Nilufer Yanya – Painless

 

The feature album this week on 2SER is the Sophomore LP from London-based singer/songwriter Nilufer Yanya.

 

Her debut, 2019’s Miss Universe, made a stir because of it’s open-format excursions through a wide range early music musical influences that came from growing up in an artisticl household.

 

 

 

In comparison, this is a more focused but nevertheless eclectic release, transitioning between brooding electronic-tinged soul and rawness and distortion of 90s rock aesthetics and personal songwriting. And it is imbued throughout with an air of exploration and a persistent feeling of uneasiness and a honed aesthetic.

 

However, the range here is nevertheless impressive, from the tight shuffled rock rhythms of  The Dealer and Stabilise, to the bright and jazzy funk of The Mystic and the pulsating syncopation of L_R (performed using the Saz – traditional Turkish instrument).

 

 

Raised in a home steeped in creativity (her parents being both visual artists), and a school that subsidised music classes, Yanya quickly latched onto the communal aspect that art brings:

 

“It was life changing for me, having that community in school was really good for everyone else as well, even if they’re not doing music”

 

Recorded and co-produced with Wilma Archer,  Bullion, and Andrew Sarlo (whose credits include Big Thief), as well as Yanya’s regular offsider, Jazzi Bobbi, it is an excellent full-length and the Feature Album all this week on 2SER.

 

Out now on ATO on  digital and limited vinyl