- 2025-07-07
-
MUSIC
-
Nilüfer Yanya Releases New EP “Dancing Shoes”
London-based singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya released a new EP “Dancing Shoes” on July 2, 2025 via Ninja Tune.
The EP is a sequel to her third studio album “My Method Actor”, which was released last September.
When she made the album, a few songs were abandoned in the process. But she wrote alongside a collection of tracks that she re-approached with her creative partner Wilma Archer when she returned from touring her latest record.
Nilüfer Yanya told NME, “There were maybe one or two that we were writing at the same time, but they just didn't take off. They could have made it but, then, it just felt like we were failing those songs. So instead of wasting more time on them, it felt better to go with other ones.”
The EP comprises 4 tracks, written by Nilüfer Yanya and Wilma Archer. Produced by Wilma Archer.- She told NME about working with producer Wilma Archer, “On these records, we've definitely been painting the picture together from the beginning. It's very collaborative when it comes to writing. It's taken a while for me to let those boundaries down and realise the best music is made through collaboration. And [working with Wilma] is my version of that.”
-
Nilüfer Yanya explained track-by-track for the EP.
“Kneel” via NME
“It's about committing yourself to something or somebody and feeling like you're surrendering. I don't know who's leaving or not leaving in the song. It's just the energy of the lyrics.”
“Where To Look”
“We started writing this song for the album, but it was tricky to get it off the ground at that time. Then when we came back from the tour, it suddenly clicked. Melodically it's one of my favourite things ever. Very glad I was able to give it the time and breathing space that it needed.”
“Cold Heart”
“This one turned out pretty different to how I imagined it. The initial melody felt very spacious, like there's room for anything to happen. It felt like a kind of experiment.”
“Treason” via NME
“One of my favourite songs on the EP is called 'Treason' – and there's a lyric on it about putting on your dancing shoes. I find that to be quite a strong image... Then there's another side to it, which is more of a metaphor for life – when you're dancing, you're not doing other things, you're fully in the moment.”
Photo by Molly Daniel - source : Apple Music
