Sam Sparro
Boombox Eternal
Sparro, Inc.
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There really wasn’t anything quite like “Cottonmouth” when it arrived at radio and retail in June of 2007. The sprawling synth-soul track was undeniably cool and thankfully the man behind it—Sam Sparro—was as intriguing as the composition itself. The Australian born (and later Los Angeles headquartered) vocalist-songwriter-producer came across as an artist just ahead of the curve, but slightly out of step with the popular music scene. And for Sparro, that suited him just fine as he used that to build the right amount of artistic mystique to draw audiences in closer for his next maneuver.
Appearing only a few weeks prior to the reveal of his eponymous debut record, his second single “Black & Gold” made a lot of noise when it hit the streets in April of 2008. A stormy slice of modish, electronic rhythm & blues flecked with vintage disco flourishes brought instant critical acclaim and commercial fortune to Sparro.
When Sam Sparro landed two weeks after “Black and Gold,” the long player made it crystal clear that Sparro’s muse dwelled somewhere in the elusive space between the past, present and future of pop music. Sparro himself seemingly recognizes his own contradictive nature as a creative force, admitting, “I’m a highly nostalgic person, I’ve always been very inspired by the past. But I’ve always felt like I’m either a little bit ahead or a little bit behind what people are listening to.”
The signs all pointed to Sparro’s continued ascent, however, post-Sam Sparro, things did not run as smoothly. A brief bout with personal struggles and an ever-shifting industry landscape undercut his accomplished sophomore set Return To Paradise (2012). Sparro took a much-needed break to sort out his private matters—this left little room to cover his professional endeavors for a time. In his own words, Sparro recalls, “I was promoting Return To Paradise and touring that as I was trying to get clean and sober. It took a while for me to feel like I was back on my feet again. Doing the EP series (Quantum Physical) was a way for me to have an outlet without having such a big commitment like an album.”
With an extended play released every year digitally from 2014 through to 2016, the lauded Quantum Physical series saw Sparro expand on his own unique blend of forward-thinking pop-soul. Rejuvenated and freed from his former major label contracts—he held deals with Island and EMI Records for Sam Sparro and Return to Paradise respectively—Sparro began work on his much anticipated third album, Boombox Eternal. “I’m really proud of it,” Sparro reflects. “It’s my favorite body of work that I’ve done.”
Boombox Eternal certainly isn’t any less ambitious than Sam Sparro or Return To Paradise. Whereas the former fused classic and electro R&B tonalities and the latter acted as a love letter to the feverish peak of disco (circa 1979/1980), Sparro shifts gears on Boombox Eternal to mine new jack swing, digital soul and a wealth of black dance sonics from 1988 through to 1993.
Sam Sparro’s new album ‘Boombox Eternal’ arrives in stores Friday, February 21st
Knowing his way around vintage aestheticism, Sparro forgoes the type of vanity that can sometimes sabotage those who have tried (and failed) to utilize old school methodology in a present-day context. Elaborating further on the construction of Boombox Eternal, Sparro states, “I did so much research about the sound that I was creating in terms of what keyboards and drum machines Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Teddy Riley were using (then). I spent a lot of time collecting samples and different sounds from that era and I became very obsessed with sort of recreating it. But what makes Boombox Eternal modern is some of the lyrical content and the production in terms of the mixing and the vocals.”
Boombox Eternal is an eclectic and spectacular tribute to a host of R&B heroes and gods including Guy, Janet Jackson, New Edition, Pebbles, (NPG era) Prince, Karyn White, Mint Condition and more. Sparro mixes all of these influences into a deliciously dense and layered whole that listeners will be compelled to revisit in order catch each reference contained on the LP. Boombox Eternal will inspire much crate digging and leave many in awe of Sparro’s superb attention to detail regarding these artists and their output from this specific epoch. Or, as Sparro says earnestly, “Hopefully, I do them proud and express their influence (in a) dignified (way) and not with plagiarism! It’s a tribute to the architects of the sound, but I hope that I made it my own too.”
Opening with the click-clack-whir of a tape deck being put to use on the album’s introductory salvo “Vibe Forever,” Sparro intones, “Sound. A vibration. An audible wave. A sensation…” It turns out to be an apt manifesto for the song and the rest of the record which explodes into colorful existence after Sparro finishes speaking. Entries like the red-hot floor-filler “Pressure” and the downbeat Quiet Storm of “Eye to Eye” denote how Boombox Eternal is evenly divided between its dance numbers and its quieter moments. Reflecting on how to map out a slow jam, Sparro says, “I definitely embrace my inner balladeer on this album which I loved, and I’ll continue to do more of that. I think it’s more challenging to write a good ballad than it is to write a cute, uptempo bop.”
Regardless of whether the tempo is up or down on Boombox Eternal, at no time does its production lose its magnetism. The beats are big and bold (“Bow”) and matched to equally detailed rhythm work (“Marvelous Love”). When those beats and rhythms are paired with Sparro’s superb melodies, the subsequent product is rapturous to behold as evinced on the stepper “Love Like That.”
The production, songwriting and excellent collaborative choices that fuel the funk of this collection are owed to Sparro. His guest roster includes (but isn’t limited to) We Are KING, Tim K., Nikka Costa, Rahsaan Patterson and Maluca. Some of this assembled talent support Sparro in a co-writing or backing vocalist capacity; others, like We Are KING, feature alongside Sparro as demonstrated best on the late night drive piece and first single “Outside the Blue.”
In the end, everyone that’s gathered on the wax is in dutiful service to Sparro’s overarching vision for Boombox Eternal as an effort that radiates with life and love. “Boombox Eternal just came from a place of love,” Sparro explains. “And I think being in love, overcoming a lot of personal stuff and finally being in a place where I felt really grounded and really happy.”
That the material on Boombox Eternal bristles with such intelligence, sensitivity and sex appeal is because of how Sparro sings all of it. With a stratospheric range that can scrape the sky (“Everything”) or get tough (“The PPL”), he charges everything with genuine emotion and enthusiasm. On what is the centerpiece for the song cycle—“Save a Life”—Sparro spins a gripping tale of sorrow and redemption that comes from a real place.
“I write from my own perspective; whether that’s something I’m experiencing at the time of writing the song or that I’m reliving—and I’m always thinking about what’s going on in the world around me,” Sparro confides. “It’s gotten easier for me to draw on past experiences. ‘Save a Life’ is the most personal song on the album because it was written about a time in my life that was very low and very dark. I was struggling with addiction and depression and I didn’t see myself living for much longer—which is crazy to say. But, in my late 20s I thought, ‘I don’t think I’m going to live to 30.’ That’s what that song was about, it’s about having that moment of grace when you’re able to change something in your life.”
Boombox Eternal is a fine aural portraiture of a man possessed by the passion of the music of his youth and his desire to bring it into a contemporaneous context as an adult—without losing the exuberance of the former in the process. “Boombox Eternal made me reflect on the joy of listening to music as a child,” Sparro says. “When you’re young, especially when you’re a child, the way you hear music and experience visual stuff is so different because it’s all so brand new—you fall in love with music in a different way.”
As with his canon antecedent to Boombox Eternal, Sparro uses this affair to continue to bridge the gap between yesterday, today and tomorrow, except this time his craftsmanship and spirit are in glorious sync.
The resulting effort is incredible to experience.
(When asked to share his five favorite albums of all-time, Sparro remarked, “Okay, let me see if I can pick just five. Voodoo by D’Angelo, Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson, Mama’s Gun by Erykah Badu, Discovery by Daft Punk and…oh God, I gotta pick a Prince album. How do you pick just one? There’s so many. Okay, Controversy.”)
Notable Tracks: "Everything" | “Love Like That” | "Outside The Blue" | “Save A Life”
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