Arlo Parks discusses working with Phoebe Bridgers on new album
On May 26th, Arlo Parks released her second album, My Soft Machine, which comes after her Mercury Prize-winning debut, Collapsed in Sunbeams.
The album features a collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers, who Parks describes as one of her “favourite artists” with an “openhearted approach to music”.
Speaking to Variety, Parks explained how excited she was to work with Bridgers. She shared, “I’ve been a fan of Phoebe for so long, since I was 17. We’ve sung together a bunch, and I feel like when our voices come together, they just mesh really naturally.”
Parks also revealed the creative process behind ‘Pegasus’. She said: “I wanted it to feel quite minimal, like a ‘White Ferrari’ [by Frank Ocean] moment or that pianist, Duval Timothy. I just wanted it to have space to breathe, because I felt like the instrumentation on the rest of the record felt rich and lush.”
She added, “I sent it to [Bridgers] and was really honest about how much her music meant to me and what the song meant to me, and she said yes.”
Parks also discussed My Soft Machine‘s themes of navigating adulthood. “There’s something really profound about the years where you find yourself, where you have to decide where your place is in the world. There’s something quite painful about that journey, but also beautiful, because it’s something that everybody goes through.”
Listen to ‘Pegasus’ below.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.