NIA ARCHIVES

Born in Bradford and raised in Leeds before moving to Manchester, the North of England lays claim to one of the UK jungle scene’s most blistering arrivals: 23-year-old producer Nia Archives. Her love of the genre - and others like dub, breaks, and hip hop - was fostered from a young age, with the sounds of reggae, dancehall and more often tinkling throughout her childhood home: “‘She’s Royal’ by Tarrus Riley was a big song in my childhood. In my house, there was a lot of UK hip-hop like Roots Manuva and Broke ‘n’ English. I was also obsessed with gospel music as a kid.” It was the sound of jungle, however, that beckoned Archives at parties and Carnival, even before she knew its name. Having enjoyed the sound well into her teens, it would be Archives’ grandmother who would guide her early jungle education, thanks to her own love of afrobeats and jungle. Years on, Nia Archives understands herself as a new gen junglist: “Jungle’s been around for about 30 years and I feel like there’s a new generation of producers and DJs emerging.” Archives, alongside this new wave of artists, are building on older junglist sounds from the likes of Shy FX, Flight, DJ Die, Roni Size, and more contemporary names like Tim Reaper. This new junglist era has also ushered in a host of Black women, like Archives, who have also been beckoned by the sounds of deep basslines and breakbeats. “When I’m on TikTok, I always see young Black girls DJing or making jungle beats - it’s definitely a new thing, I never saw that when I was a teenager. I never saw people that look like me, at my age, doing what they’re doing.” And now, today, Nia Archives is one of them, touted by NME as “a leader for a new generation of drum‘n’bass ravers.” After being mentored via the EQ50 scheme which helps women junglists and drum ‘n’ bass artists, Archives released her debut EP, Headz Gone West, in 2021 which saw tracks like ‘Sober Feels’ rack up 7.5M+ global Spotify streams. A song-based project borne out of insomnia and lockdown woes, it marked the beginning of the then-20-year-old’s trajectory. However, it was arguably Archives’ second EP, Forbidden Feelingz, which would be released in 2022 to widespread critical acclaim. She used this project to demonstrate her flair as a producer, rather than the singer she was often confused for, with minimal vocals. As nods of approval were earned from Rolling Stone UK, GQ, British Vogue, The Face, Pitchfork, The Fader, i-D, and CRACK Magazine, Nia Archives has emerged as one to watch. This has only been sealed by the accolades Archives scooped up in 2022 alone: NME Bandlab Award for ‘Best Producer’, MOBO Award for Best Electronic/Dance Act, named the BBC Introducing “Artist of the Year” - the award’s first electronic music recipient, AIM Awards “One To Watch” prize, DJ Mag Awards for “Breakthrough Producer”, a Brits Rising Star nomination and finished #3 in BBC Sound Poll. Having graced the covers of NME and Mixmag, Archives was also tipped by 1xtra as a Hot 4 2023 artist, by BBC Radio 1 Dance as a ‘Future Star’, Spotify as their ‘Our Generation’ cover star. She ended 2022 with three UK shows, with the two London shows selling out in minutes. The future is bright for the producer but even as her ascent continues, her heart remains firmly in the North of England - a feeling that is clearly reciprocated, evidenced by her sell-out debut Up Ya Archives Manchester show in 2022. “It does feel like the conversation is so London-centric, but when you’re up north, we listen to our own artists. We’re not necessarily listening to hyped-up London artists - we’ve got our own.” In the case of Nia Archives, however, from the public response, it’s clear that it’s not just the North who are tapped into her sound - and her visuals, seeing as she directs and co-directs most of her music videos, marking them with her DIY aesthetic. These various accolades feel like recognition of her artistry so far, especially the NME Bandlab award that she didn’t expect to win: “When I did win, I was crying for two days - I’ve never cried out of joy like that before. It was like a reflection of everything I’ve been through and survived to get to this point where I’m experiencing positive moments like that.” Regardless, Archives tries not to get too caught up with basking in the praise - partially because of a difficult upbringing that taught her to never get too comfortable, partially because she never wants to lose the connection to what she’s doing and why. Instead, she focuses on what’s next, and right now, that’s her latest EP, Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall. While she admits that the name is a bit of a mouthful, it is classic Nia Archives: like her earlier offerings, the EP title hints at the sonic journey that listeners will be about to embark on. The title evokes feelings of being out all night, ending up in someone’s kitchen while the sun begins to stream in through the windows, as euphoria and post-club dishevelment intermingle. Where this fresh offering differs from previous work is with the developed technical prowess of Nia Archives. “It’s like Headz Gone West 2.0, with these new techniques I’ve learned through a bit of trial and error so it’s a lot more of the song-based project with a couple of club moments.” Archives originally laid the groundwork for the EP in 2020 but didn’t return to it until the summer of 2022 to build it into the project it is today, with the help of long-time collaborator Jakwob and songwriter Ed Thomas. The tracks pull from the past year of Nia’s life, exploring maturity and fleeting memories. Together with her collaborators, Archives has shaped a body of work that explores her personal growth: love, loss, rejection, estrangement, the come-up and the come-down. “It’s the most exciting project I’ve made yet and it's a window into the future and the kind of artist I wanna become. It’s six tracks with six different moods soundtracking the recent chapter in my life.” The first track, ‘Baianá’ ushers in nostalgia as old jungle flair meets, what Archives describes, as the voice of the future - which has already landed in the UK Dance charts. ‘That’s Tha Way Life Goes’, her current favourite on the project, offers a window into Archives’ future as she plays with both her musical and vocal ability as she ponders unrequited love. Working with Irish singer-songwriter Maverick Sabre yielded ‘No Need 2 Be Sorry, Call Me?’ which felt like a full circle moment for the producer who has been a fan of his for years. “I’ve never actually done a feature on any of my songs, so he’s the first and it’s really cool to be doing it with him because he’s an absolute legend.” Emotion-laden ‘So Tell Me…’ delves into the personal as Archives puts words to the difficult decision of leaving her family home and being estranged from her mother for over seven years over the rumbling notes of a bass guitar, floating strings and bouncing breaks. For Archives, ‘Conveniency’ might be the one that listeners relate to most, as she rebuffs the idea of being someone’s back-up option over guitar flecks and percussive breaks. The EP’s eponymous final track, with its production-heavy sound, brings us back to real life, rubbing bleary eyes as sunrise makes itself known.