It’s all very DIY! I’ve been independent since a young age and have had to do things myself. With my music, there’s no big label or anything. I’m just doing what I know. It’s not perfect, but I enjoy it. It’s all about having fun right now. It’s a side project I started before I put any music out. HIJINXX was the name for my visual archive. My ex-step dad used to love a skater called Beagle, who did this thing called Hijinx. It’s basically documenting the good side of life, but also the chaotic. I created that name because I wanted somewhere for visual work and music. In future, I would love to put together my own mini documentary and release it under HIJINXX. This is UK Grim, put it in the bin,” Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson quips in UK Grim ’s self-titled opener. 12 albums in and the Nottingham duo haven’t swayed too far from their aggy post-punk electronica, but UK Grim firmly stands its ground. Its charged-up tales of tales of robbing the till at work, a recovering addict’s nostalgia for drugs and constant jibes at the powers-that-be rattle alongside Andrew Fearn’s minimalist beats–putting centre focus on Williamson’s gripes. With additions from Dry Cleaning’s Florence Shaw (“Force 10 From Navarone”) and Jane’s Addiction’s Perry Farrell (“So Trendy”), UK Grim isn’t revolutionary, but a needed sneer at the country’s current state of affairs.–BR I’m glad! I always loved singing as a kid. I only started making beats because I was singing for other producers and they were messing me about. I thought I might as well do it myself. That’s when I started singing over my productions. I love harmonies and layers, so I try to use my voice as an instrument – chopping it up and manipulating it. Speaking of improvements, it seems like EQ50 was the big moment helping you to reach the next level.

Erraticism meets composure on Robbie & Mona’s sophomore album, Tusky . Crafted out of disparate samples connected during post-production, Tusky treads a world of dark jazz experimentalism and finds solace in the abstract. It’s a release filled with grandeur, but knows its limits as glitching electronica unites sultry piano harmonies, vocal etherealism and improvised saxophone parts. It’s an intense listen, but an exciting journey into the unknown.–BR Here are the best photos from the winners’ room at the Rolling Stone UK Awards in collaboration with Rémy Martin I’ve not done any gigs as Nia Archives… Not gonna lie, I’m bare nervous. But in some ways it’s good as there are no expectation. No one knows what it will be like. I only started teaching myself how to DJ last year. I’m literally learning as I go. I moved out when I was 16-years-old and I feel like that inspired my journey a lot. It was a transformative period. I went through a lot of stuff at that age and needed an outlet to express what I’d been through. It sounds cheesy, but music did save me in a way. I’m not good at expressing myself in other ways, so I started writing. That’s why I have so many lyrics from that age because I was very emotional. I started creating as a form of escapism. That period showed me what I wanted to do, because before that, I was just going through the motions. People told me music wasn’t realistic, but now I’m getting to a point where it feels like I can really do this. I’m still processing that too… I’m glad people are vibing to it. I’m happy it’s released because now I can start making new music. Releasing music is a physical process, but it’s also a mental / emotional process getting it out there so that I can move on.

Forbidden Feelingz EP

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It’s all about experimenting and having fun. If you’re not enjoying your music then what are you doing? I see making beats like playing a video game where I’m trying to get all these little sounds to match. It’s like going through levels. Especially with the way I make my drums, I have this formula I do to create the sound I want. Hot on the heels of her latest US ‘Up Ya Archives’ tour, Nia shared a special remix EP to celebrate the success release of Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall. The critically acclaimed original EP was given electrifying reinterpretations spanning every corner of electronic music from some of the scene’s like Mall Grab, Mount Kimbie, Breakage, Special Request, and Bakey. Brought through last year by the awesome EQ50 mentorship helping womxn to progress in jungle and drum and bass, Nia has since been developing into an artist with a real understanding behind her music. With a heritage founded on Caribbean sound system culture, combined with her teenage years spent writing albums worth of music for fun, it feels like music has always been the destined path for Nia – a dream she is finally living. Yeah. I wrote Crossroads when I was 17-years-old. I’m not sure what was going on at the time, but somehow I wrote enough tunes for a whole album. I’m slowly trying to rework all those old lyrics. Crossroads was originally written over a boom bap beat. It was one of the first beats I started, but the final beat I made last year.

NiaArchives:Yeah, I think so. I’m half-Jamaican, so I’ve grown up with sound system culture, with dancehall and jungle. I grew up loving the basslines in dancehall tunes, and I found that jungle tends to have similar rhythms; plus, there’s a lot of sampling of reggae in jungle, especially on stuff out of London like Saxon, and those sound clashes. There’s a lot of crossover between Britain and Jamaica there, and I’m proud of my dual heritage. I feel like it’s something I didn’t get the opportunity to express when I was younger. Was there a moment in time when you felt like you’d made a breakthrough with the kind of sound you wanted to achieve? Absolutely. Looking at what has happened, I don’t think I can recall a jungle artist who has had such a dramatic rise in a short space of time. You’ve really got the scene talking. That was one of the first things to catch my attention – the archive rave-style videos of you going around London. I’ve not done any gigs as Nia Archives… Not gonna lie, I’m bare nervous. But in some ways it’s good as there are no expectations. No one knows what it will be like. I only started teaching myself how to DJ last year. I’m literally learning as I go.