FEATURE: Spotlight: Arlo Parks — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Arlo Parks

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AS we are still in lockdown…

I am not really thinking about gigs and seeing artists play live. Instead, I am looking at new artists coming through and digging some brilliant music. Arlo Parks is someone I have been aware of for a while now, but she is starting to attract the attention of big radio stations. The nineteen-year-old songwriter was predicted as a breakthrough act of 2020 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2020. Her voice and songs are arresting, and there is nobody else who has her incredible blend of sounds and talents. She is a magnificent artist, and I remember her getting a lot of press focus last year – I will source from a couple of those articles. I do want to quote this (excellent) DIY article from last year, as it reveals a bit about Parks’ start and route into music:

“Recently signed to Transgressive Records following the release of last year’s breakthrough single ‘Cola’ and its following EP ‘Super Sad Generation’, the musician’s blend of nuanced, observational poetry and smooth bedroom beats straddle the line between youth and something far more timeless. Case in point, recent single ‘george’ – a lilting summer jam that riffs on cad-about-town early 18th century poet George Byron and transposes his womanising ways into a modern playboy who woos ladies by playing MF Doom.

“Books and words were always my refuge,” she explains. “I was quite a loner when I was younger, and if there was a story with people who were super popular and going on adventures, then I’d read about it and feel like a part of it.”

Taking up poetry-writing at the start of her teens, Arlo soon also picked up a guitar and began writing songs, cribbing influence equally from the wordsmiths that informed her increasing literary passions and a series of “really intense genre phases” of musical love. “I totally had my emo phase,” she laughs, “and I was super into really hard rap as well. I say that to people and they’re like, ‘But you make the softest songs?!’ It’s like, yeah, but everything I listen to, I take something out of it”.

I recall discovering Arlo Parks last year and being amazed when reading interviews about her. The music itself is wonderful and rich, but she is such an engaging, compelling and inspiring person. Not only is Parks an artist who creates these wonderful and powerful songs; she has spoken about subjects such as mental-health and L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ issues. In this interview (from last year) with The Line of Best Fit, she spoke more about mental illness and the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ voice:

“Parks sits at the forefront of Generation Z – the digital natives born into the uneasy wreckage of this new millennium. Unlike their burnt out millennial forbears, Gen Z are fiercely individual: dreamers, optimists, creators. All this, in spite of the global uncertainty and chaos they’re faced with every day. It’s this contrast that Parks encapsulates in upcoming single “Super Sad Generation”.

“In my age group, there’s a lot of prevalence of mental health [problems], being self-destructive, and quite hopeless,” she explains of the track’s inspiration. “I’m not sure if it’s social media, or what it is, but we’re all fucking sad!

“A year ago, my friend took his life. It shocked me, and ever since I’ve been trying to encapsulate that feeling into a song: kind of lost, but also hopeful. It was quite an important song, I felt, for me to make.”

When probed, Parks elaborates on from exactly where her generation’s well of hope springs.

“There’s so much talent, so much vibrancy, and we still have that youth. If you look at LGBTQ issues, there’s more awareness, and I feel like – obviously not in all places – there is more acceptance. More people are talking about depression and anxiety; it’s been made more okay to look for help. Even though online communities can be quite toxic, there’s more space to get support. In some places it’s not as accessible as others – it’s not there yet – but it’s growing.”

Having touched upon the LGBTQ theme, it seems pertinent to mention that Parks is openly bisexual. This is perhaps less surprising than it might have been even just five or 10 years ago, as Generation Z is by far the queerest generation in recent history. However, Parks speaks maturely on the importance of providing role models to those yet to come out, particularly given her identity as a black woman”.

The past year has been a busy and successful one for Parks. She released two E.P.s, Simply Sad Generation, and Sophie. Both E.P.s are really strong, and I think – as I say with so many artists – Parks is growing in confidence and quality as her career goes on.

If you have not heard Simply Sad Generation, go and check it out, as the songwriting and production is incredible; the E.P. caught the ear of the press, who were keen to share some positive words. This is what Vinyl Chapters wrote in their review:

“The lyrics of the title track exemplify the disorderliness and tumult portrayed throughout a record whose currency is that of getting wasted, falling in and out of love and holding out for optimism amidst the enveloping gloom: “When did we get so skinny/Started doing ketamine on weekends/ Getting wasted at the station/Trying to keep our friends from death”.

The morose lope of Sophie and the prettily acoustic Angel’s Song are stand-outs of an album which operates as a canvas for the ominous and unsettling outpourings of a self-described outsider, a loner who started off moulding scratchy spoken-word pieces which morphed into fully-formed nuggets of lo-fi pop. Elliptical traces of Portishead, Denai Moore, Lily Allen and Corinne Bailey Rae hover into view intermittently, but this is very much the work of a fascinating and singular talent. Beset by a wounded insecurity that’s both pained and intoxicating, Arlo Parks has created a brilliantly tense and brooding record in Sweet Sad Generation”.

Sophie came out in November and, again, it got some good reviews: an artist who was pushing forward and making a big impression.

This year has seen her music reach new people, but touring is, obviously, off of the table right now. Keep an eye on her social media channels, as there will be some rescheduled dates. If you can see her live at some point, I would recommend you do. It has been a busy year already, and Parks is being spotlighted as an artist to watch closely. She spoke with DORK in April, and talked about collaborating with other artists:

“Reflecting on the whirlwind that her life has become, Parks recognises the power of a good network to keep her grounded. A keen collaborator, her smooth vocal tones can be found on Easy Life's 'Sangria', and old tourmate Loyle Carner pitched in with his brother to direct the music video for 'Eugene', a gentle lament to watching the friend you secretly fancy fall in love with somebody else.

"Working with the Coyle-Larner brothers was just the best - to have a director who is a musical artist themselves, it's a very special thing," she says. "The crew was quite big and a bit overwhelming, and it was my first time doing any acting, so it was really nice to have that familiar, calming presence. With 'Sangria', Murray [Easy Life's Frontman] just reached out to me over Instagram. We'd been fans of each other, and were going around the same festival circuits but always just missing each other and never meeting. He sent me the demo and asked if I'd like to jump on it, and I just recorded it on my little mic at home. They're such lovely boys – we got to play it live for BBC Sounds at Maida Vale, and then at the Roundhouse, it was all so nice. Always work with your friends, I'd say!"

PHOTO CREDIT: @laurengharris

Arlo Parks is standing out because her music is so hard to pin down. One could call her music Indie-Pop/Indie-Folk, but it is so much broader and more original than that. The last interview I will bring in is from the Manchester Evening News, who exposed a talent who was keen not to be easily predicted and had these big ambitions:

"I’d hate my music to be easily categorised," she insists. "I'm of a generation that doesn't see boundaries when it comes to music. I'm just as likely to be influenced by a 70s funk tune as I am a modern electronic tune. My favourite albums are ones like A Seat At The Table ( by Solange ) or Channel Orange ( by Frank Ocean ) - albums that played about with genres, but also had a strong sense of the artist’s identity."

Given her life-long love affair with words, it's no surprise that Parks has ambitions beyond the world of music. She already has plans to publish a book of her poems and, one day, she'd love nothing more than to "write a novel. I know I've got one within me."

For now, though, Arlo Parks is firmly focused on her music career. Her debut LP, which she's currently in the process of writing, is scheduled for release later this year. And this month, she embarks on her biggest UK tour to date – a prospect which she's clearly relishing.

"Being on stage is where I'm at my happiest," she enthuses. "I feel confident when I'm stood up there. When I'm singing my own songs, telling my truth, that's where I feel most in control”.

This year is strange in terms of live music, but there are some seriously brilliant artists emerging we need to look out for now; those who will be riding high on festival bills next summer. I think the best way to experience the wonder of Parks is to listen to her music – buy it if you can -, and reveal in its beauty and potency. Last year and this year have been exciting and memorable for Arlo Parks, but 2021 is going to be a year where she is primed to…