After decades of ambition to work in film (their cameo in 1977 disaster film Rollercoaster aside) Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks have found themselves involved in two almost simultaneously. While Edgar Wright’s glossy documentary The Sparks Brothers serves as a celebratory history of the band – covering 25 albums over 55 years – the musical Annette represents a step into new artistic territory. Written and conceived by the Maels and directed by Leos Carax, the film follows aborted past projects with directors Jacques Tati and Tim Burton, and sees actors including Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver interpret their characteristically strange, funny, and operatic songs. Here, Ron and Russell talk about the influence of film on their work, writing for different voices, and their current late career resurgence.

Claire Biddles: You have said that you originally met Leos Carax at the Cannes Film Festival, which led to the collaboration on Annette. I wondered if that was before or after he featured one of your songs in [his 2012 film] Holy Motors?

Russell Mael: He had already used "How Are You Getting Home?" in Holy Motors before we ever met him. We went to Cannes nine years ago, and someone asked if we'd like to meet him – we really did want to meet him and thank him for using one of our songs. We knew his films, but we didn't know him personally, and we really got along well. He was telling us he's been a fan of Sparks since he was 15, growing up in Paris. The ultimate compliment was that he had no money at that time, so he would steal Sparks albums on vinyl, stick them under his overcoat, and walk out of the record shop. That's a cool fan! We got back to Los Angeles after that trip, and we had this project that we thought would be Sparks' next album. We said we'd send it to Leos, just because he's a fan of the band and out of interest, expecting nothing and without asking anything of him. He said he really loved it, the story really resonated with him, and he asked if he could think about it for a couple of weeks. Then he got back to us and said he would really like to direct it as his next movie, so then it veered off from being a Sparks album and tour and became a movie.

After so many years of having Russell's singular voice as Sparks’ primary instrument, what was it like adapting Annette for a number of distinct voices?

Ron Mael: It was an interesting transition. When we were fortunate enough to have Leos want to be involved, the idea of other people portraying Russell's singing – which is so particular and stylised to the songs – there was a little bit of concern about whether that was going to work. We had discussions early on, in particular with Adam Driver. You feel a little presumptuous telling Adam Driver what to do, but he really was open to what we thought the vocal style should be. So even though he doesn't sound like Russell in Annette, it's kind of this alternate universe, which is an equally valid way of doing the vocals. We were really pleased because it really works, and it could have been a poor substitute. And with his acting abilities, he really brought a really strong emotional quality to the songs.

What was the process of working with the actors?

Russell: There was about a week of rehearsals in New York prior to the shooting, and we were at those with the actors trying out their singing parts together. Some of that was recorded, but Leos wanted to have all of the singing done live while the film was being shot. That was really a demanding thing for the actors but it gives a certain quality too, where they're not lip synching their parts. Once the film started being shot, we deferred to Leos. We went to most of the shooting, but at that point we had faith that it was going to come out well.

Ron: We were there as spectators cheering this whole thing on silently, and it was an amazing experience. We didn't feel it was fair to either Leos or the actors to be butting in all the time, but we spoke to Adam occasionally. You don't want to disturb him when he's really focused, but he said, "I hope I'm not screwing this up!" in a humorous way, and we said, "Far from it, just keep doing it!"

It must have been so exciting to watch something you worked on for eight years becoming real in front of you.

Ron: We're film fans, and so it was just incredibly thrilling. You have an image in your own mind, but to see these A-list stars on the set, and the way that Leos would visualise scenes, some of them were really surprising. We've worked in song for so long, where it's always just our imagination. Obviously a song is pure music, but in this case, moving to a film, you're not exactly sure what the transition will be like.

Sparks strike me as a very filmic group – not just because of your work in film, or direct references to film within certain lyrics, but also in the sense of character and narrative that’s imbued in your songs.

Ron: Aside from working on a film musical, which is a connection that's easier to grasp – even when we haven't been working in that kind of way, our songs have a certain cinematic nature. Partly from what you mentioned about the narrative situation within a lot of the songs, and then just the dramatic feel to the songs, and the use of characters. We've always been huge film buffs. Obviously we love being musicians, but working in discrete three and four minute songs is also a way for us to channel a certain frustrated director sensibility as well. We're able to make these mini films on a very low budget.

Russell, do you also tap into that with your performance?

Russell: I don't think it's anything conscious, I think it's just something that's been there from day one. We've always gravitated towards music that's more alive, big and showy – that's why we originally liked UK bands when we were first starting out, because we always thought there was a certain theatricality in their stage presence, and also in the way people dressed from the UK at that time, which was really contrary to what was going on in Los Angeles. It was something that suited our tastes better. So I think that having a certain degree of theatricality was something that was perhaps inherent in our music from the beginning, which goes hand in hand with having the singing done in a really impactful way.

I always find that your delivery is adding as much as the lyrics to the narrative and character of the song.

Russell: Something that Ron's pointed out a lot of times is that it's me portraying a character. It’s not necessarily coming from us as Sparks, but it's being written as though it's coming from a character that Ron has created in that particular song. I’m delivering lines as if I’m an actor.

Between having that eventual observant relationship to Annette and taking part in The Sparks Brothers, do you feel like this is a period of reflection for you? You've always been a very forward thinking group, and you haven’t stopped creating for 50 years.

Russell: It's a reflective period only in that we're kind of going: “Wow, this is pretty amazing!” But then at the same time, it also has motivated us to do some new projects. We're about three quarters of the way through a new Sparks album, we've started another movie musical project, and then we're touring in the spring, so there's a lot to be looking forward to.

Watching the documentary and seeing all the different periods of ups and downs that you've had, both artistic and commercial, it feels satisfying that now you're experiencing that artistic and commercial success at the same time.

Ron: It's very unusual for a band at our stage to have that happen. There are more traditional career arcs than what we've had, and so for a band at this stage to not be doing things that are mellowed down and self-reflective, but are still very urgent, I think is unique.

Russell: The documentary has been so well received. We're playing in America just before coming to the UK and the rest of Europe, and the tour has been selling incredibly well, we think as a result of the documentary bringing about this new awareness to the band. We can see the direct results of the impact it has had. It's a really special period for us.

Did making the documentary make you look at any of your past work in a different light?

Russell: Before we embarked on the documentary with Edgar, he really wanted to stress that all the periods in Sparks history for him are equally valid, whether something was commercially successful or not. It's all part of this long saga. To have this whole cast of really amazing creative types from different areas speaking so passionately about Sparks, a lot of times about albums that weren't that high profile for us, it's really satisfying. In the documentary, we hear Flea of the Chilli Peppers – who would seem so incongruous to us – speaking really eloquently and passionately about Introducing Sparks, an album that went under the radar for so many people. Then there's Neil Gaiman talking about the significance of the album cover artwork and what it means, and all this random analysis about what Sparks have done. Edgar has always maintained that there isn't a golden era of Sparks, and I think the documentary helps to point that out.

I was really glad to hear somebody saying that Lil' Beethoven onwards was ‘the third act of Sparks’, because that’s my favourite era.

Russell: We agree! A lot of people that have maybe not been that aware of Sparks, who have seen the documentary, are assessing what we do in a different way. Obviously we love anybody that likes Sparks from any period, but it's really satisfying to hear younger people that have come in later in the game, still finding what we're doing now to be vital – that for us is the most satisfying thing. Every time we do a new album, we push hard to do something that we feel will be relevant, provocative and modern.

Ron: One of the reasons we've always politely rejected previous requests for a documentary, aside from not having faith in the person as a filmmaker, was the idea that they felt one era was something to concentrate on – and then there were 17 albums in addition to that. Edgar really was adamant about emphasising all the different periods. He went all out with that concept by following us on really recent tours, filming big shows in Mexico City, Tokyo, London, and Los Angeles. Obviously in the film you can see the mania of Fairfield Halls, Croydon in the 70s, but that is kind of happening now as well. Maybe it's presumptuous or arrogant, but we've always felt that if people hear what we do, there will be some that follow the path. But we feel that for whatever reason, we're underexposed in some ways. We're thankful in a greedy way that the documentary is being so well received, because it helps expose what we've done musically to more people, and we're really proud of that.

The Sparks Brothers and Annette are out now.

Sparks' Annette (Selections From The Motion Picture Soundtrack) is reviewed in The Wire 452. The Sparks Brothers is reviewed in The Wire 451.