{"id":2088108,"date":"2026-08-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2088108"},"modified":"2026-08-11T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T21:00:00","slug":"wonderland-331","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2088108","title":{"rendered":"Wonderland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\tNIA\u2019S PARTY ARCHIVES ARE GROWING\u00a0<\/span>
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Britain\u2019s favourite junglist gets emotional on her sweeping, sensational sophomore album \u2013 a second Mercury Prize-nominated opus. Ahead of her appearance at All Points East and her headline slot of Amex Afters, the festival\u2019s official afterparty, the 26-year-old polymath talks growth, graft, and getting the party started.\u00a0<\/h3>\n
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It\u2019s hard to think of two words to better describe Nia Archives than the pair that she bestowed upon her sophomore album: Emotional Junglist<\/em>. They, to many, may seem oxymoronic; jungle, an electronic music sub-genre that rose to prominence in 1990s Britain through its choppy breakbeats, zippy tempos and dub-to-dancehall samples, is more synonymous with rave culture and pirate radio stations than seen as a musical style that explores the crevices of introspection. But the Yorkshire-raised, London-based Nia has spearheaded a contemporary revamping of what jungle can be. She\u2019s become this decade\u2019s emblem of junglism, celebrating its singular intricacies while adapting it for the modern pop landscape.<\/p>\n

From her debut single \u201cSober Feels\u201d, back in 2020 \u2013 self-funded with her student loan \u2013 there was an immediate buzz around the Archives revolution. She brought something invigorating and unique, criss-crossing sonic motifs with a confident yet delicate ease. 2021\u2019s debut EP \u201cHeadz Gone West\u201d and second follow-up \u201cForbidden Feelingz\u201d \u2013 and their respective twisting and thrilling title-track anthems \u2013 secured her reputation as one of Britain\u2019s most innovative new artists. The opening track from her 2023 third EP, \u201cBaian\u00e1\u201d, is one of the <\/em>quintessential British electronic tracks of the 2020s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After years of building her name on the live circuit \u2013 even supporting Beyonc\u00e9 at one of her Tottenham Stadium dates in summer \u201923 \u2013 and with a trifecta of acclaimed EPs in tow, April 2024 saw Nia unleash her Mercury Prize-nominated debut album, Silence Is Loud<\/a>.<\/em> Heralded for its bold and inventive junglist revivalism, made in just a fortnight, the 13-track record cultivated a fine-chiselled production identity, while hinting at something deeper and rounded to come.<\/p>\n

Emotional Junglist<\/em>, Nia\u2019s second album, shared on 17th July (which has also been touted as one of the albums of the year by the Mercury Prize<\/a>), took a lot longer to complete than its predecessor; and it sounds like it \u2013 sprawling, visceral, rousing, sensational.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis album is an evolution of all of my musical interests and what I was trying to achieve on my debut,\u201d she says, dialling in to reflect a couple of weeks after its release. \u201cI feel that I\u2019ve naturally progressed into making what I\u2019ve made on this new project.\u201d Rather than individual pieces of technicality, the new record is a cohesive and compelling narrative from top to bottom. There\u2019s still plenty of moments of immaculate beat-mastery \u2013 no one does drums quite like Nia \u2013 but there\u2019s also personal, intimate songwriting, expressive and experimental use of her distinct vocal, and naturalistic instrumentation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To achieve this, she brought together a medley of musical maestros. Renowned producer James Ford (Fontaines D.C., Geese) and multi-hyphenate Ethan P. Flynn (FKA twigs, Martha Skye Murphy) were present to nurture Nia\u2019s musical universe into something more stylistically varied yet singularly Archivesial. Equally fascinating and effective was her decision to collaborate with one of pop\u2019s paramount songwriters, Julia Michaels (Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted to up the levels of everything that I was doing, including the songwriting and the singing,\u201d Nia explains. \u201cWorking with great songwriters really pushed me to try different things that I wouldn\u2019t normally try.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two featured artists on the album also epitomise Nia\u2019s enduring impact and reputation as one of the UK\u2019s premium talents. There\u2019s Sampha on the gorgeous, adeptly titled \u201cTender\u201d, and Jorja Smith on the big swinging single \u201cGet Me Down\u201d. The latter Walsall-native has been a friend of Nia\u2019s for years, with the pair first collaborating on a remix of Jorja\u2019s 2023 cut \u201cLittle Things\u201d. The pair are further solidifying their personal and musical connection later this month at the event in everyone\u2019s calendar.<\/p>\n

All Points East have really outdone itself this year, with headliners including pop superstar Lorde, rock legends Deftones, and a double-bill from alt rap trailblazer Tyler, the Creator. But it\u2019s Jorja \u2013 alongside co-headliner Tems \u2013 that\u2019ll open this year\u2019s proceedings at Victoria Park in East London on 21st August. Nia is joining the line-up for a coveted evening slot on West Stage, which will see her in a completely new formation: performing with a band.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a new skill that I\u2019m learning in real time in front of lots of people,\u201d she smiles. \u201cBut I\u2019m enjoying the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those of us who still need to scratch the DJ itch, the pinnacle of the party, the Amex Afters has, in the last few years, pulled in heavy hitters like Little Simz<\/a>, Tems<\/a> and JADE<\/a>, Nia Archives (alongside R&B voyager Odeal<\/a>, who\u2019ll headline an afterparty on Friday 21st August<\/a>) is this year\u2019s star. She\u2019ll be headlining Amex Afters with Nia Archives, a one-off show on Saturday 29th August at Hackney Wick\u2019s Colour Factory, the official afterparty after Tyler, The Creator\u2019s second show, and will be joined by Cheetah, Riria, Sexy Lady Massive and Zillion. You can grab your tickets to the big night here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Below, Nia talks exclusively to Wonderland<\/em> about finding her feet as a frontwoman, her relationship with Jorja Smith, and laying it all on the table for her second album.<\/p>\n

Listen to Emotional Junglist\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

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Read the interview\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

How has releasing an album in the heat of summer been?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d do it again, to be honest with you. I also accidentally released an album in the busiest month for music ever. But it\u2019s been fun; I\u2019ve done some fun activities because it\u2019s been summer. And maybe this album should have come out in the summer; by the time winter comes, everyone will know the lyrics, and it\u2019s a bit of a soundtrack for people.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s such a great body of work. How do you feel now it\u2019s out in the world? Do you feel relieved or are you a bit melancholic?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s both. It\u2019s kind of a comedown when you work towards a project for so long, talking about it, thinking about it all the time. And then it comes out on release day, and you\u2019re a bit like, \u2018Okay, is this it? Is this the sum of my work?\u2019 But then every day since release day, I\u2019ve felt happier and happier, and relieved that people aren\u2019t absolutely hating it. Because the second album is such a worry. I was so nervous with the second album curse and all. Everyone\u2019s been fear-mongering me about the second-album-scares, so I\u2019ve been really stressed about it for months, like, oh my god, is this gonna be the make-or-break of my career? But luckily, it\u2019s not been a break. It\u2019s been\u2026it\u2019s been good. But yeah, I\u2019ve been a bit up and down with the emotions about releasing a second project.<\/p>\n

Do you think the imposter syndrome of artistry sets in with the sophomore? Because your debut album is this singular vision, this all-encompassing moment, and then it\u2019s like, how do you follow that up? Do you think the second album is best approached as a blank slate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think imposter syndrome is very real for the second album. For me, what I\u2019ve struggled with is the outside opinions. Because when you make the first project, you just make something, and it is what it is. And I made my last project in two weeks. Then, obviously, you start to get reviews and maybe even accolades, which is amazing. But the pressure from that is that everyone around you is like, \u2018Oh my God, we need to do better than we did last time,\u2019 and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s an environment that good music and good art can thrive in. So I had to ignore a lot of people. You can\u2019t talk about your ambitions before you make the music. You need to make it and then see where you want it to sit.<\/p>\n

But I didn\u2019t feel the pressure of like, \u2018Oh, I made my debut album, so now I need to make something completely different.\u2019 I feel like this album is an evolution of all of my musical interests and what I was trying to achieve on my debut. I feel that I\u2019ve naturally progressed into making what I\u2019ve made on this new project. Maybe the third one will be the one where I go crazy, but I feel like you can do that on the third one. You can do whatever you want. I feel like this album has given me the freedom to make a trip hop album next if I want to, or an old school 90s jungle album. It\u2019s really opened the door without losing my sense of artistic morality and my belief system. It\u2019s the older sister of Silence is Loud<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s certainly more cohesive and confident, and it sees you really lean further into the craft of songwriting. How did working with songwriters like Julie Nichols bring out your own songwriting acumen?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never really seen myself as a singer\/songwriter kind of artist. I\u2019ve always been a producer first. I would say over the past six years that I\u2019ve written good songs, but it\u2019s not something I\u2019ve been really hyper-focused on. Whereas with this project, I really wanted to up the levels of everything that I was doing, including the songwriting and the singing. So working with great songwriters just really pushed me to try different things that I wouldn\u2019t normally try, like singing in keys that I really would not sing in before.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking through the credits, there\u2019s such a range of producers, writers and musicians involved, from Ethan P. Flynn to James Ford. Did you purposely choose a wide range of collaborators?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I worked with Ethan on the last album, and he\u2019s a really good friend of mine, so I definitely wanted to work with him on this one. And then James Ford \u2013 I met him just before I started making this album and told him I would love to work with him. And then we ended up making it happen, and he was really fun to work with as well. We finished quite a lot of it at his home studio, so it\u2019s been really great to work with two people that I consider musical geniuses. For me as a producer, it was a massive inspiration to work with both of them. I\u2019ve learned so much about the process of making music.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What did you take from the process of making Silence Is Loud<\/em> that you learnt and grew from for Emotional Junglist<\/em>?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be honest with you, I actually found the first album really easy to make because I was on tour a lot, so I was trying to get the tunes done. Ethan and I just spent three hours on each tune and then did not come back to them. So I wouldn\u2019t say that there was any musical stress. The one thing I did do on the last album that I\u2019ve really tried not to repeat this time is just not enjoying the process. Obviously there\u2019s been times when I\u2019ve really stressed out about the process, but I think overall, I\u2019ve enjoyed it more than I did last time. Before, I was very uncomfortable in my own skin and hated the attention and stuff like that. I\u2019m not saying that I love it more now, but I\u2019m more chilled with how to deal with it. Signings and stuff like that, I\u2019m actually looking forward to now, meeting people that listen to my music, whereas with the first album, I just remember feeling really awkward and uncomfortable. So I think personal growth and confidence is the real change for me.<\/p>\n

In Sampha and Jorja Smith as the album\u2019s features, you\u2019ve got two of the best names in modern British music. First of all with Sampha, where did that relationship come from, and how did \u201cTender\u201d come together?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was working at a spare studio in [Sampha\u2019s label] Young a couple of years ago with Ethan [P. Flynn], because I didn\u2019t have a proper studio at the time. So I was in the Young building quite a lot, and Sampha\u2019s obviously got a studio in there, so I would see him in the corridor, and we\u2019d awkwardly say hey for a couple of months. Then we just made clocks that were actually both quite similar types of people, both a bit awkward and shy. So I think we just had quite similar vibes, and then I got in with him for a session, but a producer session, not with him as a vocalist. And then we\u2019re making this tune, \u201cTender\u201d. I made the drums, and he was using loads of different mad synths. And then he was like, \u2018Oh, do you mind if I sing a little bit?\u2019 So he ended up blessing me with a vocal that he did. But yeah, it was a really lovely, natural meeting. Rather than some sessions that feel really intense, it was a really chilled and fun one, and we made a really beautiful song from it.<\/p>\n

And with Jorja, that relationship has been there for a little bit longer, right? You worked together before on your remix of her track \u201cLittle Things\u201d a few years ago. How did that first happen, and how did this tune \u201cGet Me Down\u201d come back as well?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, we worked together on the remix in 2023, and then our friendship has just grown since then. I love Jorja; she\u2019s such a lovely, bubbly, obviously very talented person, and just fun to be around. I don\u2019t know why, but I\u2019d never really thought about us making a tune together. Eventually we did a session, and we actually did it up north; I travelled up to see her. We made these two tunes last summer in the countryside; it was really fun to write together. It was collaborative and easy. It was like when you\u2019re with your cousins in the summer holidays, and you perform for your family, for your uncles and aunties; it was kind of that vibe. And yeah, I love the song that we made, and we got to do the video together, which I co-directed with my friend. She\u2019s got her album coming up too, and we\u2019ve got All Points East. So I\u2019m very excited to maybe do something there.<\/p>\n

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Is there anyone on the All Points East bill that you\u2019re playing on that you\u2019re particularly excited to see?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m obviously really excited to see Jorja; I think that\u2019s going to be really great. I know she\u2019s been doing loads of rehearsals and stuff, so I\u2019m excited to see that. I\u2019ve never seen Tems before. I really like her. I obviously love Maverick Sabre; Bricknasty<\/a> are really cool. I really like what they\u2019re doing. I met them actually in Dublin a couple of months ago, and I thought they were really cool. I\u2019m also excited to see Wesley Joseph<\/a>; I really liked his album.<\/p>\n

For this album\u2019s tour, you\u2019re performing live with a band for the first time, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My plan is to do both band headlines and DJ after-parties, so there\u2019s a bit of both still. I think I want to still be connected to both sides of my work and my craft. I\u2019ve just done these B2B in-store parties for the past couple of weeks, and it\u2019s been really fun DJing. I realised that DJing is a lot lower stakes than being in a band. It\u2019s a lot more straightforward and easier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How\u2019s that transition been into a band? Is there more responsibility in being this centre point on the stage?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s scary to learn a new skill at this age, but it\u2019s also nice because I feel I don\u2019t really get to learn that much at the moment. A lot of my mid-to-late 20s has been me repeating what I learned five years ago. So it\u2019s nice to learn something new, and I\u2019m really enjoying figuring out who I am as a frontwoman. Obviously, the album\u2019s out now, so it feels like it makes sense [to play with a band], and that people get it.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re also headlining the Amex Afters on 29th August at Colour Factor. What can we expect from that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

All Points East will be a great example of what I think I should be doing. The band shows in the daytime, and then the afters should be fun party vibes. I\u2019ve got a lot of tunes I\u2019m going to play, a lot of stuff from my label, Up Your Archives, a lot of artists on there that I\u2019m gonna be spinning some exclusives from. I\u2019ve been playing a lot of 4\/4 jungle techno lately, because I think it\u2019s exciting. Obviously, I love old-school jungle, but I feel like jungle techno is really fresh at the moment.<\/p>\n

With Up Your Archives, what\u2019s the plan? What are you hoping to achieve in the next couple of years?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s so much that I want to achieve, not just for myself, but for my community. We\u2019re keeping going with the releases; there have been some really cool releases the past couple of months. I think I\u2019d love to develop artists too, because I\u2019ve got a lot of producers at the moment, but it\u2019d be cool to have a few artists on the label that I can work with to help figure out what they want to do. And obviously, we\u2019ve been doing our Warehouse Project takeovers for the past few years, so it\u2019d be cool to do some kind of festival or something in the future.<\/p>\n

Words<\/strong> \u2013 Ben Tibbits<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t11 August 2026\t\t\t<\/div>\n
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Feature Interview<\/a><\/div>\n
Festivals<\/a><\/div>\n
Music<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tHas KATSEYE nailed the pop star look?<\/span> <\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wonderland NIA\u2019S PARTY ARCHIVES ARE GROWING\u00a0 Britain\u2019s favourite junglist gets emotional on her sweeping, sensational sophomore album \u2013 a second Mercury Prize-nominated opus. Ahead of her appearance at All Points East and her headline slot of Amex Afters, the festival\u2019s official afterparty, the 26-year-old polymath talks growth, graft, and getting the party started.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,257],"class_list":["post-2088108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-wonderlandmagazine-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2088108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2088108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2088108\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2088108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2088108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2088108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}