{"id":745840,"date":"2025-10-17T16:40:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T14:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/numero.com\/non-classifiee\/who-is-sudan-archives-the-singer-who-plays-the-violin-like-a-rockstar\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T16:45:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T14:45:06","slug":"who-is-sudan-archives-the-singer-who-plays-the-violin-like-a-rockstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/numero.com\/en\/culture-en\/music\/who-is-sudan-archives-the-singer-who-plays-the-violin-like-a-rockstar\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Sudan Archives, the singer who plays the violin like a rockstar?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Portrait of Sudan Archives \u00a9 Yanran Xiong.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sudan Archives unveils her third album The BPM<\/em><\/h2><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sudan Archives<\/strong> is one of those self-made artist shaking up the music world with her talent and originality. The self-taught violinist and singer is on a mission to reinvent this instrument too often limited to the universe of classical music. She plays it like a rockstar, swaying all over the stage in her sultry, candy-like outfits.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her tracks, she fuses electronic music, folk, R&B, afro-pop, and jazz sounds and layers them with her mesmerising voice. A style that\u2019s even caught the attention of major fashion<\/a> houses like Chanel<\/strong>, which included her latest single \u201cDEAD\u201d (released in June) in the soundtrack for its Fall\/Winter 2025-2026 haute couture show<\/a>.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She can sing, rap, play almost every instrument, and she composes her own songs\u2026 On her second album, released by Stones Throw Records in 2022, Brittney Parks<\/strong>, aka Sudan Archives<\/strong>, was already asserting her singularity. While her debut project Athena<\/em> (2019) celebrated femininity, her sophomore effort Natural Brown Prom Queen<\/em> explored her Cincinnati roots and personal world.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As she is unveiling her third opus The BPM<\/em> this Friday, October 17th, and prepares for a European tour, which includes a stop at Le Trianon in Paris on December 1st, let\u2019s look back at our encounter with the singer in 2022.<\/p> \n \n<\/div> \n<\/div> \n<\/div> \n<\/div> \n<\/div> \n<\/div> \n<\/article><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sudan Archives \u2013 My Type<\/em> (2025).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Interview with singer Sudan Archives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Num\u00e9ro: You are an artist who is hard to pin down. How would you describe yourself in a few words?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sudan Archives:<\/strong> I sing, I play the violin, I rap, I make my own music, I write my own songs. I\u2019m also a visual artist. Some would even qualify me as a fashion icon\u2026<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your latest album Natural Brown Prom Queen<\/em>, released in 2022, was described by your label as your most personal project to date.<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relationship I\u2019m in right now really encouraged me to be more of myself. I wanted to reconnect with my roots. I felt like tracing back where my parents came from. They\u2019re from Detroit and Chicago, but they also have African ancestry. I\u2019ve always been drawn to that culture, it\u2019s actually why my mom nicknamed me Sudan<\/strong>. My first trip outside the U.S. was to Ghana. It was an amazing experience, a real culture shock too, and it deeply shaped my first album Athena<\/em>.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You sing a lot about life in Cincinnati and your desire to go back there. Are you homesick?<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. I\u2019ve been living in Los Angeles for a while now, but I really miss Ohio. During the pandemic, one of my friend\u2019s relative passed away from Covid-19, and I had to go back for the funeral. It made me feel really nostalgic. I wanted to see everyone I grew up with, the people I used to make music with\u2026 But I couldn\u2019t express myself artistically there. The only music they play is country or jazz, but like, old-school jazz.
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Singer Sudan Archives (2022).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A self-taught artist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Where did your first musical awakening happen?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was younger, I spent a lot of time in church, either playing music or just being there with my family. We would take part in gospel concerts with the crowd in a trance, organs, saxophones… When I started playing violin in the orchestra, it felt like I had finally found my place.
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Who do you prefer, Sudan Archives or Brittney Parks?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I honestly have no idea. I used to try and hide Brittney behind Sudan, but not anymore. I even reference her on my last album for the first time, in the track OMG Britt<\/em> [released in 2022, ed.].<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your mom gave you the nickname Sudan. But why \u201cArchives\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because when you\u2019re a public figure, you become an archive. Do you know the artist Nia Archives<\/strong>? She\u2019s the first person I know who also picked that name. It\u2019s like Lil Wayne and all the Lil B, Lil Pump, Lil Nas X that followed. I feel like I started a movement [Laughs].<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xYJJWc3HUQc<\/a><\/div>\r\n
Sudan Archives \u2013 DEAD<\/em> (2025).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Violin and pole dancing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You have been playing the violin since childhood. What is your relationship with this instrument?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the US, violin is either for classical music or, on the flip side, for gospel ensembles in church. It\u2019s almost wild! You\u2019re standing, dancing, moving your body… When I discovered that, I realized that I could do what those rock guitarists do, but with my violin.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of your musical knowledge, you have a keen interest for ethnomusicology [the study of traditional music across different ethnic groups]. Does it influence your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m fascinated by African string instruments, whose traditions are fading because they\u2019re becoming less and less popular. That\u2019s what made me want to help bring them back into the spotlight by incorporating them into my own music.
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In your videos, on Instagram, or on stage, your outfits are always colourful, sexy, and striking. Where do you draw your fashion inspiration from?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ve always loved fashion. But I really leveled up my style thanks to designer Candice Cuoco<\/strong> [a finalist on season 14 of Project Runway, <\/em>ed.], who let me wear her creations on stage a few years ago. Her clothes gave me those Mugler<\/strong> or Vivienne Westwood<\/strong> vibes. She lent me some wild pieces, like corsets with all these crazy deconstructed laces. They made me feel really confident.<\/p> \n \n<\/div> \n<\/div> \n<\/div> \n<\/div> \n<\/div> \n<\/div> \n<\/article><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Une publication partag\u00e9e par Sudan Archives (@sudanarchives)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>