Nilüfer Yanya | photo by Molly Daniel | courtesy of the artist
Nilüfer Yanya pays homage to her Turkish heritage in “Paradise” video
This week, Nilüfer Yanya released a music video to accompany track “Paradise,” off of her debut album Miss Universe. The video is filmed entirely in Istanbul, Turkey, the hometown of Yanya’s father.
In the video, Nilüfer can be seen traversing the entire city wearing a few fashionably styled outfits. Her sister, Molly, directed the video. For Yanya, family is important and she often collaborates with Molly. The visual quality of the track is intentionally gritty and it adds a rustic, carefree flare necessary for a song titled “Paradise.” As Yanya walks along a path near the Sea of Marmara, the city looks entirely serene.
The use of paradise as a physical locale is ironic and works well with the song itself. In the lyrics, Yanya describes paradise as something that she is intrigued by, yet steers clear of. It is not a location, but rather an ideal she intends to reach, but is disillusioned by the possibility of failure.
“Paradise” is not a track about a beautiful beach vacation, rather something bigger for Nilüfer Yanya. You can hear the emerging artist play her new track in the Philadelphia area soon. On Friday, July 26th, Nilüfer Yanya is on the lineup for XPN’s XPoNential Music Festival; tickets and more information can be found at XPNFest.org.