Arlo Parks
PRAISE FOR ARLO PARKS
"A colossal talent"
Vogue
"Parks achieves an emotional resonance that’s unflinchingly sincere"
Rolling Stone
“No wonder she is being talked about as one of the voices of her generation”
The Times
“A sunny, spacious record fizzing with the promise of new love”
The Guardian
Fresh off her announcement as part of the lineup for Splendour in the Grass 2023 and following an overnight premiere as BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record in the World, twice Grammy-nominated, Mercury Prize and BRIT Award-winning artist Arlo Parks has today shared the latest single from her second album My Soft Machine, with the groove-laden ‘Blades’. A Paul Epworth-produced track featuring nu-disco loops, synths and soundscapes bound to get you moving, it was written in what Arlo calls “the magic week”, where the pair produced three songs for the album in five days.
Parks says, “Paul is just a wizard; he has this childlike spirit that I’ve always really loved and he brought that to Blades. I wanted to make something that I can dance to, finally, because I feel like my songs don’t really have that quality in general. So, I took inspiration from bands like ESG, artists like Kaytranada, and a lot of the kind of 70s Zambian psychedelic rock that I love.”
Written about tackling the collapse of a friendship and trying to find the courage to rebuild it, Arlo explains, “I imagine this moment at a party where you see someone across the room that you haven’t seen in a while, you felt yourself growing apart, and you’re like, should I, should I not? And then you find the courage to approach them. That’s the story of that song.”
‘Blades’ follows her recent singles ‘Weightless’ and ‘Impurities’, the former was added to triple j and both were featured across BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music’s A Lists concurrently, saw her take to the stage for a performance on The Jonathan Ross Show, as well as feature on the cover of The Guardian Film & Music, DORK, MusicWeek and DIY. The songs have received further support from Observer, The Independent, Rolling Stone, NME, Clash, DORK, DIY and others. All tracks will appear on the forthcoming album, due May 26th on Transgressive Records.
My Soft Machine is a deeply personal body of work; a narration of Parks’ experiences as she navigates her 20’s and the growth intertwined. It was recorded between London and Los Angeles, with the producers Paul Epworth, Ariel Rechtshaid, Romil Hemnani (Brockhampton), Frank Ocean-collaborator Buddy Ross and Carter Lang (SZA) - as well as some self-production from Arlo herself.
Explained ever-articulately in her own words below, you can also watch this beautiful performance video to learn more about the coming record and the themes within. “The world/our view of it is peppered by the biggest things we experience - our traumas, upbringing, vulnerabilities almost like visual snow. This record is life through my lens, through my body - the mid 20s anxiety, the substance abuse of friends around me, the viscera of being in love for the first time, navigating PTSD and grief and self sabotage and joy, moving through worlds with wonder and sensitivity - what it’s like to be trapped in this particular body.”
This new album will be the follow-up to Arlo Parks' critically-acclaimed and award-winning debut Collapsed in Sunbeams; a record which received two Grammy nominations for 'Best New Artist' and 'Best Alternative Music Album', won the BRIT Award for 'Best New Artist', received the Hyundai Mercury Prize, and won the BBC 'Introducing Artist Of The Year Award'. Her debut album also reached the top 3 on the UK Album Charts and won the AIM Awards for 'Best Independent Album' and 'UK Independent Breakthrough'. On top of all this, Arlo was also nominated for 'Breakthrough International Act' at the BET Awards, was named as the youngest ever high-profile supporter of UNICEF and an ambassador for the British mental health charity, CALM. She has plans to continue her extensive work with both charities into 2023.
