I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: February 7, 2019] Nilüfer Yanya

I had heard a little buzz about Nilüfer Yanya (and NPR had featured her at a SXSW show).  I found her music peculiar.   Nearly everything she does has a staccato feel–guitar lines, melodies and especially her vocal delivery.  I find that her vocal style is either love or hate–sometimes even within a song itself.

Her music is sort of jazzy, but with definite rock angles.  Her guitar playing style was pretty delicate with some really excellent-looking chords (all over the neck of her guitar). She played delicately most of the time, with the loud angles handled by drums and bass.  She also had a saxophonist/keyboardist who handled a lot of the accents and sound effects.

But most of the focus has to be on her voice.

Sometimes I found her singing style to be enticing.  She repeated words a lot and sometimes she repeated phrases that I couldn’t understand–so it became just another sound in the set. I believe that is the point.

I really liked the oohing sounds. Like in the concert opener”Keep On Calling.” Her “oohs” are really heavenly.  And she plays some really interesting chords choices as well.  It’s a lovely introduction.  But when she starts singing, it takes some of that ethereal nature away.

I love her British vowels and pronunciations, but sometimes that delivery is really odd.

Her band was really fantastic.  I didn’t think I would enjoy the saxophone and while there were times when I didn’t, for the most part it added a new layer of music instead of standing out and dominating the sound.  When she played ways of synths, I thought it was a bit more effective (but I’m not a sax fan in general).

Her bassist was absolutely fantastic and the drummer was great with the juxtapositions from loud to quiet.

I love her latest single “In Your Head” which has a much grittier sound in the guitar (and some real rocking from the band).  Her vocal delivery works perfectly with the rocking melody.   I often can’t get this song out of my head (ironically or not).

Her final song, “Heavyweight Champion of the Year” was also really cool for the way it was mostly quiet gentle guitars and singing and then had these occasional bursts of…anger or rage or whatever the song is actually about.  They were so dramatic, it was mesmerizing.

If she continues in this newer, rawer style I will definitely enjoy her music more.  And I think seeing her live is the best way to appreciate her talents.

SETLIST

1. Keep on Calling
2. Thanks 4 Nothing
3. Baby Luv
4. Melt
5. Baby Blu
6. In Your Head
7. Safety Net
8. Heavyweight Champion of the Year