‘Songs’ and ‘Instrumentals’: the Adrianne Lenker albums that Nilüfer Yanya aspires towards
Singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya first encountered music in the same way many of us did – through our mothers’ wombs. The 30-year-old’s parents were living abroad in Turkey while her mother was pregnant, a time in which Turkish pop singer Nilüfer constantly played on the radio, leading to Yanya’s mother and father eventually naming her after the Eurovision star.
But her musical education didn’t end there. While growing up in London, Yanya often listened to Turkish music at home, paying homage to her father’s heritage. Eventually gravitating towards rock, like so many of us do after waking the fuck up to what it has to offer, the artist learned how to play guitar as a young teenager, before starting her career by uploading demos onto SoundCloud.
After turning down an offer to join a girl group produced by Louis Tomlinson, a type of talent acquisition she has since described as “selfish”, Yanya released her first EP, Small Crimes/Keep on Calling, in 2016, followed by a second, Plant Feed, the year after. It wasn’t until 2019, however, that Yanya finally achieved that goddamn elusive critical acclaim. Her debut album, Miss Universe, combined influences from soul, jazz and indie rock, so much so that it’s not hard to hear the likes of Amy Winehouse and the Pixies in her music. Still, there are two musical works that Yanya aspires toward like no other: Adrianne Lenker’s 2020 releases, songs and instrumentals.
Speaking to The Quietus, Yanya said: “Adrianne Lenker is the type of artist whom I admire and love pretty much everything that they make, especially with Big Thief. I was so happy when this record came out. I hadn’t heard much of Adrianne’s solo stuff before this. When this came out, I think it was a Covid record. To me, it was very soothing, but at the same time, it was hard-hitting lyrics and stories. At least, that’s how they come across to me.”
She added, “The bravery of being able to write something so open and stripped back, I find that very inspiring. Again, she’s another artist that, when I listen to their music, I’m left wondering how they do it and manage to make it all about music and keep writing and keep putting out records. I’d like to be like that. It’s so cool. I feel like everybody has that potential.”
Written in the aftermath of a breakup, Lenker’s most “personal record”, songs, features some of her most notable tracks to date, including ‘anything’ and ‘not a lot, just forever’, which, together, have amassed nearly 300million streams on Spotify. Instrumentals, however, offers something unique. A 37-minute-long album, the LP consists of just two songs, both extended instrumental pieces. ‘Music for Indigo’ offers tranquil segments of guitar improvisation, whereas ‘Mostly Chimes’ uses recordings of birdsong and wind chimes to encapsulate the natural environment within which the track was recorded.
But where did it all start? After Lenker’s band, Big Thief, were forced to cancel their European tour due to the pandemic, the vocalist travelled to Western Massachusetts to stay with her sister. Despite having no intention of creating new music, Lenker’s solitude led to her writing the two albums, which were eventually recorded with Phil Weinrobe in a small Berkshire Mountain cabin.
The makeshift studio’s location caused significant problems for Lenker and Weinrobe, who spent three weeks attempting to overcome electrical difficulties. After considering recording the albums on a Sony Walkman, the duo decided on using an analogue-analogue-analogue (AAA).
Of the 11 songs featured on the album of the same name, nine are believed to have been written during the cabin sessions. Featuring Lenker’s unmistakable vocals and acoustic guitar, the albums also incorporate the distinct scraping of white pine needles, which Lenker fashioned into an instrument.
