Arlo Parks

Her real name is Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho. She was born in Paris to a Nigerian father and a Chadian-French mother, and grew up in Hammersmith, West London. Because her mother was born in Paris, she learned to speak French before she learned English.

Arlo Parks started writing songs in her bedroom in her early teens, having been inspired by the jazz records her dad played at home.

She came up with her stage name on a night out with friends. Inspired by King Krule - whose name came from imagining a king crawling through a city at his lowest point - she thought "Low... Arlo." She wanted a two-part name, like Frank Ocean, and was stressing about finding the second part when her friends told her to relax because they were in the park. "Parks" came to her instantly.