Tag Archives: Dance Music

dB Magazine, Interview, Music, Writing

Sneaky Sound System

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Sneaky Sound System, the Bondi trio of MC Double D (Daimon Downey), Miss Connie (Connie Mitchell) and Black Angus (Angus McDonald) are riding a wave of success at the moment. Just a few short years after forming, the band has had Top 40 chart success, toured with Jamiroquai, Robbie Williams and Scissor Sisters, been nominated for two Aria’s (Best Dance Release and Breakthrough Artist), and come second in an international song writing competition judged by the likes of Robert Smith of The Cure, Peter Hook of New Order, Tom Waits, and Frank Black of the Pixies just to name a few.

Staring out after McDonald lost his job at a publishing house and a fortuitous meeting with Downey at a Cowboys & Indian costume party at Fox Studios, the duo began a very successful club night in Bondi called Sneaky Sundays which runs to this day. With all their success, McDonald does lament not being at the club as much as he would like. “In the last six months we’ve probably only there half the time,” he says. “We have Ajax (voted Australia’s no 1 DJ in 2007 inthemix DJ poll) as a resident there and another guy Johnny Powell and we have a few regular guests we have when we’re not there, but it is becoming harder to run the night”.

This is because they’ve been touring with the Scissor Sisters, and more recently on their own sell out tour to promote their new single. I was surprised to hear their tours aren’t as debauched as you would think. “On a long tour you don’t party too much because there’s too much work to do. Touring is very well organised. You’re on sensible hours and there’s always food and accommodation – everything’s sorted. It’s a very civilised way of doing it and it sure beats trucking around the country doing 3 DJ gigs a night,” McDonald laughs.

Part of Sneaky Sound System’s rise to fame seems to be their sense of fun and a “do it yourself” attitude. They formed their own label after figuring out the majors weren’t too supportive and they could do more on their own. “When we approached the labels the deals they were offering were so shit we worked out our sums and though “shit, we should just do this ourselves – we can afford it!”.

Likewise with their clever film clip to Pictures, which is a string of digital photographs edited together to make a story. Conceived after looking at the digital shots of a photo shoot and noticing the stop animation feel of it, the band had a few meetings with production companies, “but every time we finished the meeting we walked out thinking it was so basic we could do it ourselves,” McDonald says. “So we got a friend of ours to take the photographs and another to do the editing and that’s all we needed.”

Yet the band has a greater depth to it than most dance bands, as evidenced by being nominated for two Arias mere months after releasing their tunes. This greatly surprised the band. “We were just not in that commercial landscape at the time (of the Arias) and our songs had only come out a month before the cut off. It didn’t even cross our minds, but to be nominated twice was a real surprise. Obviously next year we’re going to be so disappointed if we don’t get nominated,” he chuckles.

Similarly with the song Pictures winning second place in the Dance/Electronica category of the recent International Songwriting Competition. “We didn’t take it too seriously because it’s not really what we’re in it for. Someone had sent our management an email asking them to send some songs, and Pictures made it to the final and another song made it to the semi final as well. It was a bit of a surprise we came second.”

So what makes Sneaky Sound System the band of the moment? They don’t have the support of a major label pushing for radio play, and their do it yourself attitude doesn’t quite gel with what we know of the Arias, and dance music isn’t really in vogue outside of the dance music scene. “The most important part is the song writing process,” McDonald says. “If the song doesn’t stack up it doesn’t matter what production techniques you apply it won’t work. We really make sure the song will work on like an acoustic guitar or piano and then we decide what production values we should apply to it.”

“I think,” he adds “DJing around clubs and at festivals both here and abroad we started to get the feel of how to work crowds. We had been working on the record for two or three years and were really working at refining it to a stage that we were happy with it. The addition of Connie gave it that finishing touch and it’s that perfect balance of the classic pop song and electronic dance music.”

Sneaky Sound System play the Dom Polsky Centre on Fri 19 May.

dB Magazine, Event, Interview, Writing

Enchanted 06 – MPK & Devious

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Since 1998, the Enchanted Forest rave parties have been an eagerly awaited event for thousands of people around South Australia. The excitement of secret venues, fabulous line ups and fantastic production values that has seen it be awarded party of the year time and time again. DJ Devious aka Chad Bergman and DJ MPK aka Daniel Michael are the promoters behind Enchanted Forest, and this year sees a bit of a change from the usual format of an all night rave at a ‘secret location’ in the middle of nowhere, which has been the par for the course over the last 8 years. This year the party will be held at the Royal Adelaide Showgrounds in Wayville, starting at midday and progressing until 11pm.

“There are a lot of reasons we chose to do a day party”, Michael says. “Night Parties were good at the time we started, but we always try and find the best venues and they’re becoming harder to find. The Showgrounds are safe, have good parking, no dust but lots of grass, public transport and decent, reliable power for sound.” “And good toilets. Everyone hates portaloos,” Bergman chimes in. “And we can put on a lot more acts during the day,” continues Michael. “We’ve been to a few interstate parties, and culturally they’re no different to what we’ve been doing here, and they have successful day parties all the time.”

“We’ve got a totally blacked out room for people who like the dark”, he smirks, “and they can always wear sunglasses,” adds Bergman, chuckling. “We’ve heard of people booking hotel rooms who are planning on going to go to Enchanted, then one of the after parties, and that’s a lot safer than having that long, horrible drive at 5 or 6am. I do get worried about what can happen on the roads at that time of the morning,” Michael adds. “I think three quarters of the people are going to like the idea, and maybe a quarter won’t, but what’s important is that people will be enjoying themselves.”

Enchanted has had its fair share of controversy, mainly because of the decision in 2003 to begin pill testing after suggestion from Dr Caldicott of the Royal Adelaide Hospital. It was a safety issue that the promoters felt strongly about, they were being briefed by a doctor, “and who are we to argue with a trained professional!” exclaims Michael. Other parties had pill testing, and the police generally turned a blind eye to it, until 2004 when the Advertiser had a slow news day and ran an “expose” and the dangers of raves and drugs. The police then had to take an interest “but they were just doing the job, I guess” Michael points out democratically.

He saves his anger for the press. “They’d ring me up for an interview at 6pm, and then the same people would ring up with the same questions at 7am the next morning. I’d be working all night DJing, and they would wonder why I’d be grumpy and refuse to answer their questions!” But furthermore Michael and Bergman had facts on their side. No one has ever died at Enchanted. Reports from previous Enchanted’s from police and first aid, who they get together with after every party, were quite minimal. “A Royal Adelaide Hospital report from a few years earlier showed that people were twice as likely to end up at hospital during a test match than during our raves!” the previously jovial Bergman says seriously. “Cricket is more dangerous!”

But both Michael and Bergman wish to steer away from controversy. “What’s important is people enjoying themselves in a safe environment, not what some middle age conservative journalist who has never been to a rave thinks.” To facilitate that fun, this year sees Peter Coomb join the ranks of DJs and MCs. An odd choice, perhaps, but Michael is correct when he says many ravers grew up with Coombs, and know his music as well as the latest from Pendulum or Keven Energy. “It’s so people will have a laugh,” he smiles. “I saw him at O’Ball and Shutzenfest and he rocked it. Absolutely rocked it!”

Even though the planning of Enchanter begins as soon as another is over, Michael and Bergman take it one party at a time. Though this is a day party essentially in the city, they don’t rule out having another ‘secret venue’ party in the future, and it’s certainly not the death of outdoor parties. “We’ve got Ultraworld in the Outback early next year,” they grin, although they hasten to add with a chuckle “good venues don’t grow on trees”.

Enchanted kicks off at the Adelaide Showgrounds on Sat 9 Dec and features a stellar line up including Peter Coomb, Pendulum, Tomcraft, Kosheen, Steve Hill, Keven Energy, Goldie, Jon B, Chicken Lips, CJ Boland and heaps more!