On a week when Manchester’s culture was put under a magnifying glass by Chanel’s Metiers D’Art, Nia Archives brought her internationally renowned club night to Manchester’s Warehouse Project.
A wise man once told me that above 130 beats per minute, it’s all love. For the night, across the performers, it rarely dropped below 160bpm. True love.
Nia Archives is a beloved artist in student communities. As she notes in an interview with DJ Mag, “I’m the same age as my audience. I want to be part of their youth memories and give them things to have, something to look back on.” Nia Archives is one of the artists whose music punctuates the undulating life of many students in Manchester.
A new-age junglist, Archives builds on the genre’s key elements, and updates them. She’s an innovator in jungle music, and everyone in student Manchester clamoured to get a ticket. Student groups became auctions, those with tickets sitting pretty, and some of those without paying extortionate amounts, all to capture a special artist at her first peak.
The rest of the bill was less of a supporting cast, and more Avengers Assemble. Grime legend D Double E, Manchester favourite Salute, and an M6-bound Sammy Virji all kicked off the night (Virji was inexplicably performing in Bristol on the same night).
Party starter for hire Yung Singh took to the Depot at midnight. Opening with Y U QT’s ‘Y’all Ready For This?’, the highlight track of his viral Melbourne Boiler Room, and surely boiling himself in a puffer jacket, Yung Singh warmed up the crowd with his genre-defying set. Pigeonhole Yung Singh at your peril. Drawing on the culture of Daytimers, Yung Singh brings something dynamic and incredibly compelling to the scene.
At 1am sharp, Nia Archives took to the stage, plugged in her USB, and the jungle drums began to clatter. They didn’t stop for an hour, and we didn’t stop for an hour.
This show at the Depot was something of a homecoming for Nia Archives, as she moved to Manchester at 16, jumping on the mic at squat raves and attending Hit and Run events. The first statement of intent was her custom Umbro Oasis shirt, the logo emblazoned in fluorescent orange. It exemplifies exactly what Nia Archives is about. She pays homage to the past, but makes it her own.
Channelling Liam Gallagher‘s choice of Umbro at Maine Road, Nia Archives made a fashion statement that has more significance than some other events in Manchester in the same week.
Nia Archives is a performer. She puts her body and soul into the music, and the music is an extension of herself. She careers around the stage to the breakneck speed of her songs, and as a crowd member, you don’t have a choice but to go with her. It’s profound escapism.
The 10,000-strong crowd were treated to her now legendary remixes of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Heads Will Roll’, Jorja Smith’s ‘Little Things’, and Skin on Skin’s ‘Burn Dem Bridges’, as well as originals ‘Forbidden Feelingz’ and ‘Sober Feels’. Among the “hits”, Archives spliced dubs and unreleased material – ones to sit in the voice notes of diehard fans.
Visually, Archives pushed the Warehouse Project’s capabilities to the limit. Her coarse, bright, VHS-style visuals were displayed all around the Depot. Nia Archives’ aesthetic is unapologetic, and so cool. Everything about the show felt significant.
After Nia’s hour concluded, jungle heavyweight Shy FX took to the stage. The key to these events is perfect curation, and timing it so the crowd are on the same page as the artist.
With marathon club nights such as The Warehouse Project, you want everyone to peak at the same time and create a synergy. When it works, it’s magical; I don’t quite think they got it right at Up Ya Archives.
Shy FX is magnificent, and his set was too. He carried on the rapid, euphoric music. A seasoned performer, a crowd-pleaser, and a magician behind the decks. However, it felt like the message of the event was somewhat lost in this choice of scheduling.
To me, the event was billed as heralding the new age of jungle, with the legendary Shy FX passing the baton to the new pioneer Nia Archives. The posters and branding for the event certainly suggested so, but the scheduling undercut the brilliance and importance of Archives’ performance.
Up Ya Archives was still an extraordinary and heart-warming event, but symbolically, it sent a confusing message. I couldn’t help but feel like they missed an open goal. I left feeling fulfilled, but with one simple change, my jaw could have been on the floor.
Photos by Lucy Craig
