New York Fashion Week sees Lower Manhattan morph into a buzzing center of culture and industry overnight. A quarter of a million visitors converge on the city, showcasing style and extravagant wealth; a small community of artists and designers eagerly participating in the spectacle. During her visit to fashion week in September, Sudan Archives (real name, Brittney Parks) engaged in some of that scene, but she also took the subway to meet an Iranian woman she had never met before, who taught her how to play the kamaicha.
Specialized music lessons may not be at the forefront for New York’s fashion elite during Vogue Magazine’s biggest week, but for Parks, it’s quite routine. Since witnessing an Irish fiddle group perform at her high school in Cincinnati, she has been completely and passionately captivated. The kamaicha, a lesser-known instrument in North America, hails from Rajasthan and is crafted from mango wood. It ranks among the oldest string instruments still in existence.
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When she calls me from her home in Los Angeles, a kamaicha is just one of many string instruments adorning her wall. There’s a Japanese violin and a Ghanaian one as well. One instrument on the other end doesn’t resemble a violin at all, but Parks insists that it is; it has a guitar shape and is MIDI-enabled, yet is indeed a violin. Essentially, she possesses the entire lineage of the instrument, tracing its Eastern origins through to a computer-based existence, a chart reflecting the evolution of an instrument that transformed her life.
From 'Come Meh Way' to 'Homemaker', the unmistakable sound of strings permeates Parks' music, interwoven with traditional elements that might go unnoticed. “Can I share a secret?” she asks, leaning closer to the camera. “I've utilized this Ghanaian violin frequently. I adore Sufi music. It has this healing quality, so as I gain more visibility, I'm integrating it increasingly into my tracks, hoping that, I don’t know, it might heal the world?” she chuckles.
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However, the third album by Sudan Archives doesn't align with what you'd expect from a devotee of an instrument typically associated with classical music. 'The BPM' is a full-fledged dance record, designed to rattle speakers and make people move. It features heavy 808s, unabashedly explicit lyrics, vigorous rap, and, yes, strings – manifested through pulsing synths and dynamic, driving drums. Contrary to the techno-skepticism of 2025, the album – starting from its cover – is also a bold celebration of technology, which seems to contrast with Parks’ affection for traditional music-making, until it doesn’t.
During her childhood, Parks' family moved too often for her to take consistent violin lessons, leading her to learn via YouTube instead. In the past, young players like her would have had to join a local orchestra, but Parks chose a different route. “I’m not a distinguished violinist,” she states. “I don’t read music; I can’t attend Juilliard. That realm can be very elitist and racially biased. Many orchestra musicians have told me that there’s a serious political issue there. But these gadgets… they don’t discriminate.” Using her own electric violin, Parks produced her 2017 EP entirely on her iPad. “With technology, I’m developing my own repertoire, and it will be preserved forever.”
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'The BPM' became a reality thanks to another aspect of technological progress: virtual communication. Initially, Parks was hesitant about collaboration—admitting to leaving early sessions in tears—but her new album is a large, family-oriented project. After visiting her cousin in Detroit, she learned that her cousin's husband was a producer and beat maker, prompting her to ask him for guidance.
That collaboration opened the floodgates, resulting in 'The BPM' becoming an assemblage featuring contributions from her stylist, manager, cousins, and her twin sister, with sections recorded across Detroit and Chicago and sent to Parks to combine in Los Angeles. The album’s newfound dance orientation also pays homage to the rich electronic histories of both cities, from Frankie Knuckles to RP Boo.
The past and present, the acoustic and electronic, the independent and the collaborative: they all intertwine on 'The BPM', making it difficult to overlook Parks' assertion that the digital and electronic realms couldn’t exist without these influences. “Technology has always been my superpower,” she declares. “I believe it has transformed my life.”
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Words: Liam Inscoe-Jones
Photo Credit: Yanran Xiong
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