Nilüfer Yanya‘s “Crash” single from earlier this year was a catchy synth and guitar stomper that benefitted from fantastic cavernous production. Her voice is stunning: a confident lower register with the ability to octave jump, chant, and chirp in ethereal ways, all in lockstep with her clever syncopated guitar work.
A remix version of her Feeling Lucky EP was released a few weeks back, which contains both the original and remixed versions of every track, and from which I came across an earlier single, “Day 7.5093” (embedded above). It’s punchy and propulsive pop, exhibiting all the aforementioned vocal and production traits. Her ability to evoke and drive a mood with each phrase is masterful. It’s been on non-stop repeat.
In an untypical surprise, I also find the remix of the track to be incredibly revealing and worthy of its own praise. Brooklyn’s KeiyaA pushes things into an entirely different zone, with a full transposition of the song’s melodic underpinnings into a spacious dub-jazz that counterpoints Yanya’s vocals in ways that convert the track into a haunting lament.