Description
Nia Archives is not interested in being one fixed thing. Since emerging in 2020, the 24yearold producer, DJ, singer and songwriter has been at the forefront of the latest era of jungle. The Bradfordborn, Leedsraised artist has garnered accolades including placing third in the prestigious BBC Sound Poll for 2023, alongside a nomination for the Brit Awards Rising Star prize, plus wins at the DJ Mag, NME, the MOBOs and Artist and Manager Awards. She has also toured the world be it North America, Europe or Asia and even opened a show in London as part of a little something called Beyoncs Renaissance World Tour. Shes renowned as a partystarter in her own right, too, with takeovers at Glastonbury, Warehouse Project and her own Bad Gyalz day event. Shes done official remixes for the likes of Jorja Smith, had a huge summer hit with her Yeah Yeah Yeahs rework Off Wiv Ya Headz, and worked with brands like Corteiz, Nike, Flannels, Burberry, FIFA and Apple. In just three years, its fair to say that Nia Archives has become a needtoknow name in dance music.On Silence Is Loud, her muchanticipated debut album, Nia Archives sounds thrillingly free as she looks to make music for beyond the rave. Working with Ethan P. Flynn known for his work with FKA twigs and David Byrne Nia is intent that Silence Is Loud is taken in as a full body of work of something more songfocussed, putting interesting sounds on jungle. It means that this is a record which finds gloomy Britpop, warm Motown, soaring indie, a love for Kings of Leons Aha Shake Heartbreak, skittering IDM, Madchester, classic rock, old skool hardcore and more, woven and fused into her ragga and junglist tapestry, all layered with feeling, imbued with her songwriterly lyricism about loneliness, relationships, family, navigating her 20s, and the intense potential power of silence.Sitting in the push and pull between melancholy and euphoria, Nias work is always a snapshot of where shes at when shes making it. This might not be the debut album you were expecting, but thats what makes Silence Is Loud so special. Nia Archives has learnedthe rules of her sound, and is unafraid to break them, pushing jungle and herself into new, unchartered territories that, in turn, go some way to map the history of the greats of British dance music. More than that, it plants her firmly in that lineage.
