ALL MUSIC MAGAZINES SINGLE OF THE WEEK, ARLO PARKS, ‘SOFTLY’

 

 

 

ARLO PARKS

SHARES NEW SINGLE & VIDEO

SOFTLY‘ – OUT NOW ON TRANSGRESSIVE

 

Twice Grammy-nominated, Mercury Prize and BRIT Award-winning artist Arlo Parks shares her first offering of 2022 with the new single “Softly,” today. “Softly” presents a poppy and upbeat side to Arlo’s smooth sound juxtaposed with her tender lyrics about a relationship fizzling. The song comes with a Zhang and Knight directed video, showing Arlo in an evocative picture perfect location that slowly unravels layer by layer, each stage more sparse and surreal.

Discussing the video, Zhang and Knight offered the following, “For us ‘Softly’ explored the idea of wanting something that was once perfect to end in a gentle way, and we wanted to express this using the world surrounding Arlo. We were instinctively drawn to the warm toned, hazy nostalgia of the 1960’s, as we loved the idea of something universally romantic being slowly stripped away throughout the film. We based the colors of the bricks, trims and doors on mid-century painting in order to bake this romanticism into everything. The production itself was a huge challenge, as everything was captured in-camera with each piece of the set built on wheels operated by several production crew. However, we knew it was all worth it when we saw the skyscrapers dancing around Arlo for the first time.”

Arlo shares about the single, “‘Softly’ is a song about yearning, about how fragile you feel in the dying days of a relationship when you’re still desperately in love. The song is about how it feels to brace yourself before the blow of a break up and reminisce about the days where it all felt luminous.”

 

 

“Softly” arrives on the heels of a major 2021 for Arlo wherein she released her highly-praised debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams via Transgressive Records, received two Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album, won the BRIT Award for Best New Artist, received the Hyundai Mercury Prize, and won the BBC Introducing Artist Of The Year Award. Her debut album also reached the top 3 on the UK Album Charts and won the AIM Awards for Best Independent Album and UK Independent Breakthrough. On top of all this, Arlo was also nominated for Breakthrough International Act at the BET Awards and was named an ambassador for the British mental health charity, CALM.

Arlo Parks will be heading on tour with Clairo across North America from February, ending with a performance at Coachella in April. “Softly” also follows the announcement that Arlo will be joining Harry Styles for his show in Dublin on June 22nd later this year.

Along with the towering awards garnered last year, Arlo’s album was included on almost every ‘Best Albums of 2021’ list and received critical acclaim from the likes of The Guardian, Rolling Stone, NME, The FADER and many more. Arlo performed singles from her debut album on Later…With Jools Holland and The Graham Norton Show in the UK. She also performed on Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, James Corden, CBS This Morning: Saturday, and Ellen DeGeneres in the US.

Her songwriting has seen her gain new fans in Billie Eilish, Florence Welch, Michelle Obama, Angel Olsen, Phoebe Bridgers, Massive Attack and renowned writer Zadie Smith, amongst many others.

 

 

Transgressive are excited to be releasing versions of these tracks in 360 Reality Audio, an immersive music experience utilizing Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound technology in which individual sounds can be placed in a 360 Spherical Sound Field, available on Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer and TIDAL when experienced through headphones and supporting speakers.

About Arlo Parks:

In Arlo Parks world, words are as useful as photographs. Luscious, expressive vignettes pepper the poetic lyrics in her sweet, ruminative indie pop songs. Born Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho, the 20-year-old from West London – who burst onto the scene with 2018’s “Cola” – uses poetry as her songwriting compass, weaving vivid imagery and sensory touches throughout the stirring, honest stories that make up her already-rich body of work. “I was really interested in the idea of delving into a hyper-specific moment and making it feel universal, making it something that people could connect to,” Arlo says about drawing from poetry in her approach.

A sensitive child, Arlo grew up in a peaceful part of town. “There wasn’t that much to do, and I was a pretty happy kid, I was very much in my own little world,” she explains, describing spending her free time exploring creative ways to express her emotions. “Because I was feeling a lot, I started writing quite young,” she says, referencing poets Gary Snyder, Mary Oliver and Pat Parker and more who inspired her to write. “It’s that cinematic quality that can make you feel like you’re plunged into someone’s subjectivity,” she adds about poetry’s impact. Arlo recalls a gift from her uncle—a record collection that included classics from Sade, Earth Wind & Fire, and Bob Dylan—and choir practice as fundamentals to her musical side. Like most kids her age, she grew up digging around on YouTube for music, discovering Portishead, Odd Future, Elliott Smith, Joni Mitchell, King Krule and an eclectic range of music to root herself in.

When she was 14, Arlo downloaded Garageband and started making beats to rhyme her poetry to, which over time naturally morphed into singing and the dulce soprano that sets her apart in today’s music climate. In 2017, she took a chance and submitted her recordings to BBC Introducing, which led to her first interview, management and recording contract. In the summer of 2018, Arlo dove into her first EP, collaborating with producer Gianluca Buccellati on 2019’s acclaimed Super Sad Generation. “We were in an Airbnb in London, just writing, taking photos, and going for walks,” Arlo remembers – they ended up writing the songs in just 24 hours. Arlo’s Sophie EP quickly followed, alongside performances at Glastonbury and Latitude Festivals and supporting slots on tour with Jordan Rakei and Loyle Carner. A place on the BBC Sound Poll, and inclusion in Dazed’s 100 List, followed in 2020 – beginning a truly exceptional year for Arlo. Landing covers with NME and Evening Standard, winning the AIM One to Watch and BBC Introducing Artist Of The Year Awards, making her debut appearances on COLORS and Later…. with Jools Holland, all whilst gaining champions in Phoebe Bridgers, Billie Eilish, Florence Welch, Lily Allen, Michaela Coel and Michelle Obama. 

 

Upcoming Live Dates:
* = with Clairo
+ = with Harry Styles
^ = with Billie Eilish
 
2/16 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte*
2/17 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium*
2/19 – Washington, DC @ The Fillmore Silver Spring*
2/20 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore*
2/21 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa*
2/22 – Richmond, VA @ The National*
2/24 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall*
2/26 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia*
2/27 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues Boston*
2/28 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues Boston*
3/02 – Pittseburgh, PA @ Roxian Theater*
3/03 – Columbus, OH @ KEMBA Live!*
3/05 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room*
3/07 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom*
3/08 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit*
3/10 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre*
3/11 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre*
3/17 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore*
3/18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fillmore Minneapolis*
3/20 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium*
3/23 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre*
3/25 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall*
3/28 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues*
3/30 – San Francisco, CA @ Nob Hill Masonic*
3/31 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater*
4/02 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre*
4/05 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre*
4/07 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom*
4/09 – Austin, TX @ ACL*
4/10 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center*
 
4/15-17 & 4/22-24 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
 
6/4 – Leeds, UK @ Live at Leeds
6/5 – Paris, FR @ We Love Green 2022
6/10 – Gräfenhainichen, DE @ Melt Festival 2022
6/17 – Manchester, TN @ Bonaroo Music and Arts Festival 2022
6/22 – Dublin, IE @ Aviva Stadium+
6/25 – London, UK @ The O2 Arena^
6/30 – Vilnius, LT @ Lukiškių kalėjimas 2.0
 
7/1 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival
7/10 – Madrid, ES @ Espacio Mad Cool
7/12 – London, UK @ Somerset House
 
8/9 – Melbourne, AU @ 170 Russell
8/11 – Brisbane, AU @ The Tivoli
8/13 – Sydney, AU @ Metro Theatre
8/16 – Paredes De Coura, PT @ Praia do Taboão
 
9/2 – Co, Laois, IR @ Electric Picnic
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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