THE FUTURE IS NOW
SOUNDS LIKE:Where ancient West
African fiddles meet future R&B
FOR FANS OF:Kelela, Tune-Yards,
Massive Attack
WHY YOU SHOULD PAY ATTEN-
TION:This month, revered funk, rap
and avant-pop label Stones Throw
will be releasing the self-titled
debut from Brittney Parks’ Sudan
Archives, a unique melding of West
African strings and contemporary
beatmaking. A self-taught violinist,
Parks picked up her instrument
after a group of fiddlers played
Irish jigs before her fourth grade
class in Cincinnati. But her family
(including her stepfather, who
worked at LaFace Records in the
early days) envisioned a differ-
ent sort of musical career for her,
originally pairing her with her twin
sister as a teen pop act. When
Parks rebelled at the age of 16, shewas kicked out of the group and
out of her house, finding herself
on her first plane ride ever out to
Los Angeles, where she juggled
odd jobs and slowly taught herself
how to use her violin and laptop to
make her own beats.
SHE SAYS:“I realise now those old
Irish jigs I first heard remind me
of the West African fiddle music
I like now; it’s a ‘rooted’ sound as
opposed to violin in the classi-
cal way... My mum nicknamed
me Sudan when I was 16. When I
moved out to L.A. at 19, I started
to just YouTube Sudanese music
just to see what came up. Ironically,
most of the music has violins on it.
But I was shy about my stuff. The
confidence came from my stepdad
[who passed away in 2015]; he
was the biggest supporter of my
music. He encouraged me to work
towards that, to not go to college
but instead take a break and find
myself.”
HEAR FOR YOURSELF:The plucked
and sawed “Come Meh Way” is as-
sured yet spare. ANDY BETASOUNDS LIKE: The howling, tumultuous resur-
gence of Sunset Strip rock
FOR FANS OF: The Darkness, Guns N’ Roses,
sleaze and glam
WHY YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION: This four-
piece that come from Helsinki but sound like
Hollywood have been causing havoc in Europe
since the late Aughts thanks to their debauch-
erous, fl amboyant fl air. Their third full-length,
Bad Blood Rising, is due this month.
THEY SAY: “I was probably 11 when I started
listening to punk and rock music. Then I
found Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe, Poison and
W.A.S.P. These guys seemed to have a better
time than anyone else!” says frontman Archie
Cruz. “I wanna play that kind of music! It just
hit me hard. But this third album is about
dealing with the issue of depression. Outsiders
don’t see the side when you party hard for a
few years, you [eventually] start to feel pretty
down. That’s why I believe Jim Morrison died
and Kurt Cobain shot himself. Chris Cornell
fucking off ed himself a month ago. When tour-
ing – that whole rock & roll lifestyle – half of the
time you’re drinking or using other substances.
When you live hard, it takes a toll on you. You
can get pretty ill, and it needs to be addressed
more. You just hear about the glorious side.”
HEAR FOR YOURSELF:The down ’n’ dirty
“River Phoenix” is driven by fuming, accelerat-
ing power chords. “To me, River Phoenix’s soul
was pure. He was a perfect actor, and in the end
Hollywood ruined him,” says Cruz. “That spark
is still lit.” ISABELA RAYGOZA
Santa Cruz
48 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com October, 2017Sudan
Archives