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SNEAKY
SOUND SYSTEM
Starting out
as hosts of one of Sydney's hottest parties in late 2001, by 2007
Sneaky Sound System had become one of Australia's most popular dance/pop
recording artists.
Angus McDonald
met Daimon Downey at a fancy dress party Sydney's Fox Studios. Angus
was one of about ten people dressed as mariachi musicians when a
bored Daimon snatched Angus' toy flute. Two weeks later they met
again and exchanged numbers. When a flatmate described a guy she'd
just met Angus knew exactly who she was talking about and gave her
Daimon's number. Then Angus invited Daimon to MC at a gig he was
DJ-ing. He'd never done anything like that before but was up to
the challenge, and borrowed a friend's microphone. Soon he was also
one of Angus's flatmates.
Next they hatched
a plan to start a regular Sunday night as a friend's fancy new club.
DJ Black Angus would spin doule decks with Damien Hesse while MC
Double D was doing whatever he wanted at the microphone while a
few live musicians dropped in now and again. At Sneaky Sundays Sneaky
Sound System was born. Adding aspects of caberet - at one stage
they had a a girl come out of a clam and dance - they pioneered
a new form of clubbing for Sydney's in-crowd, and ultimateley established
a strong following. Their appeal among film, music, hospitality
and fashion industry folk, meant that Sneaky Sundays are often brimming
with trendsetters. Sneaky Sound System themselves were often spied
at parties in their matching white suits. They ended up playing
all the big festivals, as well as every club up and down the east
coast before disappeared from the social pages while they focused
on producing their debut album on their label, Whack.
'Other People's
Music' was released through Sony in 2003. Other members of the band
drifted off to do other things while Angus McDonald and Daimon Downey
hooked up with recording engineer/producer Peter Dolso. 'Other People's
Music' had been a live mix album. The plan now was to create their
own music. Two years into working on songs for a new album they
felt they needed a female singer and, by chance met Connie Mitchell
in Sydney's Hyde Park. That changed everything.
Connie wasn't
just a voice. She was an attention magnet. Once before Connie had
completely changed the course of a group's career. (refer Primary)
Her two album career with Primary went unnoticed, and the same might
have happened with Sneaky Sound System. The band did not have the
budget for an initial marketing blitz for the self-titled second
album, so it took 12 months to reach the ARIA top 10, on the strength
of a succession of hit hit singles and some lucky breaks, like securing
the support act for Robbie Williams' stadium tour.
At the 2007
ARIA Music Awards, nominated for several categories, Sneaky Sound
System won the Best Dance Release and Breakthrough Artist awards.
Connie and
success meant live performances, nationally and around the world,
culminating in an appearance at UK's Glastonbury Festival on the
Dance West stage on the 27th of June 2008. The follow-up album '2'
was designed to reflect the sound the band had evolved on stage.
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