Interview: Miss Connie from ‘Sneaky Sound System’

Australia’s favourite dance music duo Sneaky Sound System are back with their new single I Ain’t Over You. It’s been four years since Miss Connie and Black Angus last dropped new music, but in the meantime they’ve been living it up with ‘Sneaky Sundays’ across the nation and Europe. We phoned up Connie to talk about their never ending summer, her dearly missed fro, and of course their new track!

So Connie, after four years of no major releases you guys have dropped I Ain’t Over You. Do you like how it’s being received so far?

Yeah, it’s been amazing! It’s nice to know that when you do something artistic, it’s well received. It’s nice to know that there is still a lot of love out there. Makes it worth while.

How do you feel the new song compares to some of your biggest hits like UFO, I Love It, and Pictures?

Well it’s predominately still a dance genre and we do make dance music. So it’s in the ball park of what we will always continue to do.

The song is very energetic and has powerful lyrics! Angus said the song is about being strong, even when you don’t really want to be. Is there anything that happened in either of your lives that inspired this theme?

I think everybody goes through a period in their life where they’re still heartbroken over somebody or they’ve been hurt in love before. So it’s something everyone can relate to in that sense. Sometimes it takes a while to get over something and writing about anything traumatic in your life can help.

Although you and Angus have been taking it easy on the recording side, you’ve been touring a heap! What was the highlight of being in Europe last year?

We are kind of always recording non-stop, especially on the road because there’s so much inspiration. So we’ve kind of got an arsenal of songs that we can pull from, which is a great position to be in. I think the highlight would be Mykonos in Greece. And we’ve played in Ibiza for nearly seven years and that place is always wonderful to go to.

Is there a difference between how your music was received in Europe compared to how your audiences respond here in Australia?

Well, our biggest fan base is in Australia because we are Australian. But musically in Europe they’re quite on the pulse. When you really break it down a lot of dance music was originated in these European countries, so therefore your audience is more educated in terms of music. So for us it’s a real blessing because they’re just really up and into it, which is great.

Would you like to go back to Europe soon or are you guys planning on focusing on Australia for a while now?

I think we’ll keep on doing Europe like we have been doing for the last 10 years or so. We do Summer in Europe, and then we come home and do Summer in Australia. We do our annual New Year’s Day party at Icebergs in Bondi. Which is… I can’t even describe that party in words, it’s just unbelievable! And after that we do two ‘Sneaky Sundays’ in Byron Bay. And then we do Sneaky Sundays in Mykonos from June until September.

And you’re you going to keep this successful formula going?

Yeah I think so. ‘Sneaky Sundays’ is always a great night. We basically get to play whatever we want to play for a minimum of three hours, so it kind of keeps it fresh and interesting, not only for us but for the audience too. We have special guests, we have famous DJ friends from all around the world drop in, so you never know what you’re going to get. It’s like a box of chocolates, different every time. I don’t know what Angus is going to play, nor do I know what he’s downloaded that day. So it’s consistently changing.

You said that the New Year’s day party at Icebergs is indescribable, why is it so amazing?

It’s just the location, the music, the guests, the audience, the food, the beverages. Just the entire experience! I don’t think I’ve ever been to any party ever in the world that compares to it. It’s just magical on Bondi Beach, magical time of year. It’s a magical country that we live in!

So would you say that’s your annual highlight?

Yeah I would actually! It’s such a lovely thing. You’ve been overseas and you come home and then in a couple of months you know you’re going to be there with all your crew, so I think it would be for me. I mean we’ve done pretty amazing gigs in Europe, with awesome festivals and stuff like that, but there is nothing more rewarding than coming home and being in the most beautiful place on earth, partying with all your friends to the kind of music you want to listen to.

Connie, at AAA Backstage we are sad to see your signature fro gone! Is it coming back soon?

It never really went away, I just think it’s important to mix things up. I know I’d be bored if I would keep it the same. Rest assured, it’s there bigger and better than ever. But she’ll come out on the right occasion y’know, she can’t wheel around all the time.

Fair enough! Do you have anything else planned for 2016?

We will just really be dropping more singles before the end of the year. Which will be really fun, I’m pretty excited about it!

Possibly even a new album?

Possibly… I mean who knows. There’s enough material there to do so…