IN THE SPOTLIGHT ... SAM SPARRO

7:00am Saturday 10th May 2008

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Sam Sparro is a 25-year-old electro funk artist originally from LA.

By Andy Welch

SAM'S self-titled debut album, just released, has been widely praised by critics. The likes of Radio 1's Jo Whiley, Chaka Khan and super-producer Mark Ronson have also spoken highly of him in recent months.

Sam comes from a musical family - his grandfather was a jazz trumpeter who played with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr, among others - but he didn't start writing his own music until his musician father took him to Gospel churches in LA to hear the genre's best singers.

Soon after, Sam threw himself into performing with his own Gospel group and writing songs. He then left LA for Australia, eventually landing in Britain where he was enticed by music such as Black Box and Soul II Soul.

He was forced to leave London after a while and returned to LA, disillusioned and working in a cafe. Things turned around when he discovered the underground music scene there and eventually put his own demos together.

His first EP surfaced around a year ago and he's now signed to a major record label.

Sam is heading back to the UK to start the Road To Wireless tour on May 2. He'll also be supporting Mark Ronson shortly, not to mention playing at a number of festivals over the summer. For full details, go to www.samsparro.com

RUMOUR HAS IT MARK RONSON SENT YOU A MESSAGE ON MYSPACE WHEN HE HEARD YOUR SONG BLACK & GOLD TO SAY HOW GOOD IT WAS. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?

He did do that, yes. It was amazing. Mark's someone I've always liked and respected a lot, so it was cool to have him write to say he liked the tracks. I actually only met him for the first time three or four days ago. He's a lovely guy. He's very tall, but nowhere near as tall as Jamie from Klaxons. He's about 6' 4" or something. Massive!

YOU ONLY MADE YOUR UK LIVE DEBUT THIS MONTH, BUT YOUR ALBUM CAME OUT TOO. DOES IT FEEL LIKE THINGS ARE GOING REALLY QUICKLY?

Yes, it does, and it is! I'm amazed how quickly people seem to be responding to it too. I think I'm settling into a rhythm now, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm travelling, playing shows, meeting lots of crazy people, everything. I'm just riding with it.

HOW DO YOU WRITE YOUR SONGS?

I don't have a formula, I write them in all sorts of different ways. One or two on the album I wrote about five years ago and others are much newer. Sometimes I write chords and melody first, other times it starts from a poem, or a lyric, and others I'll have the beat first.

WHICH ARTISTS ARE YOUR MAIN INFLUENCES?

I have so many of them, my MySpace page has a list of hundreds of artists who've influenced me in some way or another. I think that's why the album is quite eclectic. I listen to lots of stuff from the last 40 years, hip hop, dance, soul, rock, you name it. When I was younger, my parents always played things like Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Chaka Khan in the house, 70s Gospel, and things like that. And my grandparents always played lots of jazz in the house. I listened to a lot of pop music too, I remember dancing around to Top 40 radio when I was very little. I got really into clubs when I lived in the UK as well and loved dance music.

HOW LONG DID YOU LIVE IN LONDON FOR?

I moved there when I was 17 and lived there until I was about 20 I think. I love the place, it's great. I'm actually back there now, I've spent most of this year there. I always get asked 'where's home?' and I can never think of an answer. I don't know, maybe I haven't found my home yet? I've always been a bit of a nomad, so I think that's how I'll always be. That's fine, because I love travelling, and I never settle anywhere for very long.

WHEN DID YOU WRITE BLACK & GOLD?

It was a few years ago and I was working in a cafe. It wasn't long after I'd moved back from London and I was at my wit's end. Nothing was going anywhere and nothing was happening for me. Black & Gold's a song written when I was feeling down and it's about the universe, and those big questions - where are we? what does it all mean? I recorded it three times and the one on the radio now is that third take.