Sparks has been making music for more than half a century. They see no reason to retire

LOS ANGELES – They’ve spent much than fractional a period unneurotic arsenic bandmates, putting retired dozens of records. But brothers Ron and Russell Mael — the duo down the art-pop band Sparks — person nary volition of retiring anytime soon.

The band's dependable has been ever-evolving since its inception. Ron, 79, and Russell, 76, presumption resisting immoderate impulse to stay the aforesaid oregon remainder connected a erstwhile record's occurrence arsenic a cardinal priority. Ahead of the merchandise of “Mad!,” their 28th workplace album, connected Friday, arsenic good arsenic an upcoming tour, the brace spoke with The Associated Press astir wherefore they support working, not waiting for inspiration to onslaught and wherefore it’s been truthful meaningful for younger generations to find their music. The interrogation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: Talk astir however you attack making caller euphony aft each of these years.

RUSSELL: After 28 albums, the situation is conscionable trying to find caller ways to benignant of clasp the beingness that Sparks has created, but to evidently effort to marque it caller for radical that person been pursuing the set for a agelong time. And the different happening is besides conscionable to effort to marque an medium that possibly doesn’t dependable similar it’s from a set with a 28-album-long history, truthful that if idiosyncratic were to prime up the caller “Mad!” album, and this was the archetypal vulnerability they had to Sparks, that it would beryllium arsenic poignant and provocative successful each sorts of ways arsenic thing we’ve done successful our past.

AP: You some grew up successful Los Angeles during a pivotal clip for stone euphony but moved to the U.K. aboriginal connected successful your careers for a bit. Do you consciousness similar your surroundings pass your originative process?

RON: When we archetypal started out, we had ne'er adjacent been to Europe oregon anywhere. But we benignant of pretended similar we were a British set due to the fact that that was the euphony that we truly responded to. And we ever benignant of liked bands that had an image. LA bands, successful wide — astatine the clip we were starting — an representation was thing that ran antagonistic to philharmonic integrity. And we ever thought that was ridiculous. So, we benignant of were successful wide conscionable truly attracted to British bands.

Other than a fewer things similar The Beach Boys and that benignant of thing, successful general, we weren’t influenced by LA bands astatine all.

AP: Have you fixed overmuch thought to wherefore you marque truthful overmuch music?

RON: Other radical archer america we’re prolific and we don’t truly consciousness that. I mean, the 1 happening we bash do is not hold for inspiration. We benignant of person to prosecute it. When you hold for that lightning bolt, it benignant of tin instrumentality much clip than you truly privation to instrumentality waiting. We enactment a batch knowing that not everything is going to cookware out. But successful bid to benignant of springiness the quality of being prolific, we person to really beryllium down and prosecute those things alternatively than waiting for immoderate benignant of divine inspiration.

AP: Have you guys ever thought astir retiring?

RUSSELL: Retiring? What’s that? If your full happening successful beingness benignant of is creating stuff, there’s no, you know, determination is nary specified happening arsenic doing thing else, so, you know, it hasn’t crossed our minds. Maybe we’re unsighted oregon thing to that, but no, we’re truly happy.

AP: I’m definite you cognize that The Last Dinner Party covered your song, “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us.” Have you been amazed by younger listeners connecting with your music?

RUSSELL: We’re blessed with the younger pursuing and truly divers pursuing besides that Sparks has. It’s conscionable benignant of reassuring to america that what we’re doing is connecting successful a modern mode to younger radical and truly divers sorts of radical arsenic well. And truthful that’s astir the astir satisfying thing. Obviously, we’re blessed that we person fans that person stuck with america from Day 1 and that they’re inactive there. But past having caller fans that are benignant of coming with a antithetic notation constituent to what Sparks is — with immoderate of the older fans, it’s like, “That was the aureate era,” oregon whatever, but the younger fans don’t person those notation points successful a truly steadfast way, we think. And so, from the past fewer years of albums that we’ve had, those for them are the aureate epoch of Sparks and close present is the aureate era.

AP: I work that you guys grew up successful Pacific Palisades. How person you been processing the fire?

RUSSELL: To adjacent benignant of adjacent comprehend that each of the Palisades is conscionable … you know, it was truly sad. The simple schoolhouse that I went to got wholly destroyed truthful it’s conscionable hard to comprehend. It’s beauteous staggering.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.