Many artists bring their partners on tour with them, but not often as their support act. However, Nilüfer Yanya’s boyfriend, Eli Smart, was her opening act for this tour.
He often plays with a full band, so this was probably a vastly different set to normal, as he used a drum machine on his phone to emulate this sound. As he was playing I heard a man nearby to me say he had travelled from Africa to Nottingham for this show, demonstrating how dedicated Nilüfer Yanya’s fans are.
Her set surely did not disappoint fans, regardless of whether they had travelled from near or far. Starting with ‘Method Actor’, the title track from her third album, she performed a few songs before addressing the crowd, letting the music do the talking.
She promised her new album as well as some older tunes and that is what she delivered. Highlights included ‘Like I Say’, ‘Mutations’ and ‘Call It Love’, the latter of which took on a slower pace than the previous songs, with the gorgeous instrumentation shining through.
Nilüfer Yanya gave each song space to breathe, allowing each one to shine and have its own moment. This only emphasised the beauty and impact of her album. It didn’t feel like she was powering through, trying to perform as many songs as possible before the curfew. Instead, it felt like she was showing each song the love it deserved.
With only one more show left of the tour, taking place in Manchester, Nilüfer Yanya and her band, which included Will Archer, the producer of her album, had truly mastered this set list, resulting in a stellar performance. She thanked each musician on stage before performing the last song of the main set, ‘Stabilise’, before treating the crowd to a cover of ‘Rid of Me’ by PJ Harvey and closing with ‘Midnight Sun’.
Nilüfer Yanya’s set felt like it lasted a long time, but that was a welcome feeling. It did not feel like it dragged or overstayed its welcome – instead, it felt like every moment was given the time it deserved, without any rushing to get through to the end. There’s no doubt that the crowd left the venue very satisfied with what they had witnessed.
Photos: Gemma Cockrell