Other Michelle Sparks
Preview! Michelle Sparks - Tootsie Pops (Original Mix) Available 4-14-2014- Raise048

Now Available on Beatport!!! beatport.com/release/tootsie-p...ie-pops/1239080

Back in 2008, Jodi Arias transfixed America, the blonde bombshell turned cold-blooded murderer turned mousy defendant in one of the most scandalous murder trials since O.J. Simpson's. Like most Americans, Michelle Sparks was transfixed, as well. So much so, that Jodi Arias became the inspiration for her latest track "Tootsie Pops". The trial was the kind of news story that you watched once the kids were asleep. With the lights turned down. The kind that was almost too scandalous for Lifetime to remake. I even read somewhere that she said something to the effect of "Just kidding, it was ninjas. Ninjas killed him."
Every sordid aspect of the fated couples sexual escapades aired from the courtroom and onto our television screens. Year after year, after year, ruthless prosecutor, Juan Martinez, wouldn't let a single-detail slip. He made sure the jury saw the defendant for who she really was, a killer. She was finally convicted of first-degree murder onMay 8, 2013.
Now who would recognize this trial as their inspiration for their track? Michelle Sparks. Why? Michelle wants to push boundaries and represent everyday occurrences through her music. While this track represents the horror that is Jodi Arias, it can also place you at a dinner party. Where you're dressed to impress and maybe wander off to use the restroom. Only to walk through a doorway you don't recognize and end up in a dark alley covered in silk and black lace. Champagne showers and taboo dreams. You keep walking and all of a sudden you're somewhere you knew existed but would've never found on your own. “Tootsie Pops” is what would be playing in the background. (Cue the dirty bass face in your party dress.) A face you may have never made but have read about on Facebook memes.
In an informal interview, Michelle said that she’s “...not normally sucked into murder trials or things like that on the news...” but that she “...followed the trial like crazy because Jodi was just so nuts.” She went on to say how “...it was so interesting to see her story unfold and see just how insane some people could be. It was live on the news every morning when I was getting my day going, and I couldn’t stop watching. It was on TV one morning, and Juan Martinez was asking Jodi Arias as she was on the stand, to describe her sexual encounter with her boyfriend which included the use of Tootsie Pops and Pop Rocks, I just thought to myself, this would sound so sick with a beat. I chopped up the vocals from Juan and Jodi and made it almost into how I think Jodi’s nightmares must have sounded. Creepy, dark, and frightening.”
On April 14, 2014, Michelle Sparks dropped “Tootsie Pops” via Raise Recordings. A nightmare-inspiring minimal Techno track. One where its dark and groovy percussion compliments the also deep and grooving bass-lines. Captivating hi-hats force our hands to move and then, you hear that cold, dark, reminiscent childhood sound from the background of a 007 video game level. The track's key and also demented elements are its vocals, echoes and whispers. Those are what bring you back to Jodi’s nightmare-ish acts over and over.
Right after Tootsie Pops’ release, it was charted on Beatport.com’s “Must Hear Minimal Tracks Week 16”, and has already gained popularity not only in the U.S., but is also significantly supported in Italy, France, Netherlands, and the UK. Her taste and creativity come out in this piece, not to mention her penchant for taking her music to the dark side. (Hence her stage name “The Queen of Darkness.”) Tootsie Pops is nothing short of a must hear track that keeps you morbidly fascinated from start to finish. You can catch up with Michelle Sparks and her music
at michelle-sparks.com. You can purchase the track at Beatport.com or iTunes, or listen to a preview at Youtube.com.