paradox with relationships, where in relinquishing control to someone else, you sound more like yourself. 
NY Yeah, you find yourself through those limitations.

TANK Your sister Molly Daniel directed the video for “Like I Say (I runaway)”, which sees you fleeing your own wedding. How did the idea come about?
NY The key lyric in the song is “I run away”, and I said to Molly “What if it was like a series of characters running away from major life events?” That's how we ended up with me running away from the wedding ceremony. We filmed it in Chelmsford in Essex; it was so cold! It’s like a survival video. I was running in the rain, and we only had one wedding dress to wear. I persuaded my actual boyfriend to be at the altar, and after I watched it I was like, that’s a bit harsh.

TANK RALLY is partnering with a bunch of London-based grassroots organisations for the festival. I was wondering if you wanted to shout out any music platforms that you utilised at the beginning of your career.
NY Shoutout NTS, because NTS filmed a video of “Hey”, the first thing I ever released, and that helped get some of my music out there. People still come up to me and say, Oh that’s my favourite song of yours. The Southbank Centre as well, I’ve been going there since I was 12. I was in a piano trio at the Centre for Young Musicians and my teacher would be like “You got a concert!”, and I’d be playing in the lobby.

TANK Who are you going to see at RALLY?
NY I love Nourished by Time, I’ve been listening to their last album quite a lot. I’m definitely going to see my friend Fabiana Palladino: my drummer also plays in her band. Also Mount Kimbie and ML Buch. The lineup looks really good. I like day festivals: I don’t enjoy festivals where you feel like you’re trapped and can’t escape. I played a festival on a cruise ship once and it was the worst experience. I’d just lost my passport and there was no escape. I was literally lost at sea. 

My Method Actor is out on 13th September. RALLY will be hosted at Southwark Park on 24th August.