Words by Chanelle Goddard
This week, we highlight the refreshing indie-pop vocals and smooth neo-soul sound of Arlo Parks.
Arlo Parks is the definition of young black talent. Aged only 20, Arlo has made waves in the music industry with her refreshing indie-pop vocals and smooth neo-soul sound. Originally of Nigerian, Chadian and French descent, but raised in Hammersmith, West London, the singer has always had a deep-rooted passion for the craft of self-expression through music and poetry.
Arlo’s journey first started as an unsigned artist in 2018 uploading dreamy tracks showcasing her beautiful voice and immense talent to BBC Music Introducing – a platform that supports and highlights the work of undiscovered music artists. Arlo’s attempt at putting her foot in the door of the world of music didn’t go unnoticed, and her talent caught the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ Jess Iszatt, who ended up sharing her music demos with Beatnik Creative record label manager Ali Raymond (would go on to sign and manage the upcoming star). Under the label, Arlo Parks released her first solo debut single, “Cola”, in November 2018, and the reception to the track was exceptional. Impressed new fans on YouTube shared their love for the song, comparing Arlo’s voice to “pure” velvet and labelling the track as “art”.
Shortly after the success of her debut single, Arlo announced another exciting milestone – that she had been signed to Transgressive Records and would release her debut EP, Super Sad Generation, in April 2019. Like her debut single, the young singer’s EP didn’t fail to disappoint, and had listeners falling in love with her authentic and smooth voice all over again. Putting Arlo’s sound into exact words is hard, but if you were to compare listening to her voice to an experience, instead, it would be like swimming in the sea at night time or going on an evening drive with friends during sunset – her music is truly immersive.
In May 2019, Arlo reached another landmark in her career when she scored her first live gig at The Great Escape, a three-day festival in Brighton. Since then, the offers for live show appearances for the singer-songwriter have kept rolling in – she’s appeared on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury Festival, and also performed at Latitude Festival. That same year, she also managed to work with Australian-New Zealand musician Jordan Rakei as a support act on the last leg of his September 2019 tour – another huge achievement for the young talent that is Arlo Parks.
In more current Arlo Parks news, the success of the young singer-songwriter has been greater than ever. She appeared on the cover of NME magazine in July 2020, headlined her first European tour (which sadly got put to an end due to Covid-19), released two more singles, earned BBC Radio 1’s Tune of the Week for “Black Dog”, won Aim’s Independent MusicOne to Watch award and released her debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams, in January 2021. In the future, we can only anticipate more greatness from the indie-pop star – and even more recognition for her talents.
Check out every artist in our Discover Weekly series.