It seems like just yesterday Sam Sparro first burst onto the scene with his dance sensation Black and Gold but in the past year, Sam has successfully released a debut album, gained two Aria nominations and a Grammy Award nomination and has spent the much of the year performing at festivals around the world. Currently in Australia for Good Vibrations as well as playing a part in Sydney’s upcoming Mardi Gras festival, here Sam catches up with ITM.

Like the rest of us, he experienced some contrasting weather extremes at the Sydney and Melbourne Good Vibes shows over the weekend. Sydney punters of course were treated to a downpour worth of an event in the UK. “It was really windy actually. Which was kind of fun. It made everything blow around on stage which was interesting.” In spite of that though, he says he was thrilled with the energy of the crowds in both Sydney and Melbourne. ”[I got a] really good reaction from everyone.”

At the age of ten, Sam moved to LA with his soul-singer father and he has since spent much of his time living between LA and London. But with a strong Aussie accent, Sam said Australia still feels like home. “Australia is just my favourite place but it’s hard for me to work here and really achieve a lot because when I’m here I just get so wrapped into relaxing. There’s not enough struggle for me here so I’m not motivated enough.”

However, he reckons that LA offers the perfect balance between London and Sydney. “London’s just so harsh and intense and people are really aggressive. It’s just such a pain in the arse,” Sam laughed. “I like living in LA because it’s a cross between London and Sydney. It’s got a bit of grit and a bit of struggle but it’s still sunny and people are quite positive and friendly.”

Taking part in Sydney’s world famous Mardi Gras festival for the first time this year, with a high-profile slot at the Harbour ‘09 party, Sam explained why he thinks people get hung up on the label of ‘gay artist’. “That’s a label that other people have decided to give me and there’s nothing I can do about that”, he says. “I’m always going to be honest about who I am but sexuality is not even that black and white, it’s very complicated and everybody is completely unique.”

In a steady relationship with his stylist for over two years, Sam said he’s showing just how normal being gay is. “I think it’s important for people to realise how mundane homosexuality actually is”, Sam laughed. “It’s just want to show that it’s very normal and a lot of people are dishonest about their sexuality, especially in entertainment. And you know maybe in 20 years time I’ll be known as just an artist.”

With his hectic touring schedule keeping him busy, Sam said it’s too early to reveal too much about the next album. “I haven’t started it yet!”, he laughed again, adding that he’s recently stepped away from pop music and has been getting inspiration from a wide variety of genres. “I’ve been listening to a lot of punk records and a lot of instrumental disco stuff from the 80s. I got really, really sick of pop music.”

Whether or not these influences will pop up in his new album is not clear yet. “I don’t really want to make a pop record at the moment. But that might change as I get more into it. It’ll still be very dancey I think.”

He’s also got some pretty interesting collaborations coming up. “I’m going into the studio with Julian from The Presets tomorrow to start doing some stuff together,” he revealed, saying he’d also love to work with Beth Ditto from The Gossip, “I just think she’s amazing and has an amazing voice. She’s really fierce”.

We’ll be in for something new at his live shows too, with Sam saying he plans to bring more traditional instruments such as guitars and drums to his show, while still staying true to his dance origins. “There’s going to be a lot more live instruments. And synthesizers of course because I love synthesizers, they make me happy”, he laughed.

Catch Sam Sparro at the remaining shows on the Good Vibrations tour this weekend, presented by inthemix!

Sat Feb 21 – Gold Coast, Parklands Showgrounds (SOLD OUT)
Sun Feb 22 – Perth, Heirisson Island
Sun March 1 – Harbour ‘09, Sydney