Half the Picture's guests this episode are Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks, pop stars extraordinaire and writers/composers of the award-winning musical 'Annette' directed by Leos Carax and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard!

Ron and Russell joined us to break down the making of 'Annette' and their close working relationship with Leos Carax as well as their most recent world tour for their latest album 'The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte' which saw them play the biggest venues of their career. They also talked telling stories through music, shared advice for young artists looking to break into film/music and even touched a little on 'X-Crucior', their upcoming movie musical collab' with John Woo!

For all this and more, listen on! #Sparks #Annette #HalfThePicture

This October also saw Ron and Russell release the original 2013 recording of the 'Annette' soundtrack, as a limited edition 3LP boxset on the band’s own label Lil’ Beethoven Records.

Writing in the sleevenotes of this boxset release Ron and Russell said “Annette was a divisive film, but we feel a great film, and directed with enormous artistic skill by Leos, with a magnificent cast. Still, we feel that this earlier version of Annette should be listened to not as the preparatory or demo step toward a filmed version, but rather as a complete and alternative version in itself. We are very proud of it.”

Annette - An Opera By Sparks (The Original 2013 Recordings) is available exclusively through Sparks’ store at www.store.allsparks.com, limited to 1,000 copies.

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*Note: This interview was recorded on March 22nd 2024.

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Timecodes

0:00 - Intro

00:14 - Passion for Cinema

02:00 - Working with Leos Carax

07:27 - The Cast of 'Annette'

13:26 - Storytelling through Music

16:55 - Reactions to 'Annette'

22:56 - The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte Tour

26:00 - Advice for Young Artists

29:12 - 'X-Crucior'

30:38 - The lights cut out!

31:07 - Lyrically Speaking with Ron Mael return?

33:16 - Outro