Arlo Parks

Emerging from London, singer/songwriter and poet Arlo Parks crafts lyrics that vividly capture emotional experiences during young adulthood and promote mental health awareness, all set to an alluring blend of bedroom pop and indie soul. Several early singles plus two 2019 EPs first drew notice, earning BBC Radio 1 airplay and favorable mentions from outlets including NME. Her full-length debut Collapsed in Sunbeams reached number three on the U.K. album chart in 2021, earning broad critical praise that brought Parks the Brit Award for Best New Artist along with the 2021 Mercury Prize. Her follow-up, the 2023 album My Soft Machine, explored the strains of nonstop touring, her first serious relationship, and additional intimate subjects.

Born Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho in 2000 to Nigerian, French, and Chadian roots, Parks launched her recording career in 2018 with the single "Cola." That track later featured on the April 2019 EP Super Sad Generation, issued by Beatnik, which attracted Transgressive Records; the label signed her shortly afterward, prior to completion of her A-Levels. A string of further singles, including a guest spot alongside Leicester's Easy Life on the Junk Food track "Sangria," preceded the second EP Sophie, which earned her a place on the BBC's Sound of 2020 list.

In May 2020 the single "Black Dog" secured a BBC Radio 1 playlist slot, spreading its message of mental health awareness to a wide audience while forging a link with the charity CALM. Both that song and its double A-side counterpart "Eugene" were co-written and produced by New York-based Gianluca Buccellati, who had previously collaborated on "Cola" and the title tracks of her EPs. A sincere, piano-driven cover of Radiohead's "Creep" followed soon after. Parks issued her Grammy-nominated debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams in January 2021, a collection of adolescent vignettes that begins with a scored poem. She performed the single "Hope" at the 2021 Brit Awards, where she received the Best New Artist trophy; in September, Collapsed in Sunbeams was awarded the Mercury Prize for album of the year.

Parks released the standalone single "Softly" in 2022 and spent much of the year touring both as a headliner and in support of Clairo, who had appeared on the first album's "Green Eyes." She also moved to Los Angeles, yet in September she canceled several dates owing to exhaustion and burnout, returning to London to recover. Early in 2023 she announced her second album My Soft Machine alongside the lead single and video "Weightless." Centered on navigating life in one's twenties, the record appeared in May with Phoebe Bridgers featured on the track "Pegasus." September saw publication of the book The Magic Border, which gathers song lyrics, poems, and photographs. A deluxe edition of My Soft Machine followed in December, adding acoustic renditions, guest appearances by Louis and the Yakuza and Redveil, and covers of songs by Jai Paul and Tirzah.