“A modern classic”: The albums that shaped Nülifer Yanya
No matter what kind of songwriter you’re listening to, whether it’s legends from the 1960s, such as Paul McCartney or a more modern prolific artist like Nilüfer Yanya, you will find a string of excellent albums behind them which helped them develop their taste and find a tone of voice.
Despite only having five albums to her name so far, Yanya shows an incredible range. Her debut record, Miss Universe, was a heavy conceptual record that was elongated and intrinsic. Meanwhile, some of her more recent offerings focus predominantly on getting a lot out of guitar work, bringing out exciting music that straddles a line between rock, jazz, and shoegaze. Her artistry seems to hold no bounds.
When you start to pick apart some of the albums that she called her most essential, this versatile and exciting style begins to make a lot more sense. Her choices are all relatively modern, but they span a range of different sounds and really take advantage of how much artists today can dabble in various genres.
For instance, her first choice was Big Thief’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, which is a healthy blend of folk and rock music. The album is both a large-sounding record and one which comes across as incredibly intimate.
“I’m a big fan of all their albums,” said Yanya, “I really like the fact that on this record they’ve kept their sound, but they’ve also really pushed it and explored different elements. I also like how prolific they are, but also at the same time don’t make any compromise when it comes to music.”
Some of her other choices lean heavily on the R&B and soul side of music as she chose Blonde by Frank Ocean and Mother by Cleo Sol. Sol is celebrated as one of the most exciting vocal talents in the world at the moment, with a completely unique sounding voice and one that is easy to listen to but equally as moving.
“Another modern classic,” said Yanya when discussing the record Mother, “What more should I even say? She is so underrated as an artist, and she’s so much more than just a vocalist. This album is an amazing, focused body of work.”
Of course, while a lot of these records are modern, there are some that are slightly older, which helped Yanya develop a loose tone of voice early on. A lot of people go into music with a specific sound in mind and then alter what they’re doing because of how personal preferences change, and you can hear this in Yanya’s sound. She originally started making music with Pixies in mind, and you can hear that influence in her albums.
“When I found their music it helped me understand what it was that I was kinda working towards,” she said. “That music can be kinda weird but catchy at the same time.”
It’s always interesting finding out what albums an artist is most commonly drawn to, as they usually help give you better insight into their creative process. This is very much the case with Yanya, as you can hear elements from her favourite albums in every song she’s put out.
The albums that shaped Nülifer Yanya:
- Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
- Frank Ocean – Blonde
- Pixies – Doolittle
- Cleo Sol – Mother
- Tirzah – Devotion
