Nilüfer Yanya Returns with New Track “Like I Say (I runaway)”: Stream

Nilüfer Yanya is back with “Like I Say (I runaway),” her first piece of new music since her lauded 2022 album PAINLESS.

With a hypnotic, restless guitar line, “Like I Say (I runaway)” is signature Nilüfer Yanya — evocative, engaging, and effortlessly catchy. The ’90s-esque guitar line is met with a flood of distortion when the chorus kicks in, and it sounds like an epiphany. “The minute I’m not in control/ I’m tearing up inside,” Yanya sings in each refrain with conviction.

Co-written with close collaborator Wilma Archer, Yanya centers “Like I Say (I runaway)”around preciousness of time. “It’s about how you choose to spend your time,” Yanya writes in a statement, “Time is like a currency, every moment. You’re never going to get it back. It’s quite an overwhelming thing to realize.” The song is also paired with a music video directed by Yanya’s sister, Molly Daniel, and depicts her as a runaway bride sprinting off into the countryside. Watch the video below.

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Nilüfer Yanya hasn’t put out any solo music since 2022’s PAINLESS — which we named as one of the best albums of the year — but she did release collaborations with Bombay Bicycle Club and remixes of PAINLESS standout “midnight sun” courtesy of Sampha and King Krule. “Like I Say (I runaway)” is also Yanya’s first release since signing to Ninja Tune records.

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Revisit our 2022 interview with Nilüfer Yanya, where the singer and songwriter discussed bringing PAINLESS on the road, her dream collaborators, and how she was on her way to a much-needed vacation.

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