Sudan Archives
The Cincinnati-born, Los Angeles violinist and singer Brittney Parks, whose 2022 album Natural Brown Prom Queen opens with "Home Maker".
Violin and loops
Sudan Archives is the stage name of Brittney Denise Parks, a violinist, singer and songwriter born in Cincinnati and based in Los Angeles. She began violin in fourth grade, learning by ear, and was briefly in a pop duo, N2, with her twin sister Cat, before leaving it. She moved to Los Angeles at nineteen after attending raves, studied ethnomusicology at Pasadena City College, went to the club night Low End Theory and developed material on an iPad. Francis Bebey of Cameroon, Asim Gorashi of Sudan and Irish music are among her named influences. Parks has said she aims to show the Blackness of the violin.
Her self-titled EP (2017, with the single "Water") and Sink (2018, lead single "Nont for Sale") came before the debut album Athena (November 1, 2019, Stones Throw, 38:28), produced with Will Archer, Collin Davis, Washed Out, Paul White and others; its Metacritic score is 83, Pitchfork gave 7.7, Clash 9 out of 10 and AllMusic 4 stars. Her NPR Tiny Desk set was taped on March 11, 2020 with Jessica McJunkins on violin, Dominic Johnson on viola and Khari Joyner on cello, and published on June 22.
Natural Brown Prom Queen
Natural Brown Prom Queen came out on September 9, 2022 on Stones Throw, 53:43 and 18 tracks, recorded in her basement home studio in Los Angeles. The album was meant to be called Homesick, and the new title came from a line in a bridge that her manager liked; the closer, "#513", is named for Cincinnati's area code. Nosaj Thing, Ahya Simone on harp, King Oliver on trumpet and Egyptian Lover on drum machine appear. Its singles were "Home Maker" (March 15, 2022), "Selfish Soul", "NBPQ (Topless)" and "OMG Britt". Metacritic scores it 89, Pitchfork gave 9.0 and the New York Times's Jon Pareles ranked it fourth of the year. She won two Libera Awards in 2023.
She released the single "DEAD" in June 2025 and The BPM in October 2025, drawing on club sounds of Michigan and Illinois; a 2026 North American tour for it is listed. Parks performs with effects pedals and beats, and with a string quartet.
Albums
- Natural Brown Prom Queen 2022 · Stones Throw
Her second album: eighteen tracks with thirteen credited producers, opening with "Home Maker".
Songs
- Home Maker Natural Brown Prom Queen · 2022
The first single from Natural Brown Prom Queen, a funk and disco track about nesting and mental health.
Sources
- Sudan Archives, Wikipedia
- Athena (Sudan Archives album), Wikipedia
- Natural Brown Prom Queen, Wikipedia
- Sudan Archives Tiny Desk Concert, NPR (2020-06-22)