Day 95: Nia Archives – Silence Is Loud
There’s a big flu going around my city that’s so bad that it’s giving me covid flashbacks, with advise being given that if you’re symptomatic, stay home, stop the spread of the virus. I’m a little bit symptomatic, so I’ll stay home. I was on YouTube watching famous lady makeup videos to pass the time, as you do, and I stumbled on a video of Dua Lipa doing her makeup, where she says she likes to listen to Nia Archives when she’s getting ready.
I’m thinking if I listen to the same music as Dua Lipa while I also do my makeup, I’ll somehow tap into her hot girl energy and imbue her sex appeal into me as well. That’s how that works, right? Let me have this one.
Nia Archives is another one in the current crop of talented young artists who blew up during lockdown, making music in their bedrooms. She’s a producer, a DJ, a singer and a songwriter who’s a big part in bringing jungle back into the mainstream. In case you’re not from the UK, Jungle is a form of electronic dance music developed in the 90’s that emerged from rave culture and Jamaican sound system culture, mixing dub, reggae, funk, dancehall and hip-hop. There’s a bit of a jungle revival going on, which Nia Archives is happy to spearhead:
I don’t pretend that this is something new, it’s been around for 30 years and I’m just really proud to be the next generation pushing it forward. I love that it comes from reggae and sound system culture. Being dual heritage, having that connection to this music is so sick.
Released in 2024, Silence Is Loud is her first LP, having released two EPs before this one. It is a jungle record that’s inspired by britpop. It also sounds like there’s some 2000s indie singer-songwriter inspiration behind the lyrics. Nia Archives had an epiphany during Lockdown where she realised she wants to continue making songs with melancholic music, but with fast beats that you can dance to. On the album, she explores some darker themes like loneliness and bad relationships, and the juxtaposition between the sound and the subjects really works.
Even though it’s her debut, it really sounds like Nia Archives has nothing to prove to anyone. I think I was expecting something a bit more like generic genre worship when I heard that she’s a new artist at the forefront of the Jungle revival, but she’s got such a unique style that I’m almost a bit blown away by it. It’s softer than you’d expect, really leaving space for the lyrics, which are beautiful. I really love the opening and closing tracks, “Silence Is Loud” and “So Tell Me…” as well as “Out Of Options” with its almost Beatles-sounding intro.
Love a bit of this. She’s a 26-year-old artist on her first album and this is what she comes out with? Consider me a fan. I can’t wait to see what she’ll do in the future. A very strong 9/10.