Arlo Parks – Ambiguous Desire Deluxe
Today, twice Grammy-nominated, Mercury Prize and BRIT Award-winning Arlo Parks announces the release of a digital deluxe edition of her critically acclaimed album Ambiguous Desire, due for release on 9th October via Transgressive.
The deluxe edition features two brand new songs, alongside ‘New Desire’ – the track that introduced Ambiguous Desire ahead of its original release – plus a rework with John Glacier and remixes from some of the most esteemed artists in their respective genres, including Jacques Greene, Nosaj Thing, Lil Silva and Oscar Farrell.
London-based producer and DJ Oscar Farrell brings his 2-step touch to ‘2SIDED’, crafting a crisp rework that blends ambient textures with a sped-up vocal.
The remix follows the recent remix release of “Heaven” by Arlo’s longtime friend and Canadian electronic pioneer Jacques Greene, as well as a striking rework of “Floette” featuring rapper and poet John Glacier.
There will be a super limited edition hand-stamped 12” vinyl of the Jacques Greene/Oscar Farrell remixes available exclusively at Arlo’s European shows next month, while stocks last (only 100 copies available).
Released in April via Transgressive, Ambiguous Desire was created alongside producer Baird (Brockhampton, Kevin Abstract), with additional production from longtime collaborator Paul Epworth (Adele, Florence + The Machine, Rihanna), Buddy Ross (Frank Ocean, Vampire Weekend) and Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Dijon). The album has since been named one of Billboard and Rough Trade’s Albums of the Year So Far, following a wave of critical acclaim that saw Classic Pop dub it “her ultimate statement”, Rolling Stone UK praise it as her “most versatile work yet”, and Pitchfork describe it as Parks at her best. Uncut called the record “frequently wonderful”, while DIY hailed it as “her most vividly realised and affecting body of work to date.”
Sweating under the strobes at Midnight Lovers in LA, dancing to the bass beneath the K Bridge in Greenpoint, finding new faces at Venue MOT in London – these are the dark, enveloping spaces giving life to Ambiguous Desire.
Over the past two years, Arlo dove headfirst into nocturnal spaces where she could be whoever she wanted. She drew inspiration from the queer hedonism of NYC’s Paradise Garage to the moody nocturnal British beats of The Streets and Burial, the glittering synth catharsis of LCD Soundsystem, and rooted house grooves of Theo Parrish, losing herself on the dancefloor. The record is Parks at her most confident and experimental, supplanting live band sessions for modular synths, Ableton plugins and samplers that channel the frenetic, vibrant spaces she was immersed in, all while spotlighting the acclaimed poetry and lyricism she’s beloved for.
Reflecting on the making of the record, Parks shares, “I danced more than ever as I made this record, I made more friends than ever too, found myself in the weird underbelly of New York juke nights, unleashed, laughed and laughed and laughed. This record has desire at its center. Desire is a life force, it’s a wanting, a yearning, a momentum – we are all alive because there is something or someone we want – desire is an engine. But it is also mysterious, tangled, random, enlightening and HUMAN.”
With her single releases, Parks has received overwhelming support, including a performance and interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, an appearance on Later… with Jools Holland and playlist additions across BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 1. She has also taken over studios at NTS Radio in London and KCRW in Los Angeles for her own shows, sharing a mix of club music and current favorites.
Bursting onto the scene with her distinct blend of raw lyrical self-expression and vivid vocal melody, Parks has since been nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album, won the Mercury Music Prize for her 2021 Gold-certified debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams, been named a Breakthrough Artist at the Brit Awards, and been nominated at the Ivor Novello Awards. A poet as much as a performer, Parks followed up her previous critically acclaimed album My Soft Machine with the debut of her first published book, The Magic Border, a collection of 20 new poems and exclusive images by Daniyel Lowden alongside lyrics from My Soft Machine.
Arlo is also a featured writer on Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning album Cowboy Carter. Arlo has performed at Glastonbury and Coachella, opened for Billie Eilish and Harry Styles and captivated audiences across the world with her headline tour. Upon the release of previous album My Soft Machine Arlo performed on NPR Tiny Desk and appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
GLOBAL HEADLINE TOUR
9/18 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether
9/19 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
9/21 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
9/22 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre
9/23 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
9/25 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
9/26 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
9/29 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
10/1 – Queens, NY @ Knockdown Center
10/17 – Dublin, IE @ The Ambassador Theatre
10/20 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton
10/24 – Glasgow, UK @ Old Fruitmarket
10/25 – Bristol, UK @ The Prospect Building
10/26 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
10/28 – Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg
10/30 – Cologne, DE @ Carlswerk Victoria
10/31 – Berlin, DE @ Uber Eats Music Hall
11/3 – Brussels, BE @ Cirque Royal
11/7 – Paris, FR @ La Gaite Lyrique
11/8 – Paris, FR @ La Gaite Lyrique
11/10 – Madrid, ES @ La Riviera
11/11 – Lisbon, PT @ Lisboa ao Vivo
11/13 – Barcelona, ES @ Sala Apolo
11/16 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
11/18 – Warsaw, PL @ Palladium
11/19 – Vienna, AT @ Arena Wien
11/21 – Prague, CZ @ ARCHA+
11/22 – Budapest, HU @ Akvárium Klub
11/24 – Zurich, CH @ Kaufleuten
11/26 – Luxembourg City, LU @ den Atelier
11/29 – Copenhagen, DK @ Store Vega
12/1 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret
12/2 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan
#arloparks