JUST ANOTHER DIAMOND DAY

At the start of Women’s History Month, I’m thinking about two of my favorite women musicians. Although they come from vastly different periods in time, Vashti Bunyan and Sudan Archives have both bent and blended genres, carving out a space for themselves where folk meets baroque. Bunyan’s most famous record, JUST ANOTHER DIAMOND DAY, was released in 1970—and while it eventually found a devoted fanbase and critical praise, it went mostly unnoticed in her time, leading her to retreat from the music industry for decades. Listening to the album feels a little like hearing an angel sing, with a voice so pure and delicate you’re afraid you might break it. She’s backed by a variety of old-world instrumentals including recorders and mandolins and even an Irish harp, and the effect is magical. It’s hard not to trace some spiritual connection between Bunyan and 21st-century violinist and songstress Brittney Denise Parks, a.k.a. Sudan Archives, who’s established her own sound by combining a contemporary singing style with plenty of strings (sometimes swelling, sometimes plucked), hip-hop-infused beats, and electronic techniques like the loop pedal. Some people call her music electro-soul, others call it Afro-futurist, but most call it avant-garde. While Bunyan’s work mainly pulls from traditional European influences and Parks’ reach extends to Africa, both artists use musical instruments and stylings from throughout space and time to bare their souls. Each is an admirer and maker of musical history in her own right, and that’s why I love them…but mostly, I’m just a real sucker for strings.

—Alicia Devereaux, Development Assistant