Nilüfer Yanya releases her new album My Method Actor, on September 13th via Ninja Tune. Along with The news, the multi-artist has shared the near-title track “Method Actor.” Putting herself in an unnamed character’s shoes, “Method Actor” portrays a mini-life story in under four minutes. The accompanying visualizer was shot in an old hotel in Benidorm, Spain and is a one take video capturing Nilüfer sitting down to share the song’s story. My Method Actor follows Nilüfer’s previous albums PAINLESS and Miss Universe.

Speaking about “Method Actor” Nilüfer describes how the concept for the song came together, “I was researching method acting – and from what I read, it’s based on finding this one memory in your life, a life-altering, life-changing memory. The reason why some people find method acting traumatic and maybe not safe mentally, is because you’re always going back to that moment. It can be good or bad but you’re always feeding off the energy, something that’s defined you – and that’s what helps you become the character. It’s a bit like being a musician. When you’re performing, you’re still trying to invoke the energy and emotion of when you first wrote it, in that moment. It definitely feels like you’re having to recreate or step into that headspace.”

Nilüfer Yanya’s third album asks questions with no easy answers. It is a supple, expansive body of work that peers into the crevices of life, exploring them with comforting strings, skittering beats, soul-tinged melodies and swooning harmonies. It asks, who are we? Why do we follow the paths we follow? What is at the heart of it all?

for the album, the artist hit the studio with her creative partner, Wilma Archer (Sudan Archives/MF Doom/Celeste). She had toured her second album, PAINLESS, for a year and entered a period of transition, between albums, between record companies, between homes. My Method Actor deals a lot with the idea of movement from one part of life and into another. The seeds of My Method Actor were planted in early 2023, but it wasn’t until the spring of that year that shoots began to appear. As songs started to form, Yanya and Archer squirreled themselves away from the world. “This is the most intense album, in that respect,” Yanya says. “Because it’s only been us two. We didn’t let anyone else into the bubble.” They wrote and recorded in small sessions, spread across London, Wales and Eastbourne. You can feel this cocooning of creative energy in the atmosphere of the record: it envelopes you entirely in cinematic sweeps while feeling intimate, finally inviting you into the little world they created and offering up its secrets.

Nilüfer Yanya
My Method Actor
Ninja June

1. Keep On Dancing
2. Like I Say (I runaway)
3. Method Actor
4. Binding
5. Mutations
6. Ready for Sun (touch)
7. Call It Love
8. Faith’s Late
9. Made Out Of Memory
10. Just A Western
11. Wingspan

Nilüfer Yanya 2024 Tour Dates

9/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts*
9/30 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat*
10/1 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel*
10/2 – Boston, MA @ Royale*
10/4 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe*
10/5 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre*
10/6 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop+
10/7 – Chicago, IL @ Metro+
10/9 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East+
10/10 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle+
10/11 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West+
10/13 – Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck+
10/15 – Denver, CO @ Meow Wolf+
10/18 – Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre+
10/19 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile+
10/20 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom+
10/22 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall+
10/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda Theatre+
11/24 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique Orangerie
11/25 – Amsterdam, NE @ Melkweg Old Hall
11/26 – Berlin, GE @ Kesselhaus
11/28 – Paris, FR @ La Bellevilloise
11/30 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
12/2 – Bristol, UK @ Fleece
12/3 – London, UK @ HERE at Outernet
12/4 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms
12/5 – Manchester, UK @ Academy 2

supported by:
Lutalo & Eliza McLamb = *
Angélica Garcia & Lutalo = +

Pre-order My Method Actor HERE