UKNY for July 26

Released during the pandemic in early 2021, Arlo Parks' Mercury Prize-winning debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams, was exactly the kind of luminous, thoughtful album needed during a fraught era. A soothing beauty of a release, the young Londoner's songs were buoyed by her poetic lyricism, character-driven storytelling, and fragile, wistful vocals.

But upon moving to Los Angeles, embracing California sunshine and a renewed confidence in her vision and ambition, Parks' music has rapidly shapeshifted, from 2023's My Soft Machine to her latest album, 2026's Ambiguous Desire. The latter album is a New York record, per Parks, and in a new "UKNY" conversation at 7 p.m. tonight, she talks about how time spent in the city and its clubs — and her own DJing experiences — gave her the platform to delve more deeply into bolder beats and electronic eddies of joy.

We chatted about her collaboration with fellow Mercury Prize winner Sampha on the track "Senses," as well as the invaluable influence of friends and fellow producers Kelly Lee Owens and Baird. In addition, Parks spoke about her meaningful contribution to the Help(2) benefit album for War Child with track "Nothing I Could Hide."

That's on "UKNY," Sundays from 7-8 p.m., on 90.7FM, streaming online, and in the Archives after broadcast. This interview will be available to stream here after broadcast too.