William James "Will" Sparks (born 15 March 1993) is an Australian DJ and music producer from Melbourne, Australia, who is best known for his 2013 single "Bring It Back" with Joel Fletcher and his 2014 single "Ah Yeah So What!" featuring Wiley and Elen Levon.
He attended Camberwell High School and Caulfield Grammar in Melbourne, but dropped out at the end of year 11 to pursue a musical career.Sydney Morning Herald (2013). Sparks flies to LA on the rhythm of Melbourne Bounce. Retrieved 6 May 2015. His debut EP, Another Land, was released in Australia and debuted at number 35 in December 2014.
Sparks has toured America, Europe and Asia and played at festivals such as TomorrowWorld, Tomorrowland, Stereosonic and Future Music Festival.
He was named the No. 1 Australian DJ in 2014.
In January 2014, Will Sparks partnered with electronic music lifestyle brand Electric Family to produce a collaboration bracelet for which 100% of the proceeds are donated to Beyond Blue, a company that is working to reduce the impact of anxiety, depression and suicide in the community by raising awareness and understanding, empowering people to seek help, and supporting recovery, management and resilience.
In May 2014, Sparks embarked on a month long European tour. He has continued to tour Europe every year until 2020.
From August until November 2014, Sparks alongside Timmy Trumpet and Joel Fletcher toured North America as part of their Bounce Bus Tour. Following the tour he returned home for a homecoming tour.
In September 2017, the video Spinnin' Records produced for Sparks' song called "Take Me" was discovered to consist almost entirely of footage from award-winning and Oscar-nominated animated short film "Requiem for Romance" Spinnin' Records did not seek permission to use visuals from the creators of the film, including animator Jonathan Ng. While Ng's takedown notice of the YouTube clips of the music video succeeded, Spinnin' Records continued to use images from Ng's video on their website and publicity material. Ng is exploring legal options against Spinnin' Records. Sparks claimed he had no knowledge of the alleged copyright, as he only produced the music for the accompanying video.
DJ Mag Awards Since 2015, Will Sparks has polled in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJ's poll.
Year Poll Result 2015 78 2016 73 2017 83 2018 56 2019 57 2020 58 2021 56 2022 62
Sparksmania
In 2018, Will Sparks launched his own festival, Sparksmania. Since the inaugural show, Sparksmania has been held in Adelaide and Brisbane featuring artists Marlo, Joel Fletcher, HP Boyz and Masked Wolf.
On 30 September 2021, Will Sparks announced Sparksmania's first national tour which included shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide in January and February 2022. Will Sparks was supported by Melbourne artists Short Round and Eric Sidey as well as Queensland's Yanzo.
On 3 June 2022, Sparksmania was brought to Gothenburg, Sweden for summerburst festival. The first ever international Sparksmania.
Discography Albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chartpositions AUSAnother Land Released: 5 December 2014 Label: Ultra/Sony (88875054822) 35
Extended plays + List of EPs, with selected chart positions Title EP details Peak chartpositions AUSNothing More, Nothing Less Released: 9 July 2021 Label: CLUBWRK, Armada (ARMAS2032)
Charted singles +List of charted singlesTitleYearPeak chart positionsCertificationsLabelAUS "Sick Like That": FRANZ "Ah Yeah!"2012—51— Hussle Recordings "Bring It Back"(with Joel Fletcher) 2013 33 — — ARIA: PlatinumOnes To Watch Records "Catch" 2014 22 — — Sony Music Entertainment "Ah Yeah So What!"(featuring Wiley and Elen Levon) 4 116 34 ARIA: Platinum Ministry of Sound Australia "Sick Like That"(featuring Luciana)2015 97 137 — Ultra Records "—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released.
Remixes TitleYear Original artist(s)Label"Get Free"2013Major LazerSelf-released"Hello"Stafford Brothers featuring Lil Wayne and Christina Milian"Blurred Lines"Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell WilliamsStar Trak"Afterturn" (with Matt Watkins)ChadioSelf-released"Ode To Oi"TJRCapitol Records"Canto Della Liberta"3rd FaceSelf-released"The Darkness"Satoshi Tomiie"Dynamo"Laidback Luke and HardwellMixmash Records"Melbournia"Timmy Trumpet and ChardyHussle Recordings"#Selfie"2014The ChainsmokersDim Mak Records"Maps"Maroon 5Self-released"Uptown Funk"Mark Ronson featuring Bruno MarsSony Music Entertainment"In Control"2015Yvng Jalapeño featuring Muki"Be Together"Major LazerWarner Music Australia"Lights Out" (with Joel Fletcher)2016360Self-released"I'm in Control"AlunaGeorge featuring Popcaan"Mo Bounce"2017Iggy Azalea"Stand Together"Toneshifterz featuring CAYOBig & Dirty Recordings"Leave The Lights On"2018MeikoClubwrk / Teamwrk Records"Back In The Game" "Anything More" 2019 Steve Aoki featuring Era IstrefiLiberator Music "Song I Sing" 2020 Armin van Buuren and HalieneArmada Music "Little Things" Louis The Child featuring Quinn XCII and Chelsea CutlerInterscope Records "Devotion 2020" Bingo Players, Felguk, and FafaqMusical Freedom
Awards and nominations APRA Awards The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982.
! |- | 2014 | "Bring it Back" (Will Sparks & Joel Fletcher) | Dance Work of the Year
Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.
! |- | 2014 | Will Sparks | Best Electronic Act
See also List of Caulfield Grammar School people Camberwell High School notable alumni
References