Sudan Archives

One Liner:  So much violin and strong R&B vibes

Wikipedia Genre: Electro, R&B

Home: Cincinatti

Poster Position: 3 (12) 
Weekend Two Only.
Saturday.

Thoughts:  Just a terrible name for a music project.  This is a gal from Cincinnati named Brittany Denise Parks.  She was a self-taught violin player as a child, but her dad ended up convincing her and her twin sister to start a pop duo called N2.  Brittany apparently did not enjoy that experience, wanting to follow her own sound, and left home at 19 to move to L.A. to make her own music.  How about the name?  "Sudan was a nickname that my mom gave me because she thought it was pretty. Eventually I changed it to Sudan Archives because I became obsessed with Francis Bebey, who was an ethnomusicologist. I just felt like that impacted me so much, I should just change my name to Sudan Archives because archive music is my main inspiration. I started to research Sudan, because it was my nickname, and I found out it meant the ‘land of blacks.’ In a way, my name could also mean black history, because Sudan means black and Archive means history."

The most popular tune was used on an ad - it was immediately recognizable to me.  Although the first ad that came up was for Stella Artois, and that commercial doesn't look familiar at all.  I would have guessed it was from an Apple ad.  "Selfish Soul" with 8.3 million streams.

I little violin lick in the chorus.  Definitely catchy.  That is from 2022's Natural Brown Prom Queen album, her second one.  The first album uses a lot of violin, I don't hear it as prominently in the new disc.  Like, "Glorious" is definitely centered on the violin licks.  I like the rap in that one too - not credited to anyone, but I dig it.  Her top overall track is from her first EP, released in 2017.  "Come Meh Way" has 13.3 million streams.

Odd song - has a nursery rhyme-sort of cadence to it, but also makes me want to groove.  I've just let her stuff roll all day in the background, and I really enjoy the sound.  Sort of R&B, but the way that Erykah Badu is sort of R&B, but also weird and wild and wooly.  

Tiny Desk!  This is from 2020 though, so not her current stuff:

Totally off the mark for me to like this - I general shy away from anything approximating R&B, but she is really good and interesting.  Maybe I'll go see what she can do in person.