The project of Turkish musician Bilge Nur Yilmaz, Tendertwin reveals a stirring, evolving sound with elements of chamber-folk and pop. Described as “a track of expectations marking a division between the present and the past,” “Absolute Nobody” finds initial captivation through emotive vocals, graceful piano tones, and flourishing backing orchestral effects. The “give me time,” build sees these orchestral elements gradually escalate, the climax emerging past the two-minute mark with intense woodwinds and strings. A lush final minute engrosses, reminding aesthetically of Weyes Blood.
More on the track below:
In a lost chamber of disoriented belonging, it depicts the disenchanted journey of an individual who constantly tries to be somebody, to fight oblivion — and eventually gives up to the desire (or finds the courage to accept the desire) to mean absolutely nothing: to lose. As that nullification appears through percussive breaths, the song gives in to a nostalgic defeat via the bridge: “an absolute nobody” — the panning of ethereal vocal layers model the multiplicities within the struggle to liberate the self. Emerging from an inevitable J.D. Salinger and Emily Dickinson influence, “Absolute Nobody” laments the ennui of self-consciousness — the disease of many generations:
“I’m sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody.’ I keep a copy of ‘Franny & Zooey’ in each place that I call home, each place that I end up returning to (only to leave again). I remember highlighting this phrase as a disillusioned teen. I remember how something immediately clicked. I want to release the obsession to matter. Give up, give in. This is a song about complex simplicity. Poor Franny. We’re tired, we’re weary.”
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“Absolute Nobody” and other memorable tracks from this month can also be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of April 2021’ Spotify playlist.
The track is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Emerging Indie Folk.
