Arlo Parks

Arlo Parks wrote her debut ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ (2021) during lockdown in London. The teenager was alone and struggling to find her place in the world. The only source material she had were her own memories. Despite this, the result was a balm for the soul, a warm breeze during a harsh winter. The bedroom pop on ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ won the Mercury Prize in the UK and was nominated for the Grammy Awards. Her life changed in an instant. Parks relocated to Los Angeles, the city where so many of her favourite records –everything by Frank Ocean, ‘Blue’ by Joni Mitchell, ’The Downward Spiral’ by Nine Inch Nails– were recorded. She came up with ‘My Soft Machine’ (2023) herself, an appeal for a greater sense of community. With the assistance of Phoebe Bridgers and guided by ‘Skinty Fia’ by Fontaines D.C.