Nilüfer Yanya: My Method Actor (crystal amber vinyl) [NINJA TUNE]

Why you'll love it

This pressing comes on crystal amber vinyl. My Method Actor drew wide critical acclaim, with Pitchfork calling it her third and best album, and it marked her first record for Ninja Tune.

This edition

• Crystal amber vinyl
• Stereo mix
• Pressed in the EU

About the album

Nilüfer Yanya was named after a Turkish pop star her mother kept hearing on the radio, and she has spent her career making her own name mean something. She grew up in Chelsea in London, picked up guitar at 12, and turned down a manufactured girl group to make her own music instead. Her father is Turkish and her mother is of Irish and Barbadian heritage, and both are visual artists.

For her third album she worked closely with Wilma Archer, who co-wrote every song, and the pair recorded in London, Eastbourne and Wales. The sound is spare and intimate, guitars and voice close to the mic, with sudden swells of noise. "Like I Say (I Runaway)" drives hard, "Method Actor" plays with the idea of becoming someone else, "Mutations" and "Call It Love" glow quietly, and "Made Out Of Memory" and "Just A Western" carry it home.

Six singles came out of it ahead of a full North American tour, following on from 2022's Painless. She has the rare knack of making restlessness sound relaxing, which is more than most of us manage on a Monday.

Also at Kops: more Nilüfer Yanya on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Ninja Tune (cat# ZEN307), the 2024 album.