Read this next: The 12 best mid-90s jungle trackĪs she closed out 2021, Nia announced a new monthly residency on Rinse FM, while her debut EP ‘Headz Gone West’ clocked Spotify streams in the millions. She then racked up a spectrum of fans as diverse as her sonic inspirations and aesthetic, including Elton John, who played '18 & Over' on his Apple Music show.
She clocked co-signs from jungle godfathers Shy FX, Congo Natty and Roni Size. In the months that followed, Nia Archives hype would continue to gain traction. SHERELLE's parting words on the night were: "That's the girl everyone should be interviewing.
Nia's set was the talking point in the smoking area, the toilets and the green room. I wouldn't be the only one to wax poetic. Witnessing the dexterity of Nia Archives skill set and musical prowess in the flesh blew my fucking mind. She flexed her dance moves while toasting like a seasoned soundsystem MC: churning loose words and phrases like honey over bouldering basslines and breaks that swerved from liquid to precision-tracked. The saccharine hooks of her self-produced singles swirled like smoke. Rain-pelted punters piled in and swarmed the DJ booth among a slew of A&Rs, camera crew, press and fellow selectors. Nia Archives was cooking up a storm behind the decks at SHERELLE X Boiler Room's ' ICON' launch, drenched in acid green spotlights and wearing a T-shirt featuring the evening's headliner, SHERELLE. I'd been a fan from her intoxicating breakout single, ‘ Sober Feels’, in 2020, but the first time I witnessed Nia in her element was a couple of months before it all took off. It's a trip to think it was just over a year ago that Nia released her debut EP, the lo-fi melodic jungle masterpiece ‘ Headz Gone West’. I'm really happy, and it all feels natural, but I can't deny it's been a mad one since November 2021." When I got off the stage, I sobbed my eyes out. "This whole project, ‘Forbidden Feelingz’, has been about me proving that I'm actually a producer! So when I won, it all meant so much to me. I'm so gassed that I was nominated for Best Producer rather than Best Artist or Newcomer," she beams. “From the start of my career, I always get questioned, 'Who produces your stuff? Who's behind these beats?' Honestly, no one would ask me that if I was male. Then arrives at the topic of the aforementioned award. She reels off festival slots she's already locked down, such as Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Outlook in Croatia, All Points East, a back-to-back set with Roni Size at Valley Fest, and a stint in Australia. Read this next: The 20 best jungle mixes you can listen to online and Grace Jones, composing a jungle heritage album, and hitting the road with a live band or orchestra to assert the genre's place within arenas, continuing the work of originators such as Fabio & Grooverider and their collaboration with The Outlook Orchestra, Roni Size & Reprazent's legendary 2009 live show alongside composer William Goodchild and The Emerald Ensemble, and Goldie's performances with The Heritage Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall and Ronnie Scott's. Most would be riding high off the newfound fame, but Nia is focused, riffing about getting down to business making new music, dream collaborations with M.I.A. "I'm letting it be known: this is the summer of jungle," she says, flashing a megawatt smile. It's the day before she drops her hugely anticipated sophomore EP ‘ Forbidden Feelingz’ on her own label HIJINXX and a week since she picked up the Best Producer prize at the BandLab NME Awards.
Upon arrival, Nia Archives is sitting at a velvet corner booth in the lounge by a crackling fireplace framed by her espresso curls and a low-key peroxide streak. I'm on my way to meet the 22-year-old Bradford-born, West Indian multi-talent at The Standard hotel in London, the city where she's now based. "When you see that young lady who made this tune, tell her, big up from one junglist to another."
I crack the window and let the hook float down Hackney Road as Nia Archives flips the mood of the sample on ' 18 & Over' from crystalline synth to a pulse-racing pace and an iconic call-to-arms commands: "Give me a motherfucking breakbeat!" The driver turns up the volume and gives me a nod of approval. A set of fluffy dice printed with the Jamaican flag swing side to side from the front mirror of a tricked out Uber as the deep bass of Cocoa Tea's 1987 reggae hit ‘Young Lover’ reverberates from the back.