Sam Sparro and Adam Lambert Are Part of the Rhythm Nation – Interview

Reinvention is tough to pull off, which is why the Australian pop vehicle Sam Sparro didnt aim to reinvent himself with his new album Boombox Eternal. Instead, the 37-year-old singer-songwriter went back to his roots and created a 12-song album directly inspired by the 80s beats of musical icons like Janet Jackson, Madonna, and Prince. Sparro first grabbed attention with his stylized and self-made 2008 single Black and Gold. The song fast-tracked his ascension to fame, quickly becoming a pop standard that was covered by the likes of Adele, Katy Perry, and Ellie Goulding. With his sophomore album Return to Paradise in 2012, Sparro proved once and for all that he was ahead of the game, creating thematically cohesive queer pop music with unconventional production. Its been eight years since Sparros last album, a break that was dedicated to recovery from his struggle with alcohol and drug addiction. With the emergence of the new decade, Sparro has come out stronger with Boombox Eternal, an exuberant love letter to his dearest influences and his 8-year-old self. For Interview, Sparro called up his friend and frequent co-writer Adam Lambert to discuss making queer music and reminisce about one particularly wild Halloween party with Snoop Dogg and Miley Cyrus.

ADAM LAMBERT: Your last album was back in 2012, which I loved by the way. What happened between then and now? What kept you from releasing a new project?

SAM SPARRO: Thank you. Well, girl, its so funny because weve been friends for, god, I want to say almost 12 years?

LAMBERT: I know. You wrote a song with me on my first album, For Your Entertainment.

SPARRO: We go way fucking back. Do you remember when I was living in that loft?

LAMBERT: Yeah, I think I came to a party there once.

SPARRO: I was going through a total fucking personal crisis. I was like, smoking crack and drinking alone when I lived there.

LAMBERT: Shit. So, theres that.

SPARRO: It feels really good to just be super honest and open about my life now. I just feel ready. Honestly, the time in between Return to Paradise, which is when I was trying to get myself together, and nowso much of that time was just about getting well.

LAMBERT: And now youre sober, correct?

SPARRO: Seven years.

LAMBERT: Thats amazing, congratulations. After all that time getting sober and getting everything back together, what finally motivated you to get back in the studio for this project?

SPARRO: Ive done some collabs and co-writes very selectively because I dont like random people in my space. I finallyand I know you can relate to thisI felt like I stopped chasing a hit. I stopped chasing whatever was on the radio, or what I thought people wanted me to make. I just was like, Fuck it, Im going to make exactly what I want to make. Which is a very nostalgic pop album celebrating my childhood. Life is too short. We just have to make what we love so we can stand next to, and be proud of it. I think people respond to that.

LAMBERT: At the end of the day, if youre going to put yourself out there and put your name on something, it has to be something that you love. It cant be something thats plugged into some sort of commercial trend, that everyone says is the new thing, if it doesnt work for you. It just doesnt make any sense. I completely relate to you on that.

SPARRO: I mean, its nice when those two things line up.

LAMBERT: You have to play the game, to a point. I think having that artistic integrity is super important. Its the only thing that we can really claim as ours. Hats off to you, I think thats great. I was just listening to the album before this phone call. What I love about it is that its so specific. I hear your influences in it, I hear the time period that youre honoring. It is fully nostalgic. My favorite kind of artistry is when you reference something and then put a twist on it. Thats you in there, I hear you.

SPARRO: I feel like this, more than any other project, is me not just as a songwriter and a singer, but really as a producer. Im super proud of the production that Ive done on this album. The vocal production, making that really modern and polished, does bring it into the contemporary landscape. I feel like Kanye West a little bit when people are like, Well, what are you listening to? And Im like, Im listening to myself because my music is the shit.

LAMBERT: I do the same thing. Absolutely.

SPARRO: Youve really inspired me a lot over the years. I admire you so much. Im so glad were friends and Im so glad we work together. Im just so proud of you and this record that youve made, as well. Because its the best stuff youve ever done.

LAMBERT: Thank you for that. Do you think this liberation that were both sorts of in the midst of has anything to do with where were at in the music industry, regarding queer people? Its obviously changed a lot.

SPARRO: When we were starting our careers, there were so few queer artists.

LAMBERT: Remember, girl? It was a desert.

SPARRO: Crickets. It wasnt considered an asset. People were trying to tone us down all the time.

LAMBERT: There was so much fear that you had to deal with. The people that you were doing business withwhether or not they were homophobic wasnt the main issue. Well, we dont think this will work. We dont think this will get put on the radio. We dont think people will like this. There was this attitude that anything queer was negative.

SPARRO: They were constantly trying to find ways to say that without saying it. It was just always these microaggressions from executives in the business. Now weve seen, because of the internet, that theres a space for everybody, and everybodys voice matters. Theres so much room for all types of identities. Its changed a lot since we both started. For better and for worse.

LAMBERT: I do think that the markets really saturated now. Theres a lot of new music, so its easy to feel like youre getting lost in the shuffle. But I think youre right. I think its easier than ever to find your audience because there arent all these gatekeepers, and people arent afraid of what youre making. I know that I felt much more liberated when I was working on this project, in the sense that I could put the music out. I moved off of the major label system for this project. There are some disadvantages, but overall, I feel a sense of empowerment.

SPARRO: This is my first album without a major label as well. There are definitely struggles, but also, I feel so free. Its worth making the sacrifices of all of the perks of the major label system to be able to sleep at night.

LAMBERT: When I put together a tour or one-off shows of my new music, thats what matters to me. I want to be able to get up on stage and love every song. Ive had moments in the past with some of the other tracks that Ive done, even if theyve been great pop songs, the heavy lifting has been done by a different producer and another writer. This is the style thats, quote, unquote, cool. I dont feel like its me, I feel like Im posing. There have been a few moments of that, and when I realized it on a tour a couple of years ago, I was like, Ah, shit. You cant let this happen again.

SPARRO: We live, we learn. We learn what we can deal with, and what we cant.

LAMBERT: As artists, were sensitive. You end up becoming your own worst critic. And youre your own worst enemyIve been that to myself. It causes you to overthink and to forget the big picture, and I think as we get older, its a little easier to zoom out, and be like, Ah, okay. Broad strokes.

SPARRO: I did an interview earlier today, and they asked me, If you could talk to your eight-year-old self, what would you say? Its a very Rupauls Drag Race question, but I thought about it for a second, and I thought, I would tell myself: be nicer to yourself.

LAMBERT: [Laughs.] Weve all heard it for years, but it feels more clear to me nowthat if youre not loving yourself or enjoying what youre doing, how is the audience going to? Side note: Black and Gold was my fucking jam. I remember when that came out, it was my workout song, it was my getting ready song, it was my driving song. It was just so cool. How did that first big hit come to be?

SPARRO: Ive kind of gone back to the way it was then, in a lot of ways. I was super autonomous. I was making tracks in my bedroom, on my laptop. I had no money, I had a very cheap and disgusting microphone that I recorded half of that album on. I had a mini keyboard that was missing two keys. I was doing all my own graphic design, I was making flyers, I was doing little shows at the Echo and at the Roxy with my friend Jesse on my laptop. I was just doing so much of it myself.

LAMBERT: Do you feel like thats where the real creativity was really pumping?

SPARRO: Ive come to feel that Im not necessarily a part of the music industry. But Ive started to see myself as more of a multimedia artist that makes music. The cover of Black and Gold is a selfie with a logo that I designed. I love making stuff, dressing up, doing the shoots. [Black and Gold] was on Myspace, then Radio 1 played it. Then I signed with Universal.

LAMBERT: Myspace, oh my god.

SPARRO: Myspace, girl.

LAMBERT: Myspace was it.

SPARRO: The legend. The only.

LAMBERT: The moment.

SPARRO: The icon. We were coding. We thought we were hackers.

LAMBERT: Didnt Black and Gold get covered by Katy Perryand Adele?

SPARRO: And Ellie Goulding. That song has somehow become a standard. Its in every karaoke bar Ive been to around the world. People sing it for their American Idol auditions.

LAMBERT: Thats just so cool. Your new album,I was flashing back to being in my bedroom in the early 90s. Its so fresh. What are a couple of specific songs or artists that directly influenced this project for you?

SPARRO: Janet Jacksons Rhythm Nation was a big influence. Dangerous by Michael JacksonI was obsessed with that one. I wore that tape out. My mom had to buy me a new one. Weirdly, in hindsight, thinking about this album, another influence is Prince,Sign O the Times era. Actually, the Batman soundtrack. That was amazing.

LAMBERT: Lyrically, what are you singing about?

SPARRO: A big part of the album is escapism and love and joy. That was a big thing in the 90s, too. Looking toward a brighter future where theres no racism or sexism. But then, theres heavier material. Save A Life is about contemplating suicide, which was something I experienced. And pressures about modern anxiety, which is a big part of our lives today.

LAMBERT: Its like a slice of your life, literally. On a personal level, you recently got married. Did that directly influence any of the songs?

SPARRO: I had a muse that I was in love with that inspired all the love songs here. Also, having someone in my life that is so different from me. I am emotional, Im impulsive, Im intense. Hes so grounded and so stable. Having him in my life has grounded me in a lot of ways.

LAMBERT: I was so sad that I had to miss it, because I was traveling. I was on tour. I was bummed. I want them to develop this hologram technology so we can just beam in for things.

SPARRO: I think theyre not that far away. That Miley Cyrus episode of Black Mirror?

LAMBERT: Ashley O. I love Miley. Where is Miley? Lets call Miley. Shes so hot.

SPARRO: I was thinking about, just as you said that, that Halloween party that you had where she was dressed as Lil Kim and I performed. Wasnt Snoop [Dogg] there, dressed in the Scream mask?

LAMBERT: I think he was. There was a lot of smoking going on. That was a wild party. What do you think is next for you?

SPARRO: I went so long in between making albums, and Im actually already halfway through my next album. Not to jump so far ahead, but Im really excited about it. Its definitely less nostalgic. Its electronic, its dance-y, theres elements of house and weird electronica.

LAMBERT: I cant wait to hear it. Sam, Im so glad that were still friends, and that we are interviewing each other for Interview Magazine. Its so cunt.

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Sam Sparro and Adam Lambert Are Part of the Rhythm Nation - Interview