Nilüfer Yanya’s “In Your Head” Is a Bold, Fierce Track Built to Go Off

Look, I can’t say for certain that being Nilüfer Yanya is a lot of fun. I’m me; she’s her; we all have our issues. But on the basis of new single and video “In Your Head”, being her does look like a whale of a time. She swims in pools, she exercises, she dresses in at least four different type of shoes – not just trainers, but the whole shoe family. And through it all, she’s thriving. What I’m saying is: I want to be her.

Aesthetic and general approach to health aside, “In Your Head” also ramps up the relatively soulful west Londoner’s music. Feel the rough around its edges, its fierce smack in your face. We’ve long known that Nilüfer has a knack for writing a gut-wrenching tune – just check out the Kate Bush-esque “Heavyweight Champion Of The Year” as it slowly ebbs and builds, tearing out your heartstrings along the way. Ultimately however, like that last track, “In Your Head” is one of catharsis, of breaking free from a specific mould and moving forward – a grand metamorphosis.

Speaking about “In Your Head,” in a statement to us, Nilüfer said, “Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me and I get trapped. There’s the things I need disguised as things I think I only want; things I think I’m choosing out of choice not necessity. Sometimes this only becomes clear in retrospect, or maybe it will never become clear. Some people may call that being paranoid. I think that’s what I wrote the song about, but what’s interesting to me, and what I think I was trying to get at, is the illusion of freedom.”

The track is the latest to come from Nilüfer’s debut album Miss Universe, out March 22. Watch below and read our interview with her here.