''Miss Universe'' is the debut album by English singer

Nilüfer Yanya Nilüfer Yanya (; born 11 May 1995) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Early life Yanya is the daughter of two visual artists, her mother is of Irish and Barbadian heritage and her father is Turkish. Yanya grew up in Chelsea, Lond ...

, released on 22 March 2019 on ATO Records.

Background and composition

''Miss Universe'' is Nilüfer Yanya's first full-length album. Yanya eschewed using any of her material from previous

EPs EPS, EPs or Eps may refer to: Commerce and finance * Earnings per share * Electronic Payment Services, in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, China * Express Payment System, in the Philippines Education * Edmonton Public Schools, in Edmonton, Al ...

, choosing instead to write an album using entirely new material, although some of the songs, such as "Monsters Under the Bed", had been written long beforehand. The album is interspersed with interludes featuring messages from "WWAY Health", voiced by Yanya, which are short monologues in the form of automated phone messages that intimate at an alienating healthcare bureaucracy, with sparse ethereal sounds in the background.

Critical reception

''Miss Universe'' received wide critical acclaim on its release, with critics noting Yanya's ability to bounce back and forth between musical and lyrical styles, shifting between "gimlet-eyed composure and cataclysmic panic". The album was described as nervous and restless, combining influences from

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, and

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

. A ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' review called Yanya's voice "malleable and endlessly expressive", and described the song compositions as "minimal and instinctual". ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' ranked the album as one of the best of 2019 in their year end review.

Track listing

Notes * Track 1 is stylised as "WWAY HEALTH™" * Track 11 is stylised as ""Sparkle" GOD HELP ME"

Personnel

Musicians *

– vocals, guitar , keyboards , piano * Adam Pickrell – keyboards *

Wilma Archer Will Archer (born 1991), formerly better known by his stage names Slime, and now Wilma Archer, is an English record producer and multi-instrumentalist from Newcastle upon Tyne. He is based in London. Early life Will Archer was born in 1991 in New ...

– instrumentation , guitar , bass guitar , drums *

John Congleton John Congleton is an American Grammy Award-winning record producer, engineer, mixer, writer and musician. In addition to his production work, Congleton has fronted the alternative rock band the Paper Chase, and writes music for a newer project e ...

– drum and bass programming *

Joey Waronker Jon Joseph Waronker (born May 20, 1969) is an American drummer and music producer. He is best known as a regular drummer of both Beck and R.E.M., and as member of the experimental rock bands Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta. Background Waronker w ...

– drums * Jake Long – drums * Oli Barton-Wood – keyboards * Jazzi Bobbi – saxophone , backing vocals , keyboards , programming * Ellis Dupuy – drums * Bastian Laengbaek – piano *

Dave Okumu David Jairus Ochieng Okumu (born 12 October 1976 in Vienna, Austria) is a singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist, best known for fronting the band The Invisible. Their debut album, released in March 2009, was nominated for a Mercury Prize ...

– guitar , instrumentation , vocals * MT Hadley – instrumentation , programming *

Hal Robinson Harold Hall ("Hal") Robinson (born July 29, 1952Birth records
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– bass guitar * Lucy Lu – bass guitar Technical personnel * Wilma Archer – recording * John Congleton – recording * Oli Barton-Wood – recording * Bastian Laengbaek – recording * Dave Okumu – recording * MT Hadley – recording * Jazzi Bobbi – recording * Lucy Lu – recording * Andy Ramsay – recording * Nathan Boddy – recording , mixing, additional production *

Matt Colton Matt Colton (born 30 March 1975) is an English mastering engineer and member of the mastering group of the Music Producers Guild. He has mastered recordings for artists such as Muse, Coldplay, James Blake, George Michael, Hot Chip, Gary Num ...

– mastering * Molly Daniel – photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2019 debut albums ATO Records albums Nilüfer Yanya albums