The artwork of the Arlo parks
After her debut album is released, we speak to Arlo Parks and regular contributor Molly Burdett about creating thoughtful music videos and the value of nurturing the artistic-creative relationship
At just 20 years old, Arlo Parks' music is steeped in more wisdom than many musicians twice her age. With a mix of jazz, indie, and R&B influences, the singer-songwriter's thoughtful tracks treat topics ranging from sexual identity to mental health to body image with disarming honesty – speaking to a whole generation of young listeners in the process at.
Parks was born in West London and grew up working with writers such as Sylvia Plath, Audre Lorde and Joan Didion. Her early interest in poetry and literature clearly had a major impact on the DNA of her own work; Her lyrics typically interweave fragments of memories, thoughts and feelings like a kind of musical diary. This delicate approach to songwriting is also reflected in the visual output that accompanies the music from Parks, and it cites the film worlds of directors Xavier Dolan and Federico Fellini as some of her key inspirations.
"[The creative side of things] is extremely important to me," says Parks CR. "I'm a very visual person and when I write songs I want it to feel like the listener is looking through the lens of a camera. I keep thinking about music videos and artwork, planning a world around the songs around. "Her music videos, in particular, are characterized by their simplicity and ability to capture the emotions of their written texts. Director Molly Burdett is the creative force behind most of these videos, who has worked with the musician on a regular basis since 2018.