Nia Archives announces first U.S. tour dates. ‘Forbidden Feelings’ EP out now!

“While many of these young artists are simply dabbling in these sounds online, the 22-year-old Nia Archives studied the greats, and it shows.” – Pitchfork

“Jungle beats [that] act as a bed for timeless emotional content” – The Fader

“Hazy, sun-kissed chords, deep rolling bass and liquid breaks… Archives has a light touch when it comes to heavy topics” – DJ Mag

In support of her recently released EP Forbidden Feelings, the UK’s Nia Archives has confirmed her first set of tour dates in the U.S.  She kicks it off on the west coast with a show in San Francisco on July 29 and follows that with a slot at the Hard Summer festival, a show in Brooklyn on August 4 and an August 5 show in Miami.  The dates are listed below and tickets are on-sale now.

London based, Nia Archives is one of the most exciting and compelling new artists in the UK. Representing her Jamaican roots, nodding to and crediting the rich history of jungle music; her euphoria inducing, club ready productions peppered with cathartic and honest lyrics about her life and experiences have taken the country by storm. In 2022 alone, Nia has won the NME Bandlab Awards for ‘Best Producer’, been hotly tipped by The Face, Mixmag, BBC Radio 1 Dance as a ‘Future Star’ Spotify as their ‘Our Generation’ cover star and made cover debut on one of the worlds most prestigious dance music publications, Mixmag. Following a year of touring some of the UKs most prestigious clubs and festivals such as Fabric, Boiler Room, City Splash, Manchester International Festival and more, Nia Archives has been given the seal of approval from tastemakers across the board from British Vogue, Pitchfork, The Fader, i-D and CRACK.

Including her personal exploration of her struggles with body dysmorphia ‘Luv Like’, the reggae leaning single sampling Cocoa Tea’s ‘Young Longer’ 18 & Over (1Xtra playlist) and the instant classic ‘Forbidden Feelingz’ (4 million streams); her newest EP also features “Ode To Maya Angelou” – a dedication to one of her biggest inspirations, “Gud Gudbyez” and “Part Of Me” which is about losing a part of herself after the breakdown of a predominant relationship. This sensational six track EP speaks volumes on talent, with Nia writing music geared more towards the club and big sound systems.  Exploring and presenting different sides of her artistry, this project further solidifies her status as one of the most exciting new producers on the scene connecting generations of junglists.

Nia Archives US tour

7/29 – 1015 Folsom – San Francisco, CA

7/30 – The Hard Summer festival – San Bernardino, CA

8/4 – Zone One (Elsewhere) – Brooklyn, NY

8/5 – The Ground – Miami, FL

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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 Jamaican 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.

Born in Bradford and growing up in Leeds where her earliest memories of music are deeply rooted in her Jamaican heritage, after moving out at 16, she relocated to Manchester, where her way of getting to know people was through raves and house parties. Forming a close community of like-minded ravers, she felt emboldened to take the mic at house parties to sing and freestyle, soon dabbling in production with a downloaded crack version of Logic. A quintessentially British scene and moment in electronic music history, Nia is inspired by and identifies with the imperfect old-skool grit of rave tapes from the late 80s and early 90s; taking reference from and adding her own unique spin.

In 2021 the 22 year old Nia Archives unveiled her debut EP Headz Gone West. Spanning 5-tracks including her hypnotic and escapist debut single ‘Sober Feels’ (3M Spotify streams) and title track ‘Headz Gone West’ (1M Spotify streams), Nia’s music has been supported by the likes of The Independent, Mixmag, DJ Mag, Complex, CLASH and more and has led her to collaborate with Congo Natty on a remix of Lava La Rue’s ‘Magpie’.

Making a euphoria inducing, club ready productions self described as a ‘bit of a melting pot’ – Nia fuses different sounds together with a production style that is heavily influenced by everything from UK rave and dance culture such as old skool jungle, hardcore, UKG and Dubstep, as well as gospel, soul, R&B and jazz. Working with the likes of Redlight, P-Rallel, Jakwob, IZCO, V Recordings and more, the future is bright for this exciting new artist on the Jungle and Drum & Bass scene.

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