Nia Archives photo by Anayo Onuora
Rave culture was never built for daylight. It belongs beneath railway arches, inside abandoned warehouses and in the forgotten shells of Britain’s industrial past, where concrete sweats and basslines rattle rusted steel. At Nia Archives’ DJ set in Manchester, the dancefloor remains a place of escape, expression and relentless bass-driven community.
But first, give way for the Northern Rave Girl. Her oversized sunglasses shield blown pupils, and her clanking bangles make up an unmistakable silhouette: bold, chaotic and unmistakably British rave culture. Manchester’s White Hotel grants her the space to thrive.
Notoriously difficult to locate, The White Hotel occupies a derelict industrial unit tucked between a cluster of converted garages. Even with barely 50 people inside, the concrete walls glisten with sweat. Condensation gathers into shimmering droplets, catching lasers and bending them into ribbons of colour.
Nia Archives finally steps into the booth, ‘Emotional Junglist’ emblazoned across her T-shirt. She joins Manchester-based DJs Worsleyy and Chimpo, and the trio quickly settles into a seamless back-to-back exchange of contemporary drum and bass. Worsleyy blends electronic samples with high-tempo jungle breaks, while Chimpo folds reggae and afrobeats into the mix, creating a set that feels both energetic and unpredictable.
The venue soon pushes towards 30 degrees, thick with humidity that hangs stubbornly in the air. Crowd members desperately seek ways to cool themselves down, resorting to fanning themselves with the Emotional Junglist CD they picked up at the door. The album’s icy blue artwork ripples across the room, as ravers wave the CDs above their heads to heavy sub-basslines and high-tempo drumbeats.
Nia Archives is as much a DJ as she is a raver. Not only does she mix fast-paced breakbeats into an eclectic array of genres, but she also appears weightless on stage, dancing throughout the entirety of the set and feeds off the crowd’s energy. She threads classic jungle breaks through afrobeats and neo-soul vocals, reshaping the dynamic of traditional DJ sets.
Her Yorkshire accent lingers on certain words as she sings; a refreshing take on a scene so often centred on the South. This slight vocal inflection adds an endearing, charming quality to her sound, making her feel less like a distant performer and more like a crowd member who happens to end up behind the decks. This is what makes Nia Archives so distinctive; she doesn’t project distance and instead feels embedded in the rave itself.
The northern thread continues with a sample of Liverpool rapper Esdee Kid’s ‘4 Raws,’ combined with jungle beats which perfectly epitomise Nia Archives musical identity. The room erupts in response. Strobes stutter overhead, sirens scream through the mix, and bodies move as one.
The last half hour is saved for Nia Archives’ new album, Emotional Junglist, including singles such as ‘Boys in Blue’ and ‘Vertical.’ These tracks feel like the soundtrack to British rave culture. Nia Archives trades the hyper-masculine edge often associated with jungle for something softer, yet still maintains every ounce of intensity. Her airy neo-soul vocals drift over relentless breakbeats, while shimmering synths cut through heavyweight basslines.
The set is cool, nostalgic and dreamlike, yet grounded by the grit of pirate radio, warehouse raves and Northern club culture. Nia Archives captures the comedown as convincingly as the peak-time rush, embracing the emotional highs and lows that have always existed within jungle.
Emotional Junglist is a love letter to the North’s rave heritage, and Nia Archives wears that identity with pride. And as the lights come up, the sweat dries, but the bass still lingers on the concrete.
This Northern Rave Girl deserves her flowers.
