- Sudan Archives isn't another project plumbing the depths of regional African music. It's a young songwriter in Los Angeles called Brittney Denise Parks who makes homespun hip-hop beats with a sampler and a violin. She learned to play violin in her father's church, and was coincidentally nicknamed "Sudan"—a country with a culture of violin music—as a child by her mother. Parks is signed to Stones Throw and takes the label's history of backpacker hip-hop to her own idiosyncratic place, combining neo-soul, African music and instrumental hip-hop. Her debut EP, now being released on vinyl, is only 16 minutes long, but it creates a cozy atmosphere that lingers after you listen.
The way Parks incorporates hip-hop is a crucial part of that feeling. On tracks like "Paid" and "Goldencity," she puts together gentle found-sound beats that sound lived-in and familiar, like highlights from some old Los Angeles beat tape. And her violin, soaring but rarely flashy, adds another homely element. The plucked strings on "Paid" make the production feel taut and funky, while on the standout, "Come Meh Way," her violin bridges the gap between American folk tradition and East African music.
There's something comfortable about Parks's music, as if you were listening in the home studio where she recorded it. On "Oatmeal," a track that sounds like a groggy early morning, she coos, "If you want some oatmeal / I got you / Wake up," accompanied by beautiful violin melodies. It's a simple lyric that conveys an intimacy that eludes most electronic artists, wringing emotion out of something as trivial as making breakfast.
Tracklist01. Paid
02. Come Meh Way
03. Time
04. Oatmeal
05. Goldencity
06. Wake Up