LISTEN: ‘Sink’ from Sudan Archives

We’ve been sinking into Sudan Archives‘ new EP, Sink, and we think you should, too.

 

 

NPR Slingshot Artist Sudan Archives recently released a compelling debut EP that combines African strings with looped and layered beats. The twenty three-year-old’s unique blend of elements that harness celestial secrets — mixed with her violin, beats and loops — fuse together to create a sound that transcends geographic borders. What makes that more impressive is the fact that Archives is a one-woman band, armed only with a looping machine and violin.

Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, Brittney Denise Parks (aka Sudan Archives) is a self-taught violinist and singer who found her style by absorbing the sights and sounds around her, and mixing them with her knowledge of traditional music having grown up in a religious family. She later added looping and electronic skills to her musical toolbox, which she picked up from the small Cincinnati electronic scene.

Once she relocated to L.A., she was able to explore Sudanese violin. She embraced the sounds and energy of Sudan’s vibrant strings and combined it with layered, gritty electronic music that 2018 has made so accessible. Her great voice and introspective lyrics tie the music together and makes Sudan Archives an act to keep both and eye and an ear out for in the future. Check out her debut EP, Sink, out now on Stones Throw Records, and learn more about the Slingshot artist here.

— Dave Emmert