Pāka Arlo

Huaolelo na ʻO Zachary Way

Hānau ʻia i ka wanaʻao o ka millennium hou, he iwakālua makahiki ʻo Lādana mea hoʻokani pila/poet Pāka Arlo ʻaneʻane hōʻailona ʻia ma o kāna mau mele hoʻohui i nā ʻano he nui o nā mea e ola nei i kēia wā: ka nui o ka ʻike a me ke kaʻawale ʻana i ke kūlanakauhale akā ʻo ka hauʻoli o ka ʻōpio a me ke aloha ʻōpio. Ma waena o ʻelua EPs a me kekahi mau mele, ua hoʻokumu ʻo Paris-a-Nigeria-rooted Parks iā ia iho kekahi o nā mea pena kiʻi ikaika loa a puni.. Hiki iā ia ke pena i kahi hiʻohiʻona pili me nā kikoʻī noʻonoʻo akā huki hou e hīmeni i ka ʻeha o ka hanauna holoʻokoʻa. E like me kā Lorde i hana ai i kekahi mau makahiki ma mua Heroine Maemae (2013), Hāʻawi ʻo Parks i nā mea hoʻolohe i ka pāʻina, hōʻike i ka hopohopo pili, a hāʻawi hope i kahi balsama makamae no lākou e loaʻa ai ka mehana.

ʻO ke mele mele mai kāna hoʻokuʻu mua ʻana, Hanana Kaumaha Nui (2018), wehewehe i nā ʻōpio nāna "ke pepehi nei i ka manawa a nalowale kā mākou uku" akā, ʻōlelo ka haku mele aloha nui, ma mua o ka iho, keia mau opio pilikia, e kū pū ana me lākou i ko lākou huhū. E like me kekahi o kāna mau mea pena punahele, Moi Krule, Ke hele nei ʻo Parks ma Ladana hina ʻeleʻele ma ia jazzy, mele manamana lima e like me "ʻOpa Romantic" aka, ua paa ke kulanakauhale i kona naau. E like me kāna e ʻōlelo nei ma o ka leka uila mai ʻEnelani, "ʻO ka ulu ʻana ma Lākana i hōʻike mai iaʻu i ka nui o nā mea hana hoʻoikaika, he nui na ano kanaka like ole, a hoʻolahalaha i koʻu mau ʻike. ʻO nā mea nui a pau i loaʻa iaʻu ua hana ʻia ma Lākana."

Inā paha e hōʻoluʻolu ana ʻo ia i kahi hoaaloha ma ke ʻano o ke kaumaha ma ke ala ʻōiwi, "Mele Anela" mai kāna EP ʻelua, Sophie (2019) or walking with a peer to the "corner store" on the R&B-tinged single, "Black Dog," Parks emerges as a street scribe who has seen quite a lot in her two decades on earth. While much of her musical taste, which spans everything from Nina Simone to Elliott Smith, was culled from YouTube and her uncle's vast record collection, the musician always carries a notebook with her and is a deft portraitist of her surroundings.

"I've always been drawn to very sensory, rich writing," she explains, citing Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, as an inspiration. Parks' masterfully concise lyrics are, in fact, abundant in vivid particulars, such as a "t-shirt in the rain" from the Meshell Ndegeocello-esque "Cola" and "petals by the pool" on the tight guitar song, "George." ʻO ia kākau ʻana he ʻano cinematic kokoke loa āna e kaʻana like ʻole me Radiohead, nona ka hoailona "kolo" ua hāʻawi mua ʻia ʻo ia a hoʻokani piano waimaka.

Ke nīnau ʻia he aha ka mea e mau ai ka quintet pōhaku kaʻao, ia nei, "He palupalu ka palapala a Thom Yorke, ʻoki a hopohopo. Ma ke ʻano he hui, He mau mea hoʻololi lākou e neʻe ma waena o nā palette sonic like ʻole me ka maʻalahi." Ke hoʻolohe nei i ka nui o hoʻokahi hola o kāna mele i kēia manawa, ʻike kekahi he mea hoʻololi ʻo Parks iā ia iho. Hanana Kaumaha Nui hele wale i nā ʻano mele like ʻole e like me dream pop, hip-hop, jazz, a me neo-soul akā me ka maikaʻi nani. Hiki i kekahi ke manaʻo i ka hui ʻana o nā ʻano ma kāna LP hoʻomaka e hiki mai ana, Nā Kukuo Lā i hāʻule, e puka ana i ke kakahiaka o ka makahiki e hiki mai ana.

Kūkākūkā i ka album i manaʻo nui ʻia, Ua ʻōlelo ʻo Parks ʻo ka hana ʻana "ʻehaʻeha, ʻoluʻolu, ikaika loa, a hele mai i loko o nā kui; e hahau ana ka manao me he uwila la, a e wīwī ana au i nā hāʻule hope loa a hiki i ke kakahiaka nui." E uku ʻia ka hana paʻakikī e like me Arlo Parks, ʻoiai i kona wā ʻōpiopio, ua hoʻokumu i kona leo hoʻohauʻoli, melancholy a me ka hauʻoli, i kokua, a e hoʻomau i ke kōkua, ka lehulehu i kēia mau manawa paʻakikī a no nā makahiki e hiki mai ana.