Brittney Denise Parks (born January 29, 1994), better known by her stage name Sudan Archives, is an American

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist, singer, and songwriter based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California. Parks learned to play the violin by ear as a young child in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. Signed to

Stones Throw Records Stones Throw Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. Under the direction of founder Peanut Butter Wolf, Stones Throw has released music ranging from hip hop to experimental psychedelic rock. '' LA Weekl ...

, Parks has released two studio albums to date: ''

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

'' (2019) and '' Natural Brown Prom Queen'' (2022).

Early life

Sudan Archives was born Brittney Denise Parks, and grew up in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio. She began playing violin in fourth grade, learning by ear. Parks' stepfather worked at the Atlanta-based record label

LaFace Records LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achie ...

and suggested that she and her twin sister, Cat, form a pop duo called N2 and aim for commercial success. Parks recalls: "I felt stifled – it wasn't good for my creativity. All through high school I was a

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

. I never stood up for the pledge of allegiance and I didn't sit with anyone at lunch. I just wanted to get out." After attending several late-night

raves A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

, Parks felt inspired to follow her own musical inclinations and left home for Los Angeles: "Watching those artists, I realised that I didn't need to be in a band. I could do this by myself. My parents told me I couldn't live with them if I kept going out. So I left." Parks studied

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. History Pasadena, California, Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. From 1928 to 1953, it operated as a four- ...

, while attending the experimental club night

Low End Theory Low End Theory was a weekly experimental hip hop and electronic music club night that took place every Wednesday from 2006 to 2018 at The Airliner in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California. History "The Low End Theory" is the second studio albu ...

and working on her own musical material on her

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...

. Embarking on a journey "to show the Blackness of the violin," Parks studied the history of violin performers across different cultures, noting: "I found violinists who looked like me in Africa, playing it so wildly. It's such a serious instrument in a western concert setting, but in so many other places in the world it brings the party."

Career

2017–2021: Early releases and ''Athena''

Sudan Archives released her self-titled debut EP in 2017 and followed it with the ''Sink'' EP in 2018. The EP's lead single, "Nont for Sale", ranked as one of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

''s favorite songs in May 2018. Parks released her debut studio album, ''

'', the following year. The album received widespread critical acclaim from publications such as ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', which said it contained "some of the most viscerally gorgeous music put to record", ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

'', which commended Parks for her "knack for writing massive hooks that will dig straight into your brain", ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', which described ''Athena'' as "innovative, unusual and inviting", and many more.

2022–present: ''Natural Brown Prom Queen''

On March 16, 2022, Parks returned with "Home Maker", her first new track in three years and the first single from her second studio album, '' Natural Brown Prom Queen''. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' made it one of their Best New Tracks and described it as Parks' "most approachable yet, a swaggering statement of intent with all the idiosyncratic charm that makes her music so memorable". Parks headlined the Stones Throw showcase at

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

the following day. On September 9, 2022, ''Natural Brown Prom Queen'' was released to widespread critical acclaim, with Parks noting of the album's variety: "It felt like time to let people know who I am. My stage name is kind of academic and on ''Athena'', I created this thoughtful persona centred on divine Black femininity. Now I want to show my looseness, too. I'm a deep, insightful person, but I'm also fucking silly."

Musical style and influences

Sudan Archives has taken inspiration from a variety of African musicians, including Cameroonian electronic musician

Francis Bebey Francis Bebey (, 15 July 1929 in Douala, Cameroon – 28 May 2001 in Paris, France) was a Cameroonian writer and composer. Early life Francis Bebey was born in Douala, Cameroon, on 15 July 1929. Bebey attended college in Douala, where he studied ...

and Sudanese violinist Asim Gorashi. She is also inspired by Irish music. When performing, Sudan Archives sometimes uses electronic effects pedals and electronic beats and has also performed in a

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

Personal life

Parks has a

twin sister Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

named Cat, with whom she was briefly part of a pop duo called N2. Parks lives in

, and as of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

has been dating James McCall, better known by the stage names Nocando and All City Jimmy. Parks and McCall built a home studio together in her basement, where she recorded her second studio album, ''Natural Brown Prom Queen''.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (2019) * '' Natural Brown Prom Queen'' (2022)

EPs

* ''Sudan Archives'' (2017) * ''Sink'' (2018)

Singles

* "Water" (2017) * "Nont for Sale" (2018) * "Confessions" (2019) * "Glorious" (2019) * "Confessions (Velvet Negroni Remix)" (2020) * "Glorious (Nídia Remix)" (2020) * "Home Maker" (2022) * "Selfish Soul" (2022)

References

External links

*
Sudan Archives
at

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

*
NPR Tiny Desk concert
{{authority control Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Musicians from Cincinnati 21st-century American violinists 21st-century American women singers 21st-century violinists Stones Throw Records artists 21st-century American singers American women singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Ohio Pasadena City College alumni Twin musicians