British singer-songwriter and Mercury Prize winner Arlo Parks visited New Zealand for the first time this week, and found time to talk to Charlotte Ryan about life on the road.
Arlo Parks and Charlotte Ryan at RNZ Photo: Charlotte Ryan
Her debut studio album Collapsed in Sunbeams was released in 2021 to critical acclaim. She chats to Charlotte about finding success at a young age, some special performances from Glastonbury, and her friendship with kiwi songstress, Lorde.
Arlo Parks. Photo: supplied
The 22-year-old's debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams was released last year to critical acclaim - and most recently, she's been on stage at Glastonbury with Lorde and Clairo for a spur of the moment collaboration.
"It does feel like a landslide of special things," Parks says. "I think especially having worked on the record and promoted it and put it out in the pandemic, and then finally being out in the world.
"I just came from Tokyo last night and I'm here now, being able to see the world and play for people ... I'm just wide-eyed at the life I've been living and kind of going through it day by day."
Despite her busy schedule, Parks and her band spent a week in Japan, which gave her a chance to do a spot of record shopping.
"When I'm in a new place I just hunt for local, smaller artists and people I may not have heard of," she says.
"And I do like to just once in a while pick it based off the cover artwork, I definitely do a lot of that, but mainly it's just building off the collection my uncle gave me when I was a kid.
"I love buying a physical of any album that I love, whether it's new or old, and just have that as a tangible thing."
Her uncle's gifted records - including Prince, Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman and some early hip hop - helped her develop a love for music and a connection with certain albums.
"I brought all these records home and that was the beginning of me falling in love with the album format and with the physical."
She's now enjoying the experience of seeing the personal connection her fans have to her music.
"I think there is a sense of reassurance, I think it kind of solidifies my purpose," she says.
"I loved making songs and the decision to share them came after that, and I think it reminds me of how important it is to view music as something that's both personal to me, but also as a gift for others."
After playing New Zealand, Arlo heads to Australia, then to Europe and on to the US - and she's always looking for inspiration along the way, especially when people-watching in airports or train stations.
"I tend to approach touring as more my absorption period," she says. "I read a lot, watch a lot of films, listen to a lot of podcasts, listen to a lot of music, just kind of organise playlists in my mind , collect little nuggets of thoughts and when I'm off tour, I actually go to the studio and put it down."
While the singer has called London home for a very long time, she's currently living in Los Angeles, amid a thriving community of creative types.
Arlo Parks live at the Powerstation 2022 Photo: Liam Brown
"I think home is where your people are and finding all these people there just made me feel like maybe it was time for a change."
While she's set to have a bit of a break at the end of the year, Parks says it won't take long before she's back to work.
"I'm going to take some time to just sit peacefully, probably for one or two days because I'm very restless, and then just start writing and creating and cooking again.
"I'm always working, I'm working 24/7. I think that because I love what I do, it doesn't feel like work, but it kind of consumes my every moment, especially when I'm travelling so much.
"I think for me it's just about continuously trying to grow, continuously being curious, never becoming complacent ... I just want to be making music and making things for the rest of my life, that's my real goal with all of this."
