Archives: Artists

Born Arlo Parks won the Mercury Music Prize for her debut 2021 album Collapsed in Sunbeams, won Breakthrough Artist at the 2021 Brit Awards, and received two Grammy and Ivor Novello nominations. She was coined “the voice of her generation”. Her foll ow up My Soft Machine featured the likes of Phoebe Bridges and saw her continue to tour globally. 2025 saw her become the youngest ever appointed UNICEF Ambassador as she continues her humanitarian work. 2026 sees the release of her much anticipated third album Ambiguous Desire. Referencing everything from the queer hedonism of NYC’s Paradise Garage to the moody nocturnal British beats of The Streets and Burial,the glittering synth catharsis of LCD Soundsystem, and rooted house grooves of Theo Parrish, Ambi guous Desire is Parks at her most confident and experimental. A soundtrack to unguarded self – expression, it is a life – affirming new piece of work from one of music’s most irrepressible voices.

Violent Femmes formed in 1981 as an acoustic punk band playing on the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their main influences at that time were Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps and The Velvet Underground. Their goal was to rock harder than any other acoustic act on the planet.

After being rejected for an audition by a local nightclub, the Femmes set up outside a Pretenders gig and began to play. Pretenders’ lead singer Chrissie Hynde asked them to open that night’s show, which gave the young band a publicity boost and caught the attention of Richard Hell, who invited the Femmes to open for him in NYC. A rave review in the New York Times eventually led to a record deal, which in t urn spawned worldwide touring.

Violent Femmes eponymous debut album became the first and only album in Billboard history to enter the charts with a platinum certification – eight years after its release. Over the ensuing three decades, the Femmes became a m ainstay of festivals, clubs, and theaters in more than 20 countries worldwide.

MTV’s “Unplugged” show was inspired by the Femmes, although they never actually appeared on it. Their raw sound and honest lyrical perspective has been cited as an influence by artists as diverse as Pink, Keith Urban, The Smiths, The Pixies, John Cusack, Mark Morris, and Wim Wenders.

More than 40 years into their careers, Violent Femmes continue to attract young audiences on tour , create lasting music, and inspire people of all a ges.

Sylvan Esso is a band from Durham, North Carolina. Across their career, Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn have put out four acclaimed albums, been nominated for two GRAMMYs, and collaborated with a wide – ranging, eclectic community of artists including Arooj Af tab, Maggie Rogers, Tyler Childers, Reyna Tropical, Califone, and many more. “ WDID ” was recorded at Betty ’ s, Sylvan Esso ’ s studio in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and features additional production from Jake Luppen (Hippo Campus, Samia). “ KEEP ON ” was built from a week of improvisation with bassist Daniel Aged (Frank Ocean, Dijon) and drummer TJ Maiani (Weyes Blood, Neneh Cherry)