Q&A: Violinist and singer Sudan Archives brings ‘fiddle soft punk’ to Glastonbury debut

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Brittney Denise Parks, better known as Sudan Archives, is an avant-garde violinist and singer-songwriter who describes her style as “fiddle soft punk.”

Last week, she made her debut at the Glastonbury Festival in the U.K. After a shaky start, the packed crowd danced around in the afternoon sun as she rapped and played the violin in a corset of red leather belts and buckles, cowboy boots, violin bow strapped to her back like Robin Hood.

“At first my mic wasn’t working, so the crowd was like, We can’t hear you. and I was like, Really? They’re like, No! So then once we figured that out, then it was amazing!” she told The Associated Press backstage.

Now based in Los Angeles, Sudan Archives taught herself the violin as a child in Ohio. She’s been making waves with her exploration of non-Western string traditions, unconventional pop and R&B melodies as well as rap inspired by her collaborator and boyfriend, Nocando.

Her second breakthrough album “Natural Brown Prom Queen,” recorded in the couple’s home studio during the pandemic, was released in 2022. The track “Home Maker” subsequently made Barack Obama’s favorite music of 2022 playlist.

The following interview has been condensed for brevity and clarity.

AP: What was your starting point with the violin? 

Sudan Archives: I didn’t start classical, but I just was really into fiddle music. So I started just trying to learn fiddle music. And there was an after-school program called Fiddle Club, so we learned a lot of Irish music and stuff, but when I moved to a different school, there wasn’t an orchestra or any after-school program. So I just taught myself more in church how to play by ear.

And then since I didn’t really have any training, I didn’t really have the training and skills to pursue college and go to school like that. But I basically started to incorporate electronic music with the violin. And I remember when they first started making electric violins, I had bought my first electric violin and plugged in to guitar pedals. And I started making strange sounds and making music.

AP: The violin does have a particular image, was that something you were conscious of? 

Sudan Archives: Yeah, I was. I think, all over, there’s a very Western view of the violin. But there’s so many other cultures that play violin. But for some reason, when you think of violin, you think of maybe classical orchestra. But I was just in Istanbul, and I just bought one of the first traditional violins from Turkey. And when I was in Ghana, I bought a Hausa violin. So basically I feel like my goal is to show the Black roots of the violin.

AP: What made you want to mix the violin with rap? 

Sudan Archives: I think it works because it hasn’t been done a lot and I really want to be unique. So I started dating my boyfriend and he’s a really good rapper. So I feel like when you’re around rappers, something clicked and I was like, “Wait a minute, maybe I should play violin and rap too.”

AP: And what have people from the rap scene made of that and made of you? 

Sudan Archives: I think they like it. I feel like I consider myself soft punk. Like it’s not punk. It’s not, like, crazy. I’m not going to smash my violin, but I might scream and rap. It’s like, a fiddle soft punk.

AP: You have dates in Japan and Australia coming up. Do you like the travel? 

Sudan Archives: I kind of like it. I don’t know why because sometimes I get bored and I just feel when you travel a lot, you just never get bored.

AP: Especially if you get to spend time in a place? 

Sudan Archives: Yeah. I make sure that I have off days in really cool places. So I had three days off in Istanbul and I really wanted to stay there because they have a lot of string instruments. So when I have an off day in Japan, I’m going to go get a string instrument there.

AP: How many violins have you bought altogether? 

Sudan Archives: I probably have like six.

AP: And do you use them all when you perform? 

Sudan Archives: I don’t have enough money to be like “I have a violin tech. They carry all my violins” and I can only bring one or maybe two if a friend is coming and then I make them take it on the plane.

AP: But one day, one day you’ll have the entourage. 

Sudan Archives: One day, I’ll have five violins on stage with different effects.

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