Lots of pop stars experimented with dance music in the '80s, but the worlds of jungle and R&B stayed pretty separate, at least outside of the imaginations of Missy Elliott, Timbaland, and various UK garage producers. We never got Faith Evans singing over a Roni Size track. I bet that would've been great. Today, however, we get to hear what the extremely cool drum 'n' bass revivalist Nia Archives can do when she links up with glamorous UK R&B star Jorja Smith.
For the past few years, Nia Archives has been doing incredibly cool things with the sonic language of old-school jungle, making it feel like circa-now pop music partly by singing over her own production. Next week, she'll release her excellent new album Emotional Junglist, which she recorded with help from people like Sampha, James Ford, and Julia Michaels. We've posted the singles "Boys In Blue" and "Vertical." Today, Nia Archives shares "Get Me Down," the new single where Jorja Smith sings gorgeously lush stacked harmonies over her breakbeats.
"Get Me Down" is Nia Archives' first track with a featured guest, though she remixed Smith's single "Little Things" in 2023. As on that remix, R&B vocals and explosive jungle production pair beautifully, especially when all the people involved are ultra-charismatic and fully locked-in. As a nice little bonus, "Get Me Down" has one of those videos that looks like it takes place in a nightclub on a spaceship. Nia Archives co-directed it with her friend Jay Douglas. Check it out below.
Emotional Junglist is out 7/24 on HIJINXX/Island.
