Nilüfer Yanya live in Berlin: Under the midnight sun

Decorated fir tree, chain carousel, mulled wine stand – the Christmas hustle and bustle is in full swing on the grounds of the Kulturbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg. But the line of people pushing through the hustle and bustle in front of the boiler house has nothing to do with it. Their goal is the concert by the British musician Nilüfer Yanya – and therefore a completely opposite experience.

A reverent silence falls over the hall as the intermission music fades away and the lights go out. It dissolves into the welcoming cheers for “Method Actor,” the title track from Yanya’s third album, released in September. Despite the angular drum groove, it’s a good choice as an opening, because the loud-soft dramaturgy immediately draws you deep into the Londoner’s beguiling sound world.

A touch of melancholy permeates her singing

A smile crosses her face as she triggers the expected fan delight with the distorted chorus riff of her Gibson SG. The black and charcoal guitar that she plays just below her chest goes well with her sleeveless floor-length dress. Not once will she put the instrument down or move from behind the microphone stand during the 90-minute show. Obviously, the stage is not the 29-year-old’s favorite place, as she recently admitted in an interview with “Musikexpress”. She is not a “natural performer”, she has just gotten used to giving concerts.

Indeed, the intensity and density of her albums are difficult to match, but hearing her wonderful voice live is a stunning experience. Their warmth, always tinged with a hint of melancholy, makes every room and every song glow longingly. What the often enigmatic texts are about seems secondary. Especially when Nilüfer Yanya takes off into falsetto so irresistibly, as in “Mutations”.

No string arrangements, but a saxophone

While her vocals are often doubled on the records, Jazzi Bobbi’s voice from the four-piece band always joins them in concert, but she mainly sets her accents with the saxophone. These are an additional element of the concerts, whereas the string arrangements from the excellent current album are missing live. But you don’t miss them either.

The single “Like I Say (I Run Away)” is catchy because of the guitars. The live, particularly dynamic interplay of acoustic and electric brings back memories of the early Smashing Pumpkins. Perfect balance of melancholy and melody.

This also applies to the pieces from Yanya’s second album “Painless”, which, unlike her debut, which only has one song, has a lot of space in the setlist. During the driving “Stabilise”, which is reminiscent of Bloc parties in the big time in the noughties, the crowd gets moving. And when Nilüfer Yanya pulls out all the vocal stops again in the closing track “Midnight Sun”, the radiance of her midnight sun is reflected in the faces of the fans. The Advent hustle and bustle in front of the door is now closed, they continue to shine a little.