There’s something sacred about vinyl. The gentle crackle before the needle drops. The intimacy of sound streaming into a room not through a screen but through air and space. That tangible, slow-living quality of music is exactly what McQueen Reverb is celebrating this month in the heart of London.
As part of its new cultural programme, McQueen has transformed its Old Bond Street flagship into a listening sanctuary for a four-part series of live vinyl sessions curated by creative director Seán McGirr. A love letter to London’s music underground, the series opened on June 10 with the enigmatic Bar Italia – a London based band made up of Nina Cristante, Jezmi Tarik Fehmi and Sam Fenton – in conversation with music curator Cyrus Goberville, and continues tonight with hyperpop pioneer A.G. Cook who sits down with writer, editor and curator Francesca Gavin.
Next week, on June 17, expect the boundary-blurring lyricism of John Glacier to cut through the music as she chats with the founder of NTS Radio, Femi Adeyemi. Rounding things off on Thursday, June 19, London’s own Nilüfer Yanya sits down with cultural strategist and curator Cynthia Igbokwe to explore the sounds and stories behind her singular creative voice.
Yanya, who released her third studio album My Method Actor in September 2024 to widespread acclaim, is a generational talent. Her work unspools vulnerability and razor-sharp songwriting into sonic textures that straddle indie rock, soul and experimental pop. But Yanya is more than a singer-songwriter. She’s a community organiser, visual artist and the co-founder of Artists In Transit, a project delivering creative workshops to displaced communities. It’s that multidimensionality – rooted in empathy and expression – that makes her a fitting finale for McQueen Reverb.
At her session, Yanya promises not just a glimpse into the records that shaped her, but an invitation into her world. Think deep cuts, unexpected influences and reflective conversation about artistry, identity and the evolution of sound. “We will be covering some of the basics about why and how I got into music before delving a bit deeper and catching up to the more current version of where I’m at with creativity,” says Yanya. “Also the relationship between making art and finding a place for it in the world and where I draw inspirations from now.”
As for why it’s important for big-name brands to platform artists, Yanya says, “Perhaps it’s one of the ways that large brands can stay connected to their own roots and origins, which might be vital for reestablishing what is at the core of it all.” She adds, “I like the idea that by collaborating with artists that are different it’s also a way of saying all creativity starts with nothing but is essentially coming from the same place. It’s probably one of the joys of being established too – having the space and time to host others.
Yanya’s session, in particular, carries the air of a homecoming. Having sold out venues across Europe, the US and Australia, and recently supporting Adele on tour, she’s no stranger to big stages. But McQueen Reverb offers something more introspective. Set in an intimate space and powered by high-fidelity sound curation by audio maestro Chris Tindall (of Spiritland and Brilliant Corners acclaim), it’s the kind of evening where every lyric hangs in the air a little longer, every beat resonates a little deeper.
With each evening offering a different frequency in the city’s cultural pulse, the format is refreshingly analog: no viral gimmicks, just artists talking vinyl, stories and sound, in conversation with curators deeply embedded in the cultural fabric.
At a time when fashion brands are increasingly leaning into cultural programming, McQueen Reverb stands out not just for its impeccable curation, but for its authenticity. It doesn’t feel like a marketing stunt. It feels like an offering – a space to pause, to listen, to feel. So, as the final needle drops on June 19, Nilüfer Yanya won’t just be sharing records. She’ll be sharing pieces of herself. And in a city that never stops moving, that kind of presence might just be the most radical act of all.
Photography courtesy of McQueen.
