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Biography
Black Angus, otherwise known as Angus McDonald formed Sneaky Sound System to host dance music parties through which he met Double D or Daimon Downey and the two soon became friends and flatmates. Angus had been working as a DJ with Damien Hesse and invited Downey to MC their notorious underground ‘Sneaky Sundays’ in Bondi, Sydney, Australia. The group then began playing shows at clubs and festivals along the East Coast and released a remix album “Other Peoples Music” in October 2003 through Sony Music Australia, featuring saxophonist Tricky Nick or Nick Broadhurst.
Due to lack of major-label backing Sneaky Sound System formed their own label “Whack Records” in 2004 and in November that year issued their debut original single “Hip Hip Hooray”. In May 2005 Hesse left the group and made way for a female vocalist Connie Mitchell who Angus and Downey came across in a public park.
Mitchell’s recording debut came in July 2006 with Sneaky Sound System’s breakthrough single “I Love It”. Peaking at No. 24 the single spent 73 weeks in the Top 100 making it the longest charting single by an Australian artist on the ARIA Singles Chart. Shortly after in August 2006 the band released their self-titled debut album to across-the-board positive reviews.
As a result in 2006 Sneaky Sound System were nominated for two ARIA Music Awards and won two Australian Independent Awards for Best Independent Artist and Best Performing Independent EP/Single. In 2007 the band were nominated for a total of nine ARIA Awards winning two of them which catapulted their album up the chart to No. 5 and was soon certified three-times platinum. Sneaky Sound System supporting this success with extensive touring with Robbie Williams, Jamiroquai, Lady Gaga and payed sets at Big Day Out, Good Vibrations Festival, V Festival among others.
The band’s sophomore album “2” became their first No. 1 album released in early 2008 and was led by the single “Kansas City” which peaked at No. 14 in the singles chart. The album’s fourth single “It’s Not My Problem” received a Thin White Duke remix and became popular in the UK and led to appearances at Glastonbury and Oxegen Festivals.
In 2011 the band released their third full-length album “From Here to Anywhere” through the Modular label, which featured the singles “We Love”, “Big” and “Really Want to See You Again”.
Live reviews
Feeling the Beat of The Sneaky Sound SystemIf the crowd were not so tightly packed together - full of invigorated fans - the audience at the Sydney concert for Sneaky Sound System would have been busting a move as if on a full scale dance floor.
The enthusiastic concert goers could feel the intensity of the musical beats, accented with pop music lyrics, which had them jumping in place – fists pumping in unison with every pounding of the drum skin, guitar chord strummed, or foot stomp by the lead singer Connie Mitchell.
The Australian dance entourage played their entire set of popular dance R & B tunes from “When We Were Young”, to their chart topping favorites “UFO” and “Kansas City”. As the show continued to provide a perfect blend of instrumental beats and engaging lyrics, Sneaky Sound System really got the crowd enthralled with one of their first award winning dance numbers, “I Love It” the 2007 winner of the most performed dance work.
The Sydney show ended with the excited crowd eagerly encouraging Sneaky Sound System to grant them encore after encore, and the band did not disappoint. After exiting the concert arena nearly every member of the audience had to have thoughts of heading right out to their favorite nightclub for an evening of fun and dancing.
