Quick – your bike’s been stolen, what do you do? Cry? Kick a wall? Croon a soulful ballad perhaps? If you’re thinking, ‘obviously not, that’s crazy’ then you need to get acquainted with London based musician Nilüfer Yanya, because that’s exactly what she did. This seemingly straightforward inspiration of a stolen bike lead Nilüfer to think of bigger concepts like inequality in society and the justice system. And so her first single was born – titled “Small Crimes”, the song mulls over the thoughts and consequences behind small crimes, ending up with a melodious track with heartfelt guitar and soft, silvery-toned vocals. This authentic artist tells it like it is, keeping her music true to herself at all times, throwing everyone elses opinions to the wind. Her approach is totally working, as her music comes across as a fresh, new and exciting sound. She takes inspiration from other artists who speak their minds freely without getting caught up in the listeners needs, such as icons like Nina Simone and Jeff Buckley. She’s even been mentored on guitar by Dave Okumu from The Invisible. At only 21 years old, this singer is already making her mark on the musical world.

Nilüfer put her and her sister’s film making skills to use, producing an organic homemade-style music video for “Small Crimes”. With the the help of her sister’s BF Patrick, the team ventured around London over three days, putting together a loose homage to 70s getaway car films, with a hint of trap video influences. The video has everything a rebel-at-heart could ever want, from baseball bats and balaclavas to strangers on motorcycles. With almost no budget and complete freedom, the team went up to cool looking strangers and invited them to cameo in the video, which they obviously accepted. The result is a raw, real and captivating music video for an equally hyptonising tune. We’re definitely going to be watching out for this airy voiced vocalist in the future; because with talent like that, it’d really be a crime not to.