Gigging is one of Britain’s most valuable cultural cornerstones. From the grandeur of Worthy Farm’s yearly celebrations under the beaming lights of the world-famous Pyramid Stage to the smallest village pubs, live music is everywhere. It gives voices to undiscovered up-and-comers, provides lifelong memories to its audiences, and has the power to bring entire communities together. However, the past decade has been devastating for the United Kingdom’s grassroots music venue ecosystem – with 2023 being the worst recorded year in recent times. Last year saw 125 venues permanently shut their doors to adoring fans and artists. With an average of one venue closing every other day, it was time to rise against the issue at hand. Thankfully, last Saturday did just that when Nia Archives, in collaboration with Save Our Scene UK, descended on Bristol to play in front of 2,700 jungle fanatics. An unmissable, all-day Bristol takeover was to be underpinned by one simple message: “SAVE OUR SCENE!”. The championing voices of all involved helped to play their role in doing just that.
Nia Archives’ recent rise to the top of the British rave scene cannot be understated. Whilst the Bradford-born junglist will be the first to dismiss the title of being “Jungle’s Revivalist”, her impact on the genre over the last four years cannot go unnoticed. Fusing the music of her predecessors with the contemporary sounds of pop, she has risen the ranks and brought in a new audience to the world of jungle – her most recent accolade being the release of her debut album, “Silence is Loud”. Released the day prior to her voyage to the South West, Nia Archives certainly came to party and began doing so in the most surreal of ways – in a newsagents at midday. Having performed at Glastonbury and Reading Festival over the past few years, the big stage is no stranger to the “emotional junglist” however, she kicked the Bristol leg of her five show tour off in a 24/7 newsagents in Stokes Croft. What is usually identified as “The Best supermarket”, had been temporarily signposted as “The Best Junglist” and was embellished with Jamaican and British flags. Inside the local shop, the shelves were restocked and replenished with vinyl, CD, and free stickers rather than usual weekly groceries. On top of the “Silence is Loud” promotion, there was a one-off newspaper labelled the “SOS Post” that programmed the day to come and heralded the importance of the event. A day prior to the jungle rave, George Fleming (the founder of Save Our Scene UK) took to social media to announce a brand new fund that had been setup in collaboration with Music Venue Trust (MTV). The fund saw that there would be “no deductions and no admin fees” on events that were under the Save Our Scene label. As simplified by George himself, this means that “one pound equals one pound going to exactly where it is needed most” – our venues. With the goal of being “the mouthpiece of preserving British culture”, SOS’ inaugural event utilizing the new fund, the day promised to be special.
Whilst the grand finale was set to take place at “The Underground”, for a select few of Nia’s fans, the day started many hours prior under a railway line in Cotham. In what literally was someone’s back garden, the whole street was filled with the sounds of jungle in the early afternoon. After a brief walk up the garden path, the compact crowd was met with the booming sounds of StepTwice who set the stage for a very special secret Nia Archives set. Fresh off her tour bus from Manchester’s Hidden the night before, Nia took to the stage in front of the hundred and fifty lucky guests under the railway line. If the newsagents takeover was not enough to warm up Nia’s most ardent followers, this certainly was.
After the secret Cotham set, it was time for the night’s main event – a seven-hour celebration of jungle. The night began with a set from the formidable Artemis, which was followed by a brilliant hour of dancing with DJ Flight. As the time grew ever closer to the arrival of the night’s headliner, Cheetah performed a back-to-back with Guido, perfectly building the South West crowd’s energy up before the main act. As their set drew to a close, Nia Archives made her way onto the stage which had been built out of an army truck and was surrounded by the famous Scotland Yard Soundsystem Speakers. Welcomed to the stage with an enthusiastic South West roar, the London-based artist was set to show her musical diversity in an unforgettable hour of jungle.
The coveted junglist kicked off her hour-long set with a remixed version of “You’ve Got The Love” (a Florence + The Machine classic), which was soon followed by another reworked indie classic by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Headz Will Roll). After this, she displayed her musical diversity through the songs that gained her the moniker the “emotional junglist” (“Unfinished Business”, “Crowded Roomz”), alongside some of her other fame-makers (“Bad Gylaz”, “Mash Up Tha Dance”, and “Forbidden Feelingz”). Moving through her set, it is safe to say that she played tune after tune – something the crowd understood and responded to through their ever-present energy. She continued to keep the late-night ravers’ energy levels high through twenty minutes of heavy tunes, before drawing her set to a close with a tune that was met with an enormous cheer: Baianá. Sampled off of the original Brazilian classic by Barbatuques, the English-translated lyrics read “Good night, people, ‘cause I arrived, one more time to introduce myself”. That final introduction was certainly one to behold, as the Scotland Yard Soundsystem wrung the ears of every raver one last time during Nia’s set. As the crowd grew louder, the final drop of Nia’s phenomenal set was dropped, and the crowd was sent into one final frenzy for one last time… at least for that hour. Following the queen of jungle’s unforgettable hour, two brilliant sets from SHERELLE and Clipz – “Bristol’s D’n’B Titan” – before the night was finally rounded off at 2 am.
As the night grew to a close, it was important to remember the key message that underpinned the day: “SAVE OUR SCENE!”. It is a simple message put out by the London-based charity, but it is also a crucial one. Without small music venues, the British music scene would diminish beyond irreparability. These venues allow new artists to grow, whilst also giving audiences new music to listen to. Whether it be the likes of The Smiths, Oasis, Blur, and Radiohead starting their careers in, the now shut Moles in Bath, or the likes of Fred Again.. who began his earliest tour in King Tut’s in Glasgow before playing Bristol’s Marble Factory in 2021, these venues need artists and artists need these venues. The voices of Save Our Scene are doing just that, and this is only the beginning of grassroots revivalism.
Should you wish to learn more about the wonderful minds at Save Our Scene, you can follow the link here. https://saveourscene.co.uk/
Role - I am a passionate writer with an interest for reviewing concerts and music.
Available For - Gig reviews and artist interviews.
Qualification - Currently I am studying BSc in Politics and International Relations at the University of Bath.
First Concert - The first concert I ever attended was Coldplay at the Royal Albert Hall (2014). It was to promote the release of their ‘Ghost Stories’ album. I will never forget the call my dad gave me to say he had managed to get two tickets for the both of us. The whole experience was just pure joy. The relative intimacy (for Coldplay) of the Royal Albert Hall, will always make that night one of the best (if not the best) concerts I have ever attended.
Dream Concert - In all honesty this is too difficult to answer with just one concert. If I were to select a few artists that I would love to see, it would have to be: Hope Sandoval, feeble little horse, Greg Foat, Kurt Vile, Lucy Dacus (specifically playing ‘No Burden’ in its entirety), Jadu Heart and The Moldy Peaches.
There is also the difficulty of dream gigs that are not able to be done. These would be: Mahalia Jackson, Etta James, Ann Peebles, Karen Dalton, Leon Russell, Mojave 3, The Smiths, and George Harrison (“All Things Must Pass” just from start to finish).
