D&B in Focus: Nãnci Correia

Lisbon-born, London-raised Nãnci Correia occupies a unique position in the world of jungle and Drum & Bass: she’s one of the genre’s very few vocalists. Today, we’ll find out more about her formative years attending raves in London, the joys and challenges of being a jungle vocalist, and how 7 years of touring non-stop with Congo Natty has changed her perspective on music, songwriting and life.

Raving in South London

Nãnci’s love for singing formed when she was just five years old, when she was drawn to the sound of jazz, soul and blues. But growing up in south London exposed her to an eclectic mix of genres ranging from dubstep to reggae to UKG. As a teen, Nãnci spent every spare minute at raves, soaking up the energy of dubstep, jungle and Drum & Bass at underground and free parties.

“Obviously Rinse FM now is mainstream, but back then it was still pirate,” Nãnci says, speaking from her home in Kent. “They used to have a website called Dubstep Forum that had this spreadsheet of all the underground events in London.”

It was 2005, and Nãnci and her mates would look out for jungle, dubstep and D&B events. “We’d fill our calendars with raves from Monday to Sunday and go to every single one,” Nãnci says.

“Growing up, I always loved music but there’s something about the sound of really good bass,” Nãnci says. “Like whether it’s energetic jungle, D&B or jump up, or even slow old school dub-inspired dubstep. That’s what came with sound system culture, we were around insanely good sonics.”

She soon realised she wanted to pursue a career in music, so she went to music school in Brixton which happened to be opposite Brixton Jam, where jungle producer Congo Natty had his studio.

Life as a Junglist Vocalist

For those who don't know, Congo Natty is one of jungle's most well-respected producers, toasters and MCs. Nãnci had seen him perform in a side room at a warehouse dubstep rave, but she wasn't aware that he’d been listening to her MySpace page too. So when they ran into one another outside his offices, he suggested they collaborate on some tracks along with Nãnci’s singing partner Phoebe.

“At the time, we were obsessed with this track “Notorious” by Turbulence,” Nãnci says. “And Phoebe started singing it on the guitar and I started doing harmonies, and we recorded it and made a whole album literally in a week.”

“Notorious” became an instant anthem on the jungle scene, and the next thing they knew, Nãnci and Phoebe were on tour with Congo Natty.

“I didn’t take a breath for seven years,” Nãnci says. “We just traveled around the world, we toured around Africa, China, we went to Nepal and India, and travelled all around Europe.”

Nãnci says it was an invigorating time in life, but it took everything in her power to ensure her vocal chords could stand up to the almighty sound systems. “I’m not a host or an MC, I'm a singer,” Nãnci says. “You essentially need to be an athlete, and I was in an environment for seven years on stage with five men shouting at the tops of their voices and competing with the world’s biggest sound systems.”

Amongst it all, Nãnci released with the likes of Tenor Fly and Daddy Freddy, and got airtime from Radio 1 veterans Annie Mac, David Rodigan and Mista-Jam. “It was a really amazing, beautiful time, but now it’s nice to be back at my roots,” she says.

Nãnci’s Roots

Nãnci studied jazz and blues at college, and that’s what she’s returned to in the last few years. Jungle and D&B will always be close to her heart, and she’s still very much involved in the scene, but combining her love of bass music with music from her birth country is her current mission.

“I'm Portuguese, so my soul gravitates towards flamenco, fado, all that folk, traditional stuff,” Nãnci says. “I love the rawness of a folk acoustic guitar and the insane energy of bass, so that’s what I’m exploring now.”

Being a jazz singer in the global jungle scene was unusual to say the least. “What was smart about adding a vocalist is that it packaged jungle up into a more consumable form for everyone,” Nãnci says. “I think that was smart.”

Clearly, Nãnci’s vocals are versatile enough to fit with any genre. In 2023 she released her trap single “Dolls House” which was remixed by Wiley, and before that she released “Bathe in your Waters,” with her rich vocals soaring over a 2-step, Latin beat.

Today, Nãnci’s working on nothing but passion projects. “I'm working on an album, and I’m also just enjoying life,” Nãnci says. “Everything was decided for me for a long time, and I’m enjoying the process of creating and sharing and not putting too much pressure on things."