The list of drummers that have found their way from the back of the stage into the limelight is pretty short and mostly rooted in the post-prog pop landscape of England in the 70's. This is an appropriate reference point for Cale Parks, who has held down the rhythm and pulse in such critically acclaimed and adventurous indie rock bands as Aloha and White Williams.

His solo work has, since its inception, been a foray deep into texture, rhythm, pure sound and onwards into the heart of the song. His 2006 album Illuminated Manuscript owes as much to his classically trained precision (Parks studied as an orchestral percussionist) as it does to his ear for melancholy, summoning comparisons with the repetition of Steve Reich, the melancholy of Arvo Part and the electronic textures of Mum. 2008's Sparklace builds all these aspects into a more structured whole indebted to the dark 80s British electronics of New Order and Depeche Mode.

Never content to rest on his laurels, as Sparklace hit the shelves Parks began work on a new batch of songs which would become his 3rd solo release titled To Swift Mars which was released August 4th, 2009 on Polyvinyl Record Co. With this EP, Parks takes his songwriting to another level, with immediate, concise pop structures that weave together electronic elements with full-bodied percussion and influences ranging from the overlapping arpeggios of Philip Glass to the early solo work of Peter Gabriel. Recorded at Inner Ear studios by fellow Aloha member T.J. Lipple and mixed by Brian Jacobs of Apes and Androids, To Swift Mars highlights the solidarity of Parks' creative songwriting and serves to underline the progression from percussionist’s side project to fully realized solo artist.