NIA ARCHIVES USHERS IN A JUNGLIST SUMMER WITH THE OFFICIAL RELEASE OF “OFF WIV YA HEADZ”
A QUINTESSENTIAL JUNGLIST SUMMER - UK/EU TOUR DATES
Sat 27 May - Love Saves The Day, Bristol
Mon 29 May - City Splash Festival, London
Sat 3 Jun - Primavera Sound, Barcelona
Sun 4 Jun - We Love Green Festival, Paris
Fri 9 Jun - Melt! Festival, Gräfenhainichen
Sat 10 Jun - Primavera Sound Madrid, Madrid
Sun 11 Jun - Parklife Festival, Manchester
Thu 22 Jun - Glastonbury Festival, Shepton Mallet
Sat 24 Jun - Glastonbury Festival, Shepton Mallet
Sun 30 Jul - Outlook Festival, Tisno, Croatia
Thu 3 Aug - O Days Festival, Copenhagen
Thu 10 Aug - We Out Here Festival, nWimborne
Sun 13 Aug - Otherlands Music & Arts Music Festival, Perth
Fri 18 Aug - Lowlands Festival, Biddinghuizen, Netherlands
Sat 19 Aug - Pukkelpop Festival, Hasselt, Belgium
Sat 26 Aug - All Points East, London
Sun 27 Aug - Lost Village Festival, Lincoln
Fri 1 Sep - Electric Picnic, County Laois, Ireland
Sat 2 Sep - Sundown Festival, Norwich
It’s official - a quintessentially junglist summer is upon us. Following her support slot for Beyonce in London as the first artist to do so on her Renaissance Tour, the inimitable superstar Nia Archives returns with a seismic summer banger “Off Wiv Ya Headz”. A percy club cut that’s been a staple of her sets and setting crowds alight since it’s debut at WHP Manchester last Autumn and most recently at Primavera Barcelona, We Love Green and Love Saves The Day, this high energy jungle version of A-Traks clubland famous remix of “Heads Will Roll'' is the first solo single since the release of her critically acclaimed Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall EP.
Dropping alongside the single today is another DIY Nia Archives production, directed and edited by the star herself on VHS tour cam footage from her recent trip in New York.
Speaking on the track, Nia shares:
“I wanted to make a spooky edit for Warehouse Project last Halloween and this is what I came up. I love the a-trak remix and I just wanted a jungle version of it.”
Hot off the back of her latest US ‘Up Ya Archives’ tour which saw her grace the stages of Coachella and turn dancefloors upside down in Brooklyn, Denver, Washington and Chicago, last month Nia shared a special remix EP to celebrate the recent release of Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall. The critically acclaimed original EP (️️️from Telegraph, Observer, NME, Rolling Stone at 7.4/10 Pitchfork) was given electrifying reinterpretations spanning every corner of electronic music including hardcore, breaks, jungle, bass, experimental club music and 2-step from some of the scenes brightest stars and most influential names Mall Grab, Mount Kimbie, Breakage, Special Request and Bakey.
With an enviable and seismic year behind her that included a MOBO win for “Best Electronic/Dance Act”, a Brits Rising Star nomination, DJ Mag award for “Best Producer”, NME Award for “Best Producer”, #3 in BBC Sound Poll, a record breaking debut Boiler Room, Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall was released in March and cemented Nia as one of the most exciting and in demand producers of a generation. Sweeping up support across the board from Zane Lowe, Dazed, i-D, The New York Times, The Guardian and more, the EP offered a timeless snapshot into the most recent chapter of her life including recent singles “Baianá” (18M + Global Streams), “So Tell Me…” (BBC Radio 1 A-List) and latest “Conveniency” (6Music & 1Xtra A-List). Lyrically Nia revealed a new level of maturity in a coming of age, in soon to be an instant classic sonic project that leant back into her songwriting talent.
Securing her place as one of the most culturally influential global new stars, Nia has also recently starred in an Adidas campaign alongside Kano to launch the new Jamaica Football kit, with her work as the face of Nike’s new Air Max Pulse that soon followed.
More about Nia
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. A proud young British black woman who grew up in a predominantly white area, it’s important to Nia to take up space in jungle as a young Black woman, representing her dual-heritage roots and carving out space for other Black women to see themselves in the genre. Heavily influenced by soundsystem culture and carnival - the good vibes, energy and uniting quality of which undeniably teems through her music, she’s also inspired by artists and icons like Grace Jones, Erykah Badu, Angela Davies, Lauryn Hill, Nina Simone, Maya Angelou and more - all women who in their own way have represented and pushed forwards generations of black women.
After being mentored via the EQ50 scheme, the new gen junglist released her debut EP, Headz Gone West, in 2021 which saw tracks like ‘Sober Feels’ rack up 7.5M+ global Spotify streams. However, it was arguably Archives’ second EP, Forbidden Feelingz, which would be released in 2022 to widespread critical acclaim. Nods of approval for Nia’s work have been earned from Mixmag and NME as a 2022 cover star, Rolling Stone UK, GQ, British Vogue, The Face, Pitchfork, The Fader, i-D, and CRACK Magazine.
She also scooped up a number of awards, including NME Bandlab Award for ‘Best Producer’, MOBO Award for Best Electronic/Dance Act, being 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.
Following an unforgettable and era defining “Summer of Jungle” in 2022 that saw Nia Archives sell out a Secret Summer Rave and play all over the world from All Points East to Glastonbury, Los Angeles to New York, Rio De Janeiro to Notting Hill, this rising star continued to command the unwavering attention of the UK scene with her euphoric Brazilian choir, Barbatuques, sampling club banger “Baianá” that’s already clocked over 10m streams on Spotify alone and scored another BBC playlist hattrick with the BBC 6 Music (A List), BBC Radio 1 (B List) and BBC 1xtra (B list). Her recent timeless jungle roller “So Tell Me…” has recently made the A List at BBC Radio 1. Earlier this year joined the legendary Essential Mix hall of fame with her BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix debut; delivering an at times rough and raucous, and others smooth and emotive, 2h mix of pure jungle music.