It was back in 2004 when Miss Connie and producer/DJ Angus McDonald started making beautiful music together. A series of singles at first then, in 2006, their self-titled, 3 x platinum debut album. Spearheaded by a spectacular salvo of chart topping hits – UFO, Pictures and I Love It – Sneaky Sound System won ARIA Awards for Breakthrough Artist and Best Dance Release, the first of 14 nominations to-date.
Second long-player and #1 album 2 arrived in 2008 with yet more dancefloor slayers in the form of Kansas City, When We Were Young and the #1 UK club smash It’s Not My Problem. In 2009 I Will Be Here, a collaboration with Dutch superstar DJ Tiesto, took Sneaky to the top of both the US dance airplay and UK club charts.
In late 2011 album number three, From Here To Anywhere, arrived, the title referencing its creation in hotel suites, planes, and studios around the world from here (Sydney) to just about everywhere (London, Paris, Ibiza, Moscow). Accolades from critics around the world flowed: MTV called it “an incredible effort” and Sydney’s Daily Telegraph said it’s “a delicious feast of world class dance-pop songs”. A nomination in the prestigious 2012 International DJ Awards in the Live Performance category underscored their escalating international reputation.
In the swirling midst of albums and tours, Connie lent her vocals and lyrics to albums from superstars Jay-Z, Kanye West and Snoop Dogg, and in 2013 she was a guest mentor on Australia’s biggest TV show, The Voice. Later that year, in a News Limited poll of musicians and critics to determine Australia’s greatest all-time singers; Connie came in at no. 18.
And then of course there’s Sneaky Sundays, the beloved club night they have been running for almost 20 years in Sydney and, for four years, at the world renowned Mykonos landmark, Scorpios. It’s a celebration of house music, from slow chugging disco burners to groove laden techno stormers, where you always feel like you’re in the middle of summer.
2017 saw Sneaky Sound System release underground club tune Do Ya Thing and, in September, fresh reworks of the mega-smash Pictures flew into the upper reaches of the ARIA Club Chart, spending four weeks at #2. In March 2018, new remixes of I Love It followed, reaching #3 on the ARIA Club Chart.
In 2018 Can’t Help The Way That I Feel was released on the venerated UK dance label Cr2. It reached #1 on both the UK Music Week Club Chart and the Beatport Global House chart, and #2 on the Beatport main (combined) chart. It remained in the top 40 for well over a year and UK national radio, including BBC Radio 1, widely supported the track with over 1900 spins.
2019 saw Sneaky Sundays become Sneaky Saturdays as Bali hotspot Mrs Sippy became the spectacular location for Sneaky’s much-adored weekly party during July-September. COVID forced a hiatus 2020-2021, but the sessions returned with gusto in 2022 and 2023.
The past few years have seen Sneaky releasing music more akin to the sound of these weekly revelries, like Summertime Madness, All I Need Is You and I Ain’t Over You. We Belong arrived in mid-2019, followed later in the year by Raise, a collaboration with hot French DJ/Producer Watermat.
In 2020 came Tell The World, a collaboration with French legend/DJ/producer Norman Doray. Now, in 2023, another masterful collaboration in Fire Keeps Burning, this time with eminent Swedish producer, John Dahlbäck. On the live front, Sneaky Sound System remain as in-demand as ever, playing sold-out headline shows and festivals around the country, New Zealand and into Asia, from the adored Meredith Music Festival through to the Ministry of Sound Classical and the Snow Machine series.
Their more recent tracks are as beloved by audiences as their older successes, testament to their enduring popularity and ability to create tunes that start the party… and keep it going. When not on tour, Angus and Connie remain ensconced in their
