Photo by Zepha

Take Dad’s stories of hanging out with the Bee Gees while gigging round 60s Sydney and working as Jackie O’s PA, and you get a picture of the Aussie pop culture moments triggering the electro pop Sparrows crafts out of her Inner West attic.

As a kid, if you got to hear stories about your dad playing bass on the Bee Gees first record and hanging out with them before they hit it big, you’d probs be inspired to play instruments and make music ASAP too. For Jess Nitties, aka Sparrows, stories like that from Dad were exactly what lit the early spark to start making her own moments in music.

After realising she needed to stop sleeping on her ambitions, she’s quickly found her groove in electronic territory, confidently producing her songs as Sparrows from start to finish.

Last year’s ‘Over and Out’ was a major breakthrough, with its vocals – vibing early Lykke Li – and layers of infectious samples. She counts the epic Nordic music that constantly comes out of the region as an influence, as well anything a bit off the wall, but has clearly found her own take on the Nordic scene’s indie electro pop sensibilities with her relatable sad girl lyrics.

Her latest, ‘Do U Wanna Dance?’, is on the same wavelength, and she summarises what it’s about pretty well: “When you find yourself at a shit party and the only thing stopping you from leaving is the hope you’ll hook up with that one person you’ve had your eye on for ages. Dig a little deeper and this song explores social anxiety and the notion of breaking through.” Which, I can totally say been there, done that, sister!

WHAT: Strawberry Boogie
WHO: Sparrows w/ World Champion, Dream Dog, Chakra Efendi + more
WHERE: UOW Uni Bar
WHEN: Thu 16 May
HOW MUCH: $17.90