CRASHING WAVES OF EMOTIONAL JUNGLIST: THE OTHER SIDE OF LOVE

Ilya Semple
1 day ago
2 min read

Photo credit: Iris Luz

Falling in and out of love and landing on a new album – Nia Archives’ Emotional Junglist balances vulnerable comedowns with resilient highs amidst an unmissable storytelling experience. Sophisticated production and dreamy neo-soul vocals chart her evolution, track-by-track, across urban imagery and romantic introspections to create a feeling “like December in London”. In June, Archives panned and led us through the post-rave experience in hazy music videos like that of ‘Vertical’, winding. through the emotive sentimentalities that linger in heartbreak. Now, with the full release of her newest album, Nia is the wave that crashes over July, taking the spotlight, enchanting and enveloping us in her serene soundscape. Her powerful vocals juxtapose raw energy with soft edges to make beauty from earnest lyricism.

Throughout, Nia is unafraid to leave each word its space, equidistant from each other, almost becoming beats and instruments in their own mellow and charming fashion.

A previously proven prodigy of the electronic scene, Emotional Junglist sees Archives conquer new ground and genres, blending post-punk basslines and indie-pop melodies with familiar hi-hats and breakbeats. Nia peacocks an amped array of influence, collaboration and sampling to accessorise her newfound style: “I’m changing up my look / I’m changing up my hair” she sings. In 2026, she blossoms as an established major artist – from tinkering tracks in student digs six years prior - now unafraid to experiment sonically and tease a rebrand with an uncompromising confidence in her talent.

This album leaves just enough of the old to invite enough of the new. And all the while, authenticity glimmers in the space between. Archives continue to resonate with her origins and fanbase, representing a generation when inspiring the next. From M.I.A to N I A, years of bedroom beats and sound system surroundings are surmised in her latest zenith. Her first CD – Music of the Sun – in turn spun her fate, for singles like ‘Danger’ spawned from bouncing ideas at Rihanna’s writing camp last year. “I hope that other women and girls find parts of themselves in it” she says of her latest project, imprinting the female gaze on the record’s grooves and demanding respect with an energised playfulness. Following in the footsteps of Beyonce, Madonna or Björk, Nia Archives cements herself as this century’s very own

Emotional Junglist icon.

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