#2 - Nia Archives - "Baianá"

Its recipe may be straightforward: take a sample and mold it around unyieldingly furious breakbeats. But the result is massive. The sunbaked melodies of the Brazilian group Barbatuques’ “Baianá” sound absolutely mad when sped up and slathered with reverb like this—picture a nightcored choir warbling frantically in a dimly lit tunnel jammed with neon ravers.

Among all the best artists in the last few years’ zoomer renaissance of breakbeat-heavy music—from PinkPantheress and vertigoaway to Jane Remover and other digicore craziness—I don’t think anyone has revived and rewired the core sound of jungle as thrillingly as Nia Archives. She can do both the no-holds-barred blaze of breaks and a more intimate, starry-eyed strain of the genre, the kind of “bedroom jungle” you could play for a date. Nia sounds like she’s singing in cursive over the bed squeaks and tenderly zippy strings of “Luv Like,” as though dreamily savoring the knowledge that another person will stand by her no matter what (she has said the song is actually about her struggles with body dysmorphia and self-love).

The list:

#25 - Destroy Lonely - “NOSTYLIST”

#24 - elusin - “Elksling”

#23 - skaiwater - “#miles”

#22 - Wednesday - “Bull Believer”

#21 - islurwhenitalk - “pink neon lights”

#20 - Two Shell - “home” & “Memory” (tie)

#19 - Luci4 - “ON GANG”

#18 - Harto Falión - “{*______*}” (prod. evilgiane, whitearmor, Gud)

#17 - lecie - “ex post facto”

#16 - Yung Lean ft. FKA twigs - “Bliss”

#15 - DJ:ReCode - “adhd” ft. tobre & “keeper” ft. goji! & BIO (tie)

#14 - Uffie - “dominoes”

#13 - Yeat - “Still countin” & “Out thë way” (tie)

#12 - Ame - "Degree" (prod. Royal, y2tnb, Brycenknwn, Ame)

#11 - Sudan Archives - “ChevyS10”

#10 - Asian Doll ft. Bandmanrill - "Get Jumped" & Bandmanrill - "BANDTHOVEN" (tie)

#9 - Nilüfer Yanya - "stabilise" / "chase me" (tie)

#8 - GREED - “summer mixx 2k22”

#7 - Hemlocke Springs - “Girlfriend”

#6 - Izaya Tiji - “I drink blood” (prod. Souljaspirits)

#5 - Jane Remover - “Royal Blue Walls”

#4 - xaviersobased - “far” / “choir” (prod. cru)

#3 - Bladee & Ecco2k - “The Flag is Raised” / Thaiboy Digital - “I’m Fresh” (tie)