Nilüfer Yanya's shimmering debut "Small Crimes" reveals one of 2016's most exciting new talents

The frighteningly-talented Yanya - who dropped that awesome cover of The Pixies "Hey" back in May for DEEK-label head Bullion’s covers album - has followed up with her debut proper “Small Crimes”. It’s a song that brushes touchpoints like John Martyn and The XX while managing to be something entirely new.

“I've been working on this project for a while,” Yanya tells us. “I started writing songs when I was really young so things have very slowly evolved into the music I'm making now. It's kind of weird to view it as a project because it is just me (and my music), I find it hard to think of them separately in that sense.”

On “Small Crimes”, Yanya’s masterful gossamer melodies toy with silence as much as the chiming interplay between vocal and guitar. Yanya began playing classical piano as a child but moved to guitar in her early teens and comes with an endorsement from Dave Okumu, who mentored her on the six string. She also credits composer, writer and multi-instrumentalist Sorana Santos for encouraging her put voice to her songs. “I originally never planned to sing any of my songs,” she explains, “but I had some really great teachers and friends at school [who] encouraged me to do so.”