Nilüfer Yanya

East Perth Power Station, 20 February 2026

What happens when jazz virtuosos go full rock and roll?

With the cool and sophistication of a sultry summer breeze, Nilüfer Yanya turned heads on Friday night, swinging between distorted noise and atmospheric soundscapes. All the while, her crack band played with the precision of an orchestra.

The array of exceptional players onstage was a joy to behold. Of particular note was multi-instrumentalist Jazzi Bobbi, who’s pitch perfect backing vocals, synth washes and moody saxophone created an experimental atmosphere not unlike those we’ve heard from Julia Holter at previous Perth Fests.

Yanya’s ability to move from this tension-building aesthetic into the breakout noise and driving rock of her grunge mentors like Pixies and PJ Harvey was the signature of Friday night’s dynamic show, and when she eventually brought the two worlds together it was a wall of sound worth waiting for.

Kicking off with the title track to the British singer-songwriter’s latest record My Method Actor, it emerged from a loud wash of distorted guitars to set the scene. Immediately, it was evident a Nilüfer Yanya show is more intense live, with the alt-R&B of her recordings evolved into an altogether more consuming beast in concert.

In a slight surprise, 2022 album Painless provided the most tracks for the night, with L/R and Chase Me continuing to kick out the jams, before the catchy highlight Like I Say (I Runaway) hit a nice groove.

From there we experienced an adjustment in direction with the sax intro to Trouble tipping the sound towards loungey, before Call It Love followed with its classy acoustic urban charm. And we felt the love, too. These were jazz players, certainly, but playing a fluid style of indie music that seemed to transcend genre on the night.

Ready for Sun (Touch) upped the atmospherics and the aforementioned Julia Holter-vibes really took off from here as Binding thoroughly exceeded its studio counterpart: from a post punk arpeggio to big, noise-style guitar solos, the massive sax finale overtop left jaws collectively on the floor.

Yanya returned to rock for The Dealer and Stabilise to close the set, the latter upping the distortion levels for some Bloc Party-esque guitars. Despite minor fanfare and audience interaction, the roars of appreciation were aplenty and rewarded by a cover of 2025 Perth Fest highlight PJ Harvey, and Yanya’s Rid of Me well and truly held its own next to the classic original.

It left just the Radiohead-inspired mini epic Midnight Sun to close out the night, with a final sax solo from Bobbi to take us home and a wild white noise freak out combining the best of everything that had come before it. Spellbinding.

As ever there were excellent local artists opening both the Power Station and free Casa Musica stage, with Little Guilt and New Nausea (the latter in collaboration with an RTRFM takeover) respectively on Friday. They could do with a few more food truck options next year, both healthier and more inspiring, but thus far the music menu hasn’t disappointed.

Proof that a Little Guilt goes a long way, this Mandurah quintet’s opening set on the main stage featured original buzz tracks Lying to the Table and Freakshow placed confidently next to a cover of Phantogram’s When I’m Small.

Variously recalling Middle Kids and even Fleetwood Mac in the blending of Ella Melton and Lachlan Thomson’s voices, the Little Guilt banter was a little forced but their tunes were anything but, as layers of synth and lead guitar hit some great peaks and Melton’s voice soared.