Arlo Parks Biography

Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho, professionally known as Arlo Parks, is an English singer and songwriter born on 9 August 2000. Originating from London, England, Parks' music embodies genres like indie pop, indie folk, and R&B. Half Nigerian, a quarter Chadian, and a quarter French, she spent her childhood in Hammersmith, West London. Marinho, who learned French before English due to her mother's Parisian background, adopted the stage name Arlo Parks inspired by artists like King Krule and Frank Ocean.

Parks started her career in 2018, uploading demos to BBC Music Introducing which led to her being managed by Ali Raymond of Beatnik Creative. Making her solo debut with the song "Cola", Parks announced her debut EP, "Super Sad Generation." By November 2019, "Cola" had gained over three million streams on Spotify. Following its success, Parks signed with Transgressive Records and released her full four-track EP in April 2019. Her first-ever performance was at The Great Escape in Brighton in May 2019, and she continued to perform at other festivals throughout the year while supporting Jordan Rakei on the UK leg of his tour.

Parks' career took a new turn with her first headlining tour of Europe in early 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic halted the tour. Despite the setback, she released the singles "Eugene" and "Black Dog", the latter gaining recognition as BBC Radio 1's Tune of the Week. Parks went on to win the AIM Independent Music Award for One to Watch in 2020. Her debut album, "Collapsed in Sunbeams," released on 29 January 2021, earned her nominations for Album of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2021 Brit Awards. Later that year, she won the Breakthrough Artist Award at the Brit Awards, and the Hyundai Mercury Prize for Album of the Year for "Collapsed in Sunbeams."

After her album tour, Parks performed as the opening act for artists like Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, and Clairo in 2022. She was also featured at the Glastonbury Festival 2022 and read for the CBeebies Bedtime Story. However, later that year, she had to cancel her US tour dates due to mental health concerns.

Entering 2023, Parks announced her second studio album, "My Soft Machine," which released on 26 May 2023. The album title was inspired by a dialogue from the 2019 film "The Souvenir." Several singles were released alongside the album, with the song "Pegasus" featuring artist Phoebe Bridgers. Parks, who is openly bisexual, is based in Los Angeles and was educated at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith. Her musical influences include Elliott Smith, Sylvia Plath, Radiohead, and Joni Mitchell.