Nia Archives

Nia Archives seamlessly melds jungle and neo-soul in a style she calls “future classic.” The London-based producer, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker made her debut with the 2021 EP Headz Gone West, which she followed with Forbidden Feelingz in 2022. A third EP, 2023′s Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against tha Wall, marked her major-label debut, and she issued her first album, Silence Is Loud, in April 2024. Nia Archives has soundsystem culture in her blood, as half of her family is Jamaican. She grew up listening to numerous genres, including reggae, hip-hop, disco, and especially jungle, though she wasn’t aware of its name when she heard the music as a child. Originally living near Leeds, her family members taught her to produce music as a youth. She relocated to Manchester when she was 16, where she fell in love with rave culture. Initially producing hip-hop beats, she started fusing jungle and neo-soul in 2019. After moving to London, she started filming videos of the city and making clips that emulated 1990s rave videos. Nia Archives’ first single, the samba-influenced “Sober Feels,” appeared in 2020. Her debut EP, Headz Gone West, was released through her own HIJINXX imprint in 2021. She then collaborated with jungle pioneer Congo Natty on a remix of “Magpie” by Lava La Rue. In 2022, she released her second EP, Forbidden Feelingz, and remixed songs by PinkPantheress and Danny L. Harle in addition to making appearances on tracks by Mall Grab, Watch the Ride, and Clipz. The festive “Baianá” appeared that year, then resurfaced as the leading track on 2023′s Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against tha Wall, Nia Archives’ debut release for Island. The effort topped the U.K. dance chart. This was followed in 2024 by the producer’s first full-length, the 13-track Silence Is Loud, which arrived on Island in April of that year. A collaboration with songwriter and producer Ethan P. Flynn, the album’s songs focus on subjects including love, loneliness, relationships, and the intense power of silence. ~ Paul Simpson