Some artists exist permanently outside the mainstream of music. Others inhabit a realm distinct from popular culture itself. Then, a little further beyond, you’ll find Sparks – California brothers Ron and Russell Mael who, for three decades, have asked, and proceeded to answer the question: what happens if you re-imagine rock ‘n roll as bonkers neoclassical electro-pop ?
“The essential structure of the rock song hasn’t changed in 50 years, and that strikes us as weird,” explains Russell, enjoying a little down time in his LA home before visiting Europe for an autumn tour. “What we’ve been doing is challenging the idea of what a song should be.”
Sparks are often thought of – and dismissed – as art-rock pranksters, a lost link between (bear with me) Liberace and Ween. Considering how dark their music can be, this strikes Russell as rather odd (he’s not the only one: Nirvana were huge Sparks fans – Kurt Cobain pinched the melody for ‘Tourettes’ from their 1974 single ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both of Us’ ).
“Yes,there’s a lighter side to what we do, but there are a lot of shadows in there too,” says Ron. “If you take the song ‘Baby Baby Can I Invade Your Country?’ [from the current album, Hello Young Lovers] – while there’s quite an upbeat melody, the lyrics are dark. I think people need to pay attention to that.”
Sparks make their Irish debut at Electric Picnic. Russell is looking forward to the festival, which comes several months after Sparks played a string of exuberant comeback shows across Europe. Crowning a recent critical and commercial rehabilitation – their last two albums are the best selling of their career – the gigs were as much about spectacle as performance. Certainly, few who attended the London date will forget the sight of Ron pretending to play keyboard with arms six feet long. “Live performance is an opportunity to give things another twist,” says Russell. “Ron studied graphic design at UCLA. I studied theatre and that probably comes across in the shows.”
Considering they’ve worked together for the past 30 years, do Russell and Ron ever grow tired of the sight of one another? “Oh no. We live close by – about a mile. We each have our own lives outside of Sparks. Still, we do seem to end up with each other most days.”