Nia Archives

Dehaney Nia Lishahn Hunt{{cite web |title=DEHANEY NIA LISHAHN HUNT |url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/writer/1091799124/DEHANEY%20NIA%20LISHAHN%20HUNT |access-date=2 January 2023 |website=American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330145422/https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/writer/1091799124/DEHANEY%20NIA%20LISHAHN%20HUNT |url-status=live }} was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire in September 1999, and has two brothers. When she was seven,{{cite web |last=Ochefu |first=Christine |date=7 December 2023 |title=Nia Archives: one for the headz |url=https://djmag.com/nia-archives-one-headz-interview |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102153206/https://djmag.com/nia-archives-one-headz-interview |archive-date=2 January 2024 |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=DJ Mag }} they moved to Horsforth,{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Kadish |date=12 April 2024 |title='I want to bring the party up north': Nia Archives on unleashing a Yorkshire rave revolution |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/apr/12/nia-archives-interview-music-silence-is-loud |access-date=12 April 2024 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}} where being half-Jamaican,{{cite web|url=https://ukf.com/words/who-the-hell-is-nia-archives/30356|last=Hirst|first=Jake|title=Who The Hell Is Nia Archives?|date=25 May 2021|access-date=26 January 2023|website=UKF|archive-date=1 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101200913/https://ukf.com/words/who-the-hell-is-nia-archives/30356|url-status=live}} she was one of the few people of colour.{{cite web|title=Get to know Nia Archives and her 'future classic' take on jungle|url=https://mixmag.net/feature/get-to-know-nia-archives-interview-jungle-soul|date=1 December 2021|first=Aneesa|last=Ahmed|access-date=2 January 2024|website=Mixmag|archive-date=2 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151705/https://mixmag.net/feature/get-to-know-nia-archives-interview-jungle-soul|url-status=live}} Hunt never met her father, and he is not listed on her birth certificate.{{cite web |last=Martin |first=Felicity |date=11 March 2022 |title=Nia Archives: the junglist bringing Black women to the front |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/55657/1/nia-archives-producer-junglist-black-women-music-jungle-manchester |access-date=2 January 2023 |website=Dazed |archive-date=2 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102174851/https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/55657/1/nia-archives-producer-junglist-black-women-music-jungle-manchester |url-status=live }} Her ex-stepfather, a former producer and rapper, had a dancehall radio show on a Bradford radio station, and set up a studio in her house, where local MCs such as Lunar C would visit to make music, introducing her to Logic Pro when she was twelve.{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Kyann-Sian |date=18 November 2022 |title=Nia Archives: "Jungle music has always been a strong sound of the underground" |url=https://www.nme.com/big-reads/nia-archives-cover-interview-2022-so-tell-me-3350452 |access-date=2 January 2023 |website=NME |archive-date=2 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102174851/https://www.nme.com/big-reads/nia-archives-cover-interview-2022-so-tell-me-3350452 |url-status=live }} Hunt is a third-generation Windrush immigrant;{{cite podcast |title=Nia Archives |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/nia-archives/id1518310698?i=1000539975425 |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Windrush Stories |publisher=Apple Podcasts |host=DJ Flight |date=28 October 2021 |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/nia-archives/id1518310698?i=1000539975425 |url-status=live }} her grandmother Liz had moved to Bradford from Jamaica at age fourteen,{{cite web |date=27 November 2023 |title=Nia Archives wants you to respect your elders |url=https://i-d.co/article/nia-archives-interview-jungle-renaissance/ |access-date=19 February 2024 |website=i-D|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231127092948/https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/y3wpaw/nia-archives-interview-jungle-renaissance |archive-date=27 November 2023 }} and with one{{cite web |date=8 September 2023 |title=Queen Of The North: Nia Archives Interviewed |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/queen-of-the-north-nia-archives-interviewed/ |first=Rahel |last=Aklilu |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Clash |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102153206/https://www.clashmusic.com/features/queen-of-the-north-nia-archives-interviewed/ |url-status=live }} of her four sisters{{cite web|title=Flying the junglist flag: Nia Archives is leading jungle's new era|url=https://mixmag.net/feature/nia-archives-jungle-interview-cover-feature|first=Tracy|last=Kawalik|date=3 May 2022|access-date=2 January 2024|website=Mixmag|archive-date=20 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220165333/https://mixmag.net/feature/nia-archives-jungle-interview-cover-feature|url-status=live}} ran a pirate radio station. Their large afros earned them the sobriquet "The Bradford 5" after The Jackson 5. She also owned a sound system and used it to soundtrack family gatherings with tracks by Goldie, Roni Size, Shy FX, and assorted gospel, soul and R&B, and introduced Dehaney to successful women of colour such as M.I.A., Jennifer Lara, and Ms. Dynamite. She also ran a community school, where Dehaney first learned about Black history, which she was not taught at school; Dehaney subsequently moved her Year 3 teacher to tears by giving a presentation on Rosa Parks.

As a child, Dehaney was a studious reader, and began taking photographs and making films on a Handycam gifted to her by her grandfather. Her first introduction to music was the gospel music her Pentecostal church played, and the first CD she bought was Rihanna's Music of the Sun. She realised she wanted to be a singer aged eight, though spent time also wanting to be an archaeologist. Aged twelve, she became a fan of Emeli Sandé after listening to her drum and bass song "Heaven", although did not discover the name of its genre until later.{{cite news|date=3 January 2023|title=Sound Of 2023: Nia Archives is ushering in a new era of jungle|work=BBC News|first=Mark|last=Savage|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63917110|access-date=2 January 2024|archive-date=2 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63917110|url-status=live}} Family issues caused her to move out of her family home when she was sixteen, and she moved solo to another area of Leeds, before moving to Bury, Greater Manchester, and then to a hostel in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, where she had a social worker and spent time claiming unemployment benefits before taking up posts at KFC and as a cookery teacher.

Around this time, she found her interest in photography revived after she went down digital rabbit holes, and watched documentaries like the LTJ Bukem film Modern Times (1996), the Talkin' Headz (1998) Metalheadz documentary, and Channel 4's film, All Junglists: A London Somet'ing Dis (1994), taking particular interest in the role of women in the scene such as Kemistry & Storm and DJ Flight. Mainstream clubs were not open to her as she did not have ID, so she made friends during this period by attending squat raves and underground house parties, using her Handycam to strike up conversations. In 2017,{{cite web |date=18 October 2021 |title=Nia Archives shares new single inspired by '90s jungle and reggae, 'Forbidden Feelingz': Listen |url=https://djmag.com/news/nia-archives-shares-new-single-inspired-90s-jungle-and-reggae-forbidden-feelingz |first=Brian |last=Coney |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=DJ Mag |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102153206/https://djmag.com/news/nia-archives-shares-new-single-inspired-90s-jungle-and-reggae-forbidden-feelingz |url-status=live }} to accompany the videos she was creating, and as an outlet for the emotions she was feeling, she downloaded a bootleg version of Logic Pro, having become fed up by the way local producers were treating her; finding herself speeding her music up, she discovered she was making jungle after researching its roots.

Her early works were uploaded to SoundCloud under the name Indigo D. After finding herself in a toxic relationship in Manchester, she worked sixty-hour weeks at KFC to save for a move to London, and in 2019,{{cite web |date=10 March 2022 |title=An interview with Nia Archives on her new EP, Forbidden Feelingz |first=Jade |last=Wickes |url=https://theface.com/music/nia-archives-interview-new-ep-forbidden-feelingz-sober-feels-headz-gone-west-jungle-grime-music-nme-award-best-producer-vol4-issue-10 |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=The Face |archive-date=25 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925010034/https://theface.com/music/nia-archives-interview-new-ep-forbidden-feelingz-sober-feels-headz-gone-west-jungle-grime-music-nme-award-best-producer-vol4-issue-10 |url-status=live }} she enrolled on a course at CM, which had a music production and business course in partnership with the University of Westminster, and moved to a warehouse in Hackney Wick{{cite web|title=Sofa Surfing : Nia Archives|first=Becky|last=Burgam|date=27 April 2021|url=https://galchester.com/Sofa-Surfing-Nia-Archives|access-date=2 January 2024|website=Galchester|archive-date=2 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://galchester.com/Sofa-Surfing-Nia-Archives|url-status=live}} next to a glass factory,{{cite web |title=Nia Archives Interview |date=1 March 2022 |url=https://www.flannels.com/stylenews/post/nia-archives-interview |access-date=3 January 2024 |website=Flannels |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103160954/https://www.flannels.com/stylenews/post/nia-archives-interview |url-status=live }} which she initially paid for using a part-time job in Wetherspoons. One of her tutors on her course was Jason Alexander, a former acid house DJ under the name Warlock, who encouraged her to apply for DJ Flight's EQ50 Mentorship Scheme, a twelve-month mentorship for five womxn,{{cite web|date=17 July 2020|title=DJ Flight on EQ50 mentorship: "We hope it inspires a new generation of womxn in drum 'n' bass"|url=https://mixmag.net/feature/dj-flight-eq50-mentorship-drum-n-bass-interview|first=Patrick|last=Hinton|access-date=2 January 2024|website=Mixmag|archive-date=2 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://mixmag.net/feature/dj-flight-eq50-mentorship-drum-n-bass-interview|url-status=live}} at which she found herself working with V Recordings and mentored by DJ Flight herself.

In 2020, she sent her track "Sober Feels" to all of the local jungle and drum and bass labels in the area. Finding that none of the local labels were interested, she released it herself, using the name Nia Archives, and on her own label Hijinxx;{{cite web |last=Jolley |first=Ben |date=9 March 2022 |title=Nia Archives – 'Forbidden Feelingz' EP: jungle anthems certify producer's rapid rise |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/nia-archives-forbidden-feelingz-ep-review-jungle-radar-3179138 |access-date=2 January 2023 |website=NME |archive-date=2 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102174850/https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/nia-archives-forbidden-feelingz-ep-review-jungle-radar-3179138 |url-status=live }} both were nods to her videography, and the latter was named after a move by her stepfather's favourite skater. After she spent £500 of her student finance on digital advertising for it, the song became popular with Britons who were unable to go out,{{cite news |last=Marshall |first=Alex |date=10 March 2023 |title=Drum-and-Bass Is Rising Again, With Nia Archives in the Spotlight |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/10/arts/music/nia-archives-drum-and-bass.html |access-date=2 January 2024 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/10/arts/music/nia-archives-drum-and-bass.html |url-status=live }} and by May 2023, the song had been streamed over 7,000,000 times.{{cite web |first=Andre |last=Paine |title=Warner Chappell signs Nia Archives: 'A force to be reckoned with' |url=https://www.musicweek.com/publishing/read/warner-chappell-signs-nia-archives-a-force-to-be-reckoned-with/087858 |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Music Week |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://www.musicweek.com/publishing/read/warner-chappell-signs-nia-archives-a-force-to-be-reckoned-with/087858 |url-status=live }} The success of the song enabled Hunt to drop out of her course.{{cite web |date=22 February 2024 |title=Nia Archives is rewriting jungle's rulebook |url=https://theface.com/music/nia-archives-interview-silence-is-loud-new-album-britpop-jungle-goldie |access-date=12 April 2024 |website=The Face }} In April 2021, she released the single "Headz Gone West", followed by an EP of the same name,{{cite web |last=Keith |first=James |title=Premiere: Nia Archives Stirs Together Jazz, Soul And Jungle On "Headz Gone West" |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/james-keith/premiere-nia-archives-headz-gone-west |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Complex |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://www.complex.com/music/a/james-keith/premiere-nia-archives-headz-gone-west |url-status=live }} both of which took their title from her poor mental health during lockdown; the former was written as the second track for the project, after "Sober Feels", and in an interview with Complex Networks, she noted that the EP comprised extrapolations of beats she had produced during nights.

She then collaborated with Rebel MC on a remix of Lava La Rue's "Magpie", and in October 2021, she released "Forbidden Feelingz", which sampled Columbo, a murder detective series, in tribute to Liz, and which was accompanied by a music video directed by Delphino.{{cite web|title=Nia Archives releases new single 'Forbidden Feelingz'|url=https://mixmag.net/read/nia-archives-new-single-forbidden-feelingz-news|access-date=2 January 2024|first=Aneesa|last=Ahmed|date=14 October 2023|website=Mixmag|archive-date=2 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://mixmag.net/read/nia-archives-new-single-forbidden-feelingz-news|url-status=live}} She then released "18 & Over", which sampled Cocoa Tea's "Young Lover", alongside a video that referenced Babylon and The Harder They Come and was directed by Taliable,{{cite web|date=26 November 2021|title=Nia Archives drops new single and video, '18 & Over'|first=Amy|last=Fielding|url=https://djmag.com/news/nia-archives-drops-new-single-and-video-18-over|access-date=2 January 2024|website=DJ Mag|archive-date=2 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102153209/https://djmag.com/news/nia-archives-drops-new-single-and-video-18-over|url-status=live}} the production alias of Talia Beale;{{cite web |title=TaliaBle brings punk to the ends with new 'ZINC!' visual |date=13 April 2023 |first=Billy |last=Ward |url=https://dmy.co/videos/taliable-brings-punk-to-the-ends-with-new-zinc-visual |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=DMY |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://dmy.co/videos/taliable-brings-punk-to-the-ends-with-new-zinc-visual |url-status=live }} in a March 2022 interview with Dazed, she noted that she picked the sample after hearing discovering her stepfather's SoundCloud account and finding it on there. In February 2022, she released "Luv Like", a song about her own body dysmorphic disorder,{{cite web |title=Nia Archives: "Luv Like" |first=Cat |last=Zhang |date=4 February 2022 |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/nia-archives-luv-like/ |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Pitchfork |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102153206/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/nia-archives-luv-like/ |url-status=live }} which was released alongside a music video,{{cite web|title=Nia Archives' "Luv Like" is an exploration of self-image cloaked in jungle rhythms|first=James|last=Ellis|date=3 February 2022|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/new-music/discovery/nia-archives-luv-like|access-date=2 January 2024|website=The Line of Best Fit|archive-date=2 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/new-music/discovery/nia-archives-luv-like|url-status=live}} and the following month she released the EP Forbidden Feelingz, which included "Forbidden Feelingz", "18 & Over", and "Luv Like".{{cite web |last=Pritchard |first=Will |date=11 March 2022 |title=Nia Archives: Forbidden Feelingz |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nia-archives-forbidden-feelingz/ |access-date=2 January 2023 |website=Pitchfork |archive-date=2 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102180351/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nia-archives-forbidden-feelingz/ |url-status=live }}

In April 2022, she published a handwritten open letter to the MOBO Awards to introduce an Electronic/Dance category, on the grounds that the last such act to win an award was Goldie, who had won for Timeless in 1996; the Nova Twins had put in a similar request the year before for a Rock/Alternative category, but had been unsuccessful.{{cite web |last=Shutler |first=Ali |date=14 April 2022 |title=Nia Archives calls on MOBO Awards to add electronic/dance category |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/nia-archives-calls-on-mobo-awards-to-add-electronic-dance-category-3204952 |access-date=3 January 2024 |website=NME |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103164423/https://www.nme.com/news/music/nia-archives-calls-on-mobo-awards-to-add-electronic-dance-category-3204952 |url-status=live }} However, on this occasion, Hunt's request was entertained; working alongside the newly-formed Black Electronic Music Association, or Club BEMA, such a category was created for that year's ceremony, which was won by Hunt.{{cite web|title=Nia Archives on Electronic/Dance MOBOs win: "This is beyond my wildest dreams"|date=1 December 2022|first=Becky|last=Buckle|url=https://mixmag.net/read/nia-archives-wins-best-electronic-dance-supported-by-mixmag-at-the-mobos-news|access-date=3 January 2024|website=Mixmag|archive-date=15 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315015252/https://mixmag.net/read/nia-archives-wins-best-electronic-dance-supported-by-mixmag-at-the-mobos-news|url-status=live}} She then collaborated with Watch the Ride on "Mash Up the Dance", and Clipz, Beenie Man, Cristale and ShaSimone on "No Time". In September 2022, she released "Baianá", which sampled the traditional Brazilian choir Barbatuques, alongside a video shot in Brazil.{{cite web |last=Richards |first=Will |date=30 September 2022 |title=Nia Archives shares Brazilian-influenced new song and video 'Baianá' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/nia-archives-shares-brazilian-influenced-new-song-and-video-baiana-radar-3320386 |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=NME |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://www.nme.com/news/music/nia-archives-shares-brazilian-influenced-new-song-and-video-baiana-radar-3320386 |url-status=live }} In November 2022, she released "So Tell Me...",{{cite web |last=McCarthy |first=Neive |date=17 November 2022 |title=Nia Archives has shared a new single, 'So Tell Me…', with an accompanying video |url=https://readdork.com/news/nia-archives-has-shared-a-new-single-so-tell-me-with-an-accompanying-video/ |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Dork |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://readdork.com/news/nia-archives-has-shared-a-new-single-so-tell-me-with-an-accompanying-video/ |url-status=live }} a song about her decision to leave home, which was released alongside a video produced by Dan Emmerson, and the following month, she released "Conveniency", which alongside "Baianá" and "So Tell Me..." appeared on her EP Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall in March.{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Kyann-Sian |date=8 March 2023 |title=Nia Archives – 'Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall' EP review: honest stories and subdued beats |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/nia-archives-sunrise-bang-ur-head-against-the-wall-ep-review-radar-3410198 |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=NME |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/nia-archives-sunrise-bang-ur-head-against-the-wall-ep-review-radar-3410198 |url-status=live }} She released a remix EP, Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall (Remixes), that May.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-12 |title=Nia Archives releases ‘Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall (Remixes)’ EP |url=https://diymag.com/news/nia-archives-releases-sunrise-bang-ur-head-against-tha-wall-remixes-ep |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=DIY |language=en}}

In June, she supported Beyoncé on her Renaissance World Tour at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium;{{cite web |date=2 June 2023 |title=Nia Archives opened for Beyoncé in London last night |url=https://crackmagazine.net/2023/06/nia-archives-opened-for-beyonce-in-london-last-night/ |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Crack |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://crackmagazine.net/2023/06/nia-archives-opened-for-beyonce-in-london-last-night/ |url-status=live }} she told The Face in February 2024 that she had only discovered she would be performing there on the day, and that she had received "a lot" of abuse for playing jungle. Alexis Petridis noted in April 2024 that cameraphone footage for the gig indicated an audience looking like jungle was "the last thing they want to hear", but opined that her slot was indicative of her success. A week after playing the gig, she released "Off Wiv Ya Headz", a remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 2009 single "Heads Will Roll",{{cite web |date=9 June 2023 |title=Nia Archives puts jungle spin on Yeah Yeah Yeahs with new single, 'Off Wiv Ya Headz' |first=Christian |last=Eede |url=https://djmag.com/news/nia-archives-puts-jungle-spin-yeah-yeah-yeahs-new-single-wiv-ya-headz-watch-video |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=DJMag.com |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102153207/https://djmag.com/news/nia-archives-puts-jungle-spin-yeah-yeah-yeahs-new-single-wiv-ya-headz-watch-video |url-status=live }} and a week after that she released a remix of Jorja Smith's "Little Things".{{cite web |title=Nia Archives takes Jorja Smith's "Little Things" into new junglist heights |url=https://www.thefader.com/2023/06/16/nia-archives-jorja-smith-little-things-remix |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=The Fader |first=David |last=Renshaw |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://www.thefader.com/2023/06/16/nia-archives-jorja-smith-little-things-remix |url-status=live }} In August 2023, she released "Bad Gyalz", a song about the women who attended her raves, and which featured vocals from MC Moose and production from Clipz and was accompanied by a video directed by Beale;{{cite web |last=Keith |first=James |title=Nia Archives Celebrates "Bad Gyalz" In Rave Culture With New Banger |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/james-keith/nia-archives-bad-gyalz |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Complex |date=1 April 2021 |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151704/https://www.complex.com/music/a/james-keith/nia-archives-bad-gyalz |url-status=live }} she, Central Cee, and Kano then featured on a JD Sports Christmas advert, and she then released a remix of Fred Again's "Leavemealone".{{cite web |title=Nia Archives returns with "Crowded Roomz" |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/nia-archives-returns-with-crowded-roomz |access-date=7 April 2024 |website=The Line of Best Fit }}

In January 2024, she released "Crowded Roomz", a combination of jungle and indie rock{{cite web |title=Nia Archives shares new song "Crowded Roomz" |url=https://www.thefader.com/2024/01/19/nia-archives-crowded-roomz |access-date=7 April 2024 |website=The FADER }} co-written and co-produced by Ethan P. Flynn{{cite web |last=Skinner |first=Tom |date=19 January 2024 |title=Nia Archives tackles loneliness on "raw" new single 'Crowded Roomz' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/nia-archives-tackles-loneliness-on-raw-new-single-crowded-roomz-3573676 |access-date=7 April 2024 |website=NME }} and about her experience of being surrounded by people while touring but still feeling unable to be herself; its music video featured Maverick Sabre, who had previously featured on her Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall track "No Need 2 Be Sorry, Call Me?", and Corbin Shaw. The following month, she announced her debut album, Silence Is Loud, which was also co-written and co-produced by Flynn,{{cite web |date=19 February 2024 |title=Nia Archives announces debut album 'Silence Is Loud' |url=https://diymag.com/news/nia-archives-silence-is-loud |access-date=7 April 2024 |website=DIY }} and released its title track, an ode to her love for her brother.{{cite web |last=Skinner |first=Tom |date=15 February 2024 |title=Nia Archives announces debut album 'Silence Is Loud', shares sentimental title track |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/nia-archives-announces-debut-album-silence-is-loud-releases-title-track-single-listen-3587849 |access-date=7 April 2024 |website=NME }} The album comprised her attempt at fusing jungle with Britpop, on the grounds that she had not heard the genre in dance music before. She then collaborated with Shaw to release "Cheese Chips N Bloody Gravy", a piece of merchandise, and then in March 2024 she released "Unfinished Business", about a current partner's feelings for their past.{{cite web |last=Dunworth |first=Liberty |date=15 March 2024 |title=Listen to Nia Archives' reflective new single 'Unfinished Business' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/listen-to-nia-archives-reflective-new-single-unfinished-business-3601797 |access-date=7 April 2024 |website=NME }} Silence is Loud was released in April 2024,{{cite web |date=12 April 2024 |title=Listen to Nia Archives' debut album, 'Silence Is Loud' |url=https://djmag.com/news/listen-nia-archives-debut-album-silence-loud |access-date=12 April 2024 |website=DJ Mag }} and featured "Silence is Loud", "Crowded Roomz", "Unfinished Business", and "So Tell Me..." and "Forbidden Feelingz" from previous EPs;{{cite web |last=Press-Reynolds |first=Kieran |date=15 April 2024 |title=Nia Archives: Silence Is Loud |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nia-archives-silence-is-loud/ |access-date=17 April 2024 |website=Pitchfork }} the album charted at No. 16 on the UK Albums Chart{{Cite web |date=2024-04-19 |title=James celebrate first-ever Official Number 1 studio album with Yummy |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/james-yummy-number-1-album-uk/ |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=Official Charts |language=en}} and was nominated for that year's Mercury Prize.{{Cite web |title=Mercury Prize nominations 2024: Charli XCX, Beth Gibbons and The Last Dinner Party on shortlist |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz5r235rr08o |access-date=25 July 2024 |website=BBC}}

{{quote box|"I've been massively inspired by Burial when it comes to my own music – I'm literally obsessed with him, it's unhealthy! I follow the subreddit and I'm deep in the Burial world; I've got a massive poster of the Untrue artwork on my wall. But I would say he's been a massive inspiration just because, for me as a producer, I look at him as a great case study of somebody who chose to be anonymous and didn't reveal so much about himself publicly. But if you listen to his music, you can find out so much about his personality: what he likes and what he's into… video games, films and just his own personal music preferences. I really like that he details his personality within the production without actually saying things in words. You just need to listen to get an idea of who he is."

| source = Hunt in November 2022

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}}

When producing, Hunt takes inspiration from the classic era of jungle, between 1992 and 1996. She is massively inspired by Burial; in an interview with Crack in November 2022, she stated that she first discovered his album Untrue (2007) when she was "17 or 18" and listened to the album on loop after moving to London, that she submitted an essay about him while at university, that she was specifically inspired by the personality he put into his work, and that she was inspired to sample Columbo and "Young Lover" on "Forbidden Feelingz" and "18 & Over" by him.{{cite web |title=Burial's 'Untrue' at 15: Artists reflect on their favourite tracks and the album's unwavering influence |date=4 November 2022 |url=https://crackmagazine.net/article/lists/burials-untrue-at-15-artists-reflect-on-their-favourite-tracks-and-the-albums-enduring-influence/ |access-date=3 January 2024 |website=Crack |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103140610/https://crackmagazine.net/article/lists/burials-untrue-at-15-artists-reflect-on-their-favourite-tracks-and-the-albums-enduring-influence/ |url-status=live }} In an interview with the BBC in January 2023, she stated that she was inspired by Maya Angelou's conversion of pain into poetry; she first became interested in her via Liz's community school, would refer frequently to her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings as a child, and would sample her poem And Still I Rise on her Forbidden Feelingz album track "Ode 2 Maya Angelou". In addition, the songwriting on Silence Is Loud took inspiration from The Beatles, Blur, and Oasis.{{Cite news |last=Butchard |first=Skye |date=2024-04-26 |title=Mad fer it! The young musicians flying the flag for Britpop |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/apr/26/mad-fer-it-the-young-musicians-flying-the-flag-for-britpop |access-date=2024-05-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Reviewing Forbidden Feelingz, Pitchfork described her voice as "indebted to the jazzy licks of Erykah Badu and Nina Simone", and with "a soulful lilt and lyrics from the sunnier sides of reggae music". In June 2023, Gauchoworld described Hunt, Piri & Tommy, and PinkPantheress as "at the forefront of the "bedroom rave" movement",{{cite journal |last=Ellie |first=Muir |date=June 2023 |title=Pole Dancing to 170BPM: Piri is Reimagining the Rave |journal=Gauchoworld |issue=4 |pages=64–67}}{{Rp|pages=64}} and in September 2023, Clash described her as one of the leaders of the post-2020 drum and bass revival alongside Venbee, Charlotte Plank, and Piri, the last of whom used a January 2024 The Guardian piece to state that the success of both Archives and Yunè Pinku was inspirational in her choosing to become a producer herself.{{cite news |last=Bugel |first=Safi |date=5 January 2024 |title='This wouldn't have happened 20 years ago': how women began dominating British dance music |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/jan/05/this-wouldnt-have-happened-20-years-ago-how-women-began-dominating-british-dance-music |access-date=5 January 2024 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=5 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105080641/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/jan/05/this-wouldnt-have-happened-20-years-ago-how-women-began-dominating-british-dance-music |url-status=live }} Additionally, Alexis Petridis used a Silence is Loud review to observe that Hunt occupied a "roughly equivalent" position to Goldie, a 1990s jungle musician, describing both as a "striking, charismatic figurehead for a genre traditionally lacking in striking, charismatic figures", and that on Silence is Loud, Hunt was "unafraid to tether her breakbeats to a pounding four-to-the-floor kick drum, a move that would have been absolutely verboten in 90s jungle"; he also noted that Forbidden Feelingz and Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall posited Hunt as a "weightier counterpoint" to the works of PinkPantheress.{{cite news |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |date=11 April 2024 |title=Nia Archives: Silence Is Loud review – bold, fresh jungle unbound by tradition |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/apr/11/nia-archives-silence-is-loud-album-review |access-date=12 April 2024 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}

{{reflist}}

• {{discogs artist|Nia Archives}}
• {{IMDb name|12595416}}

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{{BBC Introducing}}

Category:Living people

Category:1999 births

Category:21st-century Black British women musicians

Category:21st-century English women musicians

Category:English house musicians

Category:English women DJs

Category:Musicians from Bradford

Category:People from Horsforth

Category:English people of Jamaican descent

Category:English women in electronic music

Category:English record producers

Category:English drum and bass musicians

Category:British women record producers

Category:Black British DJs

Category:English electronic dance music DJs