Nilüfer Yanya, an eclectic musician and a Londoner of her time

She could have been part of a girl band, but she preferred independence. In her successful third album, the singer mixes soul, grunge and pop. To be discovered in concert in Paris, on November 28 and 29.

Lhe rock’n’roll clichés have definitely passed their expiration date. At the end of September, on the eve of a world tour, Nilüfer Yanya, 29, did not dream of wild nights but of an orderly life. Like this one, “pragmatic”, of his parents, visual artists “who went to work and then came home”. That day, the Londoner curled up in an oversized hoodie, far from the glamorous, scantily clad image that adorns the cover of her latest album, My Method Actor.

This third disc, however, is not the work of a sniper: five years after its debut, it is the most accomplished, a successful combination of grunge guitars, soulful groove and elegant melodies. A pop open to the four winds – like her origins, Turkish from her father, Barbadian and Irish from her mother – and to all genres, but consolidated by a strong personality and obvious talent.

Eclecticism comes naturally to him: “That’s how it is, that’s all. My music will always be rock but that won’t stop me from exploring other genres. » Even if she says she is always looking, in her listening, for a “energy like PJ Harvey, this mixture of strength and guitars”, the singer recognizes that she is in tune with the tastes of her generation, these famous millennials who, in the age of streaming, can happily dig into different musical styles.

I’ve been an adult for nine years and I didn’t even realize it.

With her peers, she also shares this need not to sacrifice everything to work, even to a career as a musician acclaimed by the world press. “ I feel like I was a good little worker, she regrets. I was trapped by the album cycle: release a record, get good reviews, write the next one while we’re on tour. It’s a crazy way to live, you completely lose yourself. I’ve been an adult for nine years and I didn’t even realize it. I want to take control of my life. »

But how else? “If you stop, you find yourself on the straw, she notes, speaking with anguish of the cost of living in London. When my mother tells me about her youth, I have the impression that she was always out in clubs. But for my generation, everything is so expensive. My friends are all fed up with this city. » These questions irrigate his record, which opens with this sentence full of doubt : “What are you looking for? Raise your glass if you’re not sure. »

We trust him to find the answer. Nilüfer Yanya has already avoided the traps of the music industry. When she was a teenager, she was asked to join a girl band headed by Louis Tomlinson of One Direction, an English boy band with colossal success in the 2010s.. What she refused: “A label tells a bunch of young artists that they’re going to make it a success, but of course they’re going to make a lot more money than they do. It’s so selfish.”she confided to Guardian.

To protect herself from any external influence, she therefore recorded My Method Actor alone with her accomplice and producer Will Archer, creating a bubble with him, a « safe space », she said, according to the now accepted expression. His composed the music, she, the melodies and the lyrics. “Until now, I went into the studio saying to myself ‘we’ll see what happens’. This time, I wanted everything to be intentional, airtight from outside opinions. » What if the answer to all his questions was there, in this iron will?

r My Method Actor, Ninja Tune. In concert on November 28 and 29 at La Belleviloise, Paris 20th.