Sneaky Sound System

Electro-pop group Sneaky Sound System emerged among the premier Australian club acts of its generation with its self-titled 2006 breakthrough LP. Songwriter/producer “Black Angus” McDonald and MC Daimon "Double D" Downey first met at a Sydney costume party in the spring of 2000, soon after hatching plans to co-headline DJ sets at a friend’s nightclub. The following summer, they began collaborating under the Sneaky Sound System aegis, signing to Sony Music Australia and in late 2003 issuing the mix CD Other Peoples Music. After founding their own Whack Recordings label, Black Angus and Double D teamed with producer/engineer Peter Dolso to begin work on their official debut, scoring a club hit with the single “Hip Hop Hooray.” Soon after, they recruited vocalist Miss Connie Mitchell, a former member of the Aussie rock trio Primary, and completed work on their self-titled debut album, which scored a pair of Top 40 hits with the singles “I Love It” and “Pictures” and eventually went triple platinum in their home country. Touring stints in support of Jamiroquai, Robbie Williams, and the Scissor Sisters followed. Their second album, Two, was released in 2008 and topped the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) album chart. Downey left the group, who moved to the Modular label and released From Here to Anywhere in 2011. “I Will Be Here,” a collaboration with Tiësto, topped Billboard’s Dance Airplay chart in the U.S. The Knocks then worked with the group on “The One,” a single released in 2014. Mitchell has also worked with Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, and Kanye West. ~ Jason Ankeny