Nilüfer Yanya - midnight sun

With an intro that evokes Radiohead, “midnight sun” has my attention from the start. Additionally, a feeling of love and utter joy sets in once Nilüfer Yanya starts singing. How could I have missed out on this London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist until now? After all, the daughter of two visual artists, an Irish-Barbadian mother, and a Turkish-born father, has an impressive body of work already. Her 2019 debut album Miss Universe, the 2021 follow-up Inside Out, and the upcoming album Painless, on March 4, via ATO Records.

Yanya says about the album:

It’s a record about emotion. I think it’s more open about that in a way that Miss Universe wasn’t because there’s so many cloaks and sleeves with the concept I built around it. I’m not as scared to admit my feelings.

It took “midnight sun” to happily join Nilüfer Yanya’s growing fanbase because this is music that’s not only well-made catchy indie-rock but made with heart and purpose. Yana says about “midnight sun:”

It’s a song about recognising what it feels like to be pushed down but wanting to resist. I really like the imagery of “midnight sun” as a lyric as it insinuates a light guiding you through darkness. The wings carry their own symbolism – freedom, lightness, flight, fantasy… If I could pick what people saw and heard it would be: seeing the beauty of confrontation and the necessity of rebellion.

We’re looking forward to March, and are for now enjoying “midnight sun,” our Song Pick of the Day:

Connect with Nilüfer Yanya and add “midnight sun” to your playlist as we are adding it to our #glamglarepick playlist on Spotify and AppleMusic:

Photo credit: Molly Daniel