Australian electronic music artist, vocalist, songwriter and producer Sam Sparro first came to international attention with the release of his debut single “Black and Gold” and his self-titled debut album. His sophomore effort, Return to Paradise subsequently followed by the Mechanical mixtape and the Quantum Physical EP cemented the Australian artist as a go-to songwriter and producer; in fact, he’s probably best known for collaborations with Basement Jaxx and Adam Lambert, and remixes of Sky Ferreira, OK GO, Penguin Prison and others. Sparro also recently co-wrote Katherine McPhee’s “Lick My Lips,” which features Florence and the Machine’s Isabella Summers.
Sparro’s latest single “Hands Up” is an uplifting, old school, house music leaning, pop song consisting of layers of glistening and cascading synths, Sparro’s effortlessly soulful vocals, a glitchy vocal sample and pairs that with skittering percussion and an infectious, club-friendly hook that you can immediately picture an entire club singing lustily along to as the message behind the song is pretty simple yet profound. As Sparro explains in press notes “This song is a direct reaction to what has been escalating in the media over the past few years. There’s been so much violence propagated against people. It was making me upset and angry to the point where I couldn’t function… I couldn’t even get out of bed sometimes. I had to make a decision to shift my mind. I had to be grateful for another day and for the people I love in my life. I couldn’t take on all the burdens of the world. I can’t change the system. I just had to live my life in a way that was joyful and honest. That’s what I can do. It’s a cliché but change does come from within. I believe that.”
