FLIGHT OF THE SPARRO

The son of a Minister, he left home at 16 to live in London, Australia and currently LA. He had an international hit with modern pop classic ‘Black & Gold’, kept Lady Gaga’s famous meat dress in his fridge (wouldn’t you?) and with a new album about to drop he performs on the main stage at Lovebox this Sunday. Cliff Joannou meets Sam Sparro

Great to have you back in our ears! Tell us about the new album and where the ‘sound’ came from… it’s very ‘nu-disco’!

In hindsight the early stages of the [new] record felt a little bit forced. It’s like I was trying to accomplish something that I thought was relevant, but really I was just resisting to go with my natural instincts, which was to make an album like this which is really soulful, really organic with a lot more live instruments, and a return to the sounds of late 70s and early 80s – or at least influenced by it. I think I was still indecisive about what I wanted to do in my career. I had this moment of wanting to chase that commercial radio sound, but I thought actually that wasn’t that appealing for me and I don’t think that’s going to make me ultimately happy. I felt at that point, committed to being an artist and having my own point of view and exploring my own musical territory.

‘Black and Gold’ was such a huge single. Did that create any tension in making a second album? 

It did for a while. It created a lot of anxiety for me, I was trying to live up to people’s expectations, but as soon as I let go of that, it was much easier to be creative. I wasn’t expecting that success and it’s not something I ever expect, or even aim for. Even with the first record, it wasn’t like I was setting out to make a radio hit. That’s just never something that I think about for myself.

“When I moved to London at 17 sexuality seemed to be less of an issue here.”

So how did ‘Black and Gold’ become a radio hit? 

It was picked-off my Myspace page and played by Radio 1 before I had a record deal.

The spiritual subject matter and the deeply personal message in that song is so untypical for a pop song. Did that make its success any more amazing? 

Definitely. I think pop music used to be more deep, more interesting with people like Kate Bush, Depeche Mode and the Eurhythmics. Pop’s subject matter today has gotten really boring, it’s pretty dull. I don’t really listen to that much radio anymore, and I don’t think radio is that relevant anymore with the Internet.

In the new album there are a quite a few personal songs. The lead single ‘I Wish I Never Met You’ is one of them. When I hear you singing that song, it sounds intense and very personal. Is that a true statement? 

Yes, it’s all very personal, a few of the songs on that album are about first time experiences. ‘Yellow Orange Rays’ is about how love can make you want to be a better person. I set that up by talking about all these tragic people whose lives are a mess for one reason or another… [It’s going to be the] next single because I’ve already started conceptualising the video for that. There’s some really good remixes of ‘Shades of Grey’ already. I’m gonna do a remix album of the whole record. Some of them are more contemporary, some of them are more like disco edits and there’s even a slightly dubstep one. I’m already working on my next album.

How long did the project take to put together?

It took about two-and-a-half years. I wrote like sixty songs! Some of them I’ve sent out to other artists, and some of them I’ll put on the next album or re-work them somehow. I don’t know, sometimes you just write a song to either get something out or to learn something to get you through the next song.

Which other artists have you worked with? 

Recently I’ve worked with Adam Lambert on his new album, which was no.1 in the states. Him and I get on really well. He’s the first openly gay artists to have a number one album in America. I think we take it for granted that wouldn’t have happened 10 years ago.

You were open about your sexuality from the beginning. Did you find that was a barrier for some of the mainstream media to your music and were you presented as a gay artist, rather than just an artist?  

Yeah, I found that irritating sometimes. It’s not me that needs changing though. My perception of myself is that I know who I am and I’m really comfortable in my own skin.

Have you always been comfortable in your own skin? 

No, it’s a process that you go through, as you get older. When I moved to London at 17 sexuality seemed to be less of an issue here and that made me very comfortable. I think because I don’t like things that marginalise people. When I moved here I noticed straight people and gay people would hang out together. That was really refreshing. I was here until I was 21 and then I moved back to the States… I used to live in Brixton and go to house parties and warehouse parties. I’m based in LA now, but I like to get back to London once or twice a year.

You’re performing at Lovebox. What can we expect from your show? 

It’s got a lot of energy and the show is quite simple and elegant. There’s not a lot of bells and whistles, it’s all about the music and energy between the crowd, the band and myself. I like to think of it as a ‘Disco Church’!

Your father’s a Minister, how did he deal with your sexuality? 

Really well, actually. My father has a lot of gay friends and his mother was a total fag hag! She’s a dancer and an actress, so it wasn’t that weird for my father… I’ve had quite a liberal upbringing with not a lot of rules or structure. I left the house when I was 16.

When you look back at yourself at 16 and yourself now, what would be the biggest lesson you’ve learned? 

You just never know what’s around the corner in life. I think you have to stay really grateful, as life is so precious. Stay present and don’t dwell on the past so much and just seize every opportunity… listen to your gut instinct. It’s better to do things for love rather than money is something I’ve learned.

I’ve heard a rumour that you had Lady Gaga’s meat dress in your fridge? 

I did yes! It was made in my house… my friend Frank made it, he was my neighbour and stylist at the time, but didn’t have enough room in his fridge. It was really cool watching the meat dress come to life and the crazy reaction to it. The weirdest part was watching it decompose in my house afterwards. I was glad when it was gone!

Who are the most inspiring out of the celebrity friends you’ve made along the way?

I’ve really enjoyed my friendship with Adam Lambert, it’s nice having somebody like him that’s another ‘out’ gay artist where we can talk about the state of things and have a good gossip and a good laugh. I spend a lot of time with Mark Ronson, I enjoyed working with him and learnt a lot from him. You meet all sorts of people and I think it’s rare to meet people in the business that you want to spend time with.

Who are your musical influences? 

Pretty much everyone that’s playing at Lovebox! Grace Jones and Chaka Khan are massive influences on this album, so I’m really excited to be on the same stage as them. I’m really obsessed with the 70s… especially New York in that era. The energy at the end of the pop art scene, you could go to a club and see Debbie Harry, Andy Wharhol, Mick Jagger, Donna Summer and Liza Minelli all in the same room! We don’t have that anymore, celebrity culture has changed so much. These people influenced the world and they were really down to earth in a weird way and larger than life. I always fantasise about that.

 

• Sam Sparro headlines the main stage at Lovebox on Sunday 17th June. Tickets: www.lovebox.net
• The album Return to Paradise is released 18th June.

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