Today, the unstoppable Bradford-born, Leeds-raised new-gen junglist Nia Archives shares her ground-breaking debut album ‘Silence Is Loud’ via HIJINXX/Island Records. Working with Ethan P. Flynn (the songwriter and producer known for his work with FKA Twigs and David Byrne), on the thrilling and freeing 13-track ‘Silence Is Loud’, Nia makes music for beyond the rave.
To celebrate the release, she also shares the video for the lead track ‘Cards On The Table’ which she describes as “a song about having a crush” and having the freedom to have an innocent romance and act her age, not always thinking about work. The accompanying video directed by Rory Wood (Raw Tape) examines those moments in our lives when we lay ourselves bare, pulling down the defensive walls we build up to protect ourselves and exposing our vulnerability in the hope of forming a true bond.
Speaking on the video, Rory shares: “As humans we all crave connection and can often edit the way in which we present ourselves to find it resulting in situations where we are mismatched or settle for a relationship that is less than ideal. COTT presents not these moments but the ones when you find someone with whom you can be your completely unedited self and as such you lay your cards on the table, your self bare. Hoping that by allowing them to recognize your true self you’ll find not just a connection, but a soulmate.”
Nia Archives is intent that ‘Silence Is Loud’ is taken in as a full body of work of something “more song-focussed, putting interesting sounds on jungle.” Including recent singles ‘Crowded Roomz’, ‘Silence Is Loud’ and ‘Unfinished Business’ as well as earlier career defining tracks such as ‘Forbidden Feelingz’, ‘So Tell Me’ and 6 new unheard tracks, while very much replete with that jungle sound she does so well this is a record which finds gloomy Britpop, warm Motown, soaring indie, skittering IDM, Madchester, classic rock, old skool hardcore and more, woven and fused into her ragga and junglist tapestry; all layered with feeling, imbued with her songwriterly lyricism about relationships, loneliness, family, navigating her 20s, and the intense potential power of silence.