A straightforward message is not interesting for me,” says Nilüfer Yanya, speaking from her home in east London. Yanya’s voice carries a contemplative rhythm, frequently punctuated by bright laughter or an introspective “hmmm.” She often adds a layer of meta-commentary to her thoughts, shading in her ideas as she explains them. “I get inspired writing about something that’s a bit less clear,” she elaborates. Her latest album, My Method Actor, released this month, embodies her belief that the most compelling ideas exist in the spaces in between. The album is a deep reflection on elusive yet engaging themes like memory and nostalgia, all while showcasing her evolution as a storyteller.
It’s easy to find yourself absorbed in Yanya’s latest single, “Like I Say (I Runaway),” letting the steady rhythm of the six-string guitar and her voice’s low rasp take hold. Yet, what truly draws the listener in is her vulnerability. “The minute I’m not in control, I’m tearing up inside,” she sings—a fitting admission from an artist who has often expressed nerves about relinquishing control.
Born to two visual artists, Yanya was surrounded by creativity from an early age. She began learning classical piano at school but soon fell in love with the electric guitar, largely influenced by her older sister’s favorite bands, including The Strokes, Bloc Party, and The Pixies. She picked up the instrument at 12, practicing with musicians like Dave Okumu from The Invisible and recording her first demos in her uncle Joe Dworniak’s studio. These early tracks, uploaded to SoundCloud in 2014, laid bare her post-punk influences and unique vocal range, combining her high falsetto with a gravelly, low register over minor chords rich with reverb.
Yanya’s journey into music could have taken a different turn at age 20 when she was shortlisted for a girl group project led by Louis Tomlinson of One Direction. She declined, choosing instead to focus on her own music—a decision that seems more than wise in hindsight. Between 2016 and 2018, she released a series of EPs on Blue Flowers, highlighting her signature melodies, intricate rhythms, and cryptic narratives. These early works foreshadowed the emotional depth and complexity she would continue to explore.
On her 2019 debut Miss Universe and its follow-up PAINLESS in 2022, Yanya pushed her sound into new territory, often experimenting with grungier, more distorted guitar tones. In “anotherlife,” the closing track from PAINLESS, Yanya first hinted at the themes of childhood, memory, and nostalgia that would come to the forefront on Method Actor. “And I don’t act my age/ Now you kick my love away,” she sings, her vocals layered in harmonic textures, suggesting the existential uncertainty of adulthood.
In Method Actor, this feeling of uncertainty takes center stage. “What you looking for? / Shut up and raise your glass if you’re not sure,” she sings on the album’s opener, “Keep On Dancing.” The song expresses a sentiment aimed at both her listeners and herself. Throughout the album, there’s a recurring motif of escapism—from the pressures of growing older and the responsibilities it entails. This theme appears in the melancholy melodies of “Binding,” where a long drive represents a form of emotional escape, and in the literal imagery of fleeing in “Like I Say (I Runaway).” In the music video for the latter, Yanya plays a runaway bride, a decision she describes as partly inspired by personal anxieties about drifting apart from friends as their lives take different paths. “I see people getting married around me, but I don’t really have any desire to do that myself,” she confesses. “It’s strange feeling like that’s normal now because everyone’s grown up.”
As Yanya reflects on her own sense of growing older, she admits that she’s apprehensive about entering her 30s. “You have an idea of what your 20s are going to be like and who you’re going to be when you’re 30, and then it goes past so quickly. You’re still living in your teenage head, but you’re an adult,” she explains.
The concept of method acting also plays a crucial role in the new album, particularly on the title track. “I’d love to drown in my new costume,” she sings, inviting the listener into a narrative where she seeks to escape the pressures of reality by inhabiting a new persona. “I like the idea of method acting,” Yanya says, “because you’re not really acting—you’re just reacting, becoming the character.” Though her lyrics often address a nameless “you” or “us,” Yanya clarifies that the album isn’t about a specific relationship but is instead a reflection of her relationship with herself.
For this album, Yanya made a deliberate choice to work with only one producer, longtime collaborator Will Archer. This shift marks a departure from her earlier albums, which featured multiple producers. “Before, I’d always had a different track produced by somebody else, and I think that really affects the overall result quite a lot,” she explains. Choosing to collaborate solely with Archer represents an expression of trust, and in some ways, a newfound confidence. “I realize now that [using multiple producers] probably came from a place of insecurity, not trusting myself to trust someone else with the album as much as me.”
In describing the songwriting process, Yanya speaks as if the songs themselves have their own consciousness: “The song’s already in there, and you have to dig out the right words that fit underneath the melody.” Her impressionistic lyrics often seem abstract, but they are brought to life through her vocal delivery. Whether or not listeners understand specific references, like her line “Do you feel dumb applying all that sand and dust to science?” on “Faith’s Late,” Yanya’s mournful falsetto conveys the emotional weight behind the words.
Looking ahead, Yanya is preparing to take Method Actor on tour in both the US and the UK. While performing live didn’t initially come naturally to her, it has pushed her to embrace a larger-than-life version of herself. “When I was younger, I didn’t have much of a sense of self. I had a smaller idea of who I was,” she recalls. As she readies herself for the upcoming shows, she reflects on how her life as a professional musician has become almost “normal.”
As our conversation draws to a close, the focus turns to the future. What would 20-year-old Nilüfer think of her nearly-decade-older self? Yanya pauses before answering, “I wish my younger self could see that life is bigger than an album cycle. You don’t have to weigh your life up against music. I think I’m realizing now that I can just be me, and that’s okay.
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