Aussie Artist Review
Slinkee Minx
Happy New Year! This
month I was privileged to interview
Annemarie Failla and Belinda Tartaglia
from Melbourne-based
singing trio Slinkee Minx. They have
enjoyed huge success,
firstly with their debut single ‘Summer
Rain’ (featured on
Nightlife’s HDMS™ programs CX102,
DR35 & JB86), and now with
their second hit ‘Closer’ (CR105 & DR38).
A big thank you to
Central Station Records for making this
interview happen and to
the girls for taking time out to talk
to us!
 After briefing Annemarie
and Belinda on the who, what and
where of Nightlife, they proceeded to
tell me about their plans to
release their music in the USA this year,
which prompted me to
tell them about Nightlife’s HDMS
featuring in many venues in the
United States - they were suitably impressed!
2005
is set to be a huge year for
Slinkee Minx as they prepare for the
release of their debut album in March.
They are currently busy in the studio,
writing and recording material for the
album. Nearly all of the tracks have
been written by the trio themselves,
or
in collaboration with other musicians.
I spoke with the girls at length about
their musical influences -
namely Stevie Wonder, Jamiroquai, Moloko,
Madison Avenue,
Kylie and Dannii Minogue, to name but
a few. They also
mentioned George Michael, who influenced
them to cover the
song ‘Careless Whisper’,
a huge hit for Michael from the mid
80s. You can find Slinkee Minx’s
audio only version of this song on
HDMS™ programs CR105 and DR38.
Belinda and Annemarie credit their fast-moving
success to their
decision to cover Belinda Carlisle’s
late 80s classic ‘Summer
Rain’, which debuted at number
5 on the national ARIA chart. “At
the time, we thought it would be a good
idea to release Summer
Rain,” they said, “not only
because it was a good track, but also
because it opened the doors for us to
get into the music industry.”
The
trio have similar backgrounds, and all
three were
singing
and dancing from
a young age. Annemarie went on to say
that
she and Belinda have known each other
since they were 7 years
old! From the age of 15, the two girls
started writing and
performing while attending the same school.
The third member
of Slinkee Minx, Michelle Palmer (on
holidays during this
interview), joined the group about 5
years ago, and Slinkee Minx
was born!
Slinkee Minx have proved
their versatility in live performances,
with the option of performing live to
their backing tracks in the
clubs, or acoustically, usually with
a guitar, for the smaller, more
intimate shows.
Finally, I just had
to ask the question on everybody’s lips: What
does the name Slinkee Minx mean, and
where did it come from?
Here’s what they said: “Slinkee
Minx is a name that we came up
with. It’s a name that describes
the look and feel of the group; a
cheeky name that reflects our personality.
Humourous, down-toearth
and fun-loving is what best describes
us.”
Justin Stephenson
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Happy 2005 folks! I trust ya’ll had a
cracking New Year and the
hangovers have subsided for now. It’s straight
into the new
music for us here at Nightlife with no shortage
of wesome new
tunes to tempt you with. |
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The new Fatboy Slim song, The Joker
- a
cover of a Steve Miller Band classic - features
the legendary Bootsy Collins on lead vocal
and is the new single from his 4th album (under
the Fatboy moniker) Palookville. The video
is the real drawcard here and is three and a
bit
minutes of 25 adorable kittens getting dressed
up and going to a
Fatboy gig. There’s kitty cops, kitty DJs
and catnip induced
psychedelia. Funny stuff! Check it out on CR106. |
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Releasing his first solo effort, The Weekend,
dance stalwart
Michael Gray is one half of legendary remix team
Full Intention
whose remix credits include George Michael and
Jennifer
Lopez. Without a doubt, one of the buzz songs
at the moment,
The Weekend echoes the sentiment of every
office worker in the country and captures that
indescribable euphoria we feel at 5pm on a
Friday afternoon. The video reflects this
sentiment and features a bunch of sexy
secretaries letting loose in a stylised office
environment. This is the perfect antidote for
the
working week so recreate that Friday feeling,
play it from
CR106, turn it up loud and get yourself to the
dancefloor! |
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The Chemical Brothers are back and are about
to hit our
shores once again to headline The Boiler Room
at the Big Day
Out. The pulsing dancefloor anthem Galvanize
has been
released to co-incide with the tour and again
demonstrates that,
when it comes to beat based innovation and sonic
excellence,
Tom and Ed are atop of their game. The Middle
Easternflavoured
track features the vocal talents of A Tribe Called
Quest legend Q-Tip and is from their 5th studio
album called
Push The Button. We released an extended mix
late last year,
but now you have the video in all its glory on
CR106. |
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Right from day one, Eminem has had the
uncanny knack of making us know exactly
how he feels, and his new video for Like Toy
Soldiers is no exception. He is fed up with
hip-hop beefs and delivers a strong message
to his enemies to grow up a bit. After signing
50 Cent to Shady Records, Em suddenly got in
the middle of a
long-term battle between 50 and Ja Rule/Benzino.
He now
feels he invested too much time in these lyrical
battles and
defeating Ja Rule and co, and realises that he
or his friends
could end up in the same boat as Tupac or Biggie.
Eminem’s
powerful message even uses the fake murder of
his best friend
Proof from D12 to get his point across. The song
itself may just
resurrect the career of early 90’s songbird
Martika, as the
chorus to her 1989 hit Toy Soldiers is heavily
sampled as the
chorus here. This one is also on CR106. |
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Gone are the days when your
average teenage
popstar would release a cheesy, bubblegum
tune. On CR106 a couple of American pop
princesses are pushing the envelope a little
and are helping re-define the meaning of pop
music. Ashlee Simpson has crept out of her
big sis’s lesser cool shadow and is already
proving to be quite
the barely-legal temptress. Here she punches
out the rockin’ La
La, a song that spells out her sexual desires
while she jumps
around on the roof of a car. The more conservative
American
Idol 1 winner, Kelly Clarkson, contains herself
a
little more but delivers just as good a song
with
Since U Been Gone. Check ‘em both out!
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DJ Menace - Open
Hearth Hotel.
One can't help
wondering if a certain cartoon character
influenced Dennis Silva when he chose the DJ
'stage' name of
Menace! Regardless, it works, and 22 year old
Dennis the DJ
Menace has now been using Nightlife systems for
around 4
years after first becoming interested in 'playing
around' with
records as a 15 year old.
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Dennis recently commenced as DJ at the Open Hearth
Hotel in
Wollongong, south of Sydney. He also specialises
in Dance
and RnB radio programming for narrowcast stations
in both city
and regional areas of NSW.
Dennis loves making music, going out and cars -
he lists his
dream car as a Lamborghini. Armand Van Helden is
the man
he'd most like to meet, and his pick for fave song
of all time is
Fatman Scoop's 'Be Faithful', with 'Balla Baby'
by Chingy
topping his current list.
Top
5 from 5
| DJ
Menace |
Open
Hearth Hotel,
Wollongong, NSW |
| 1. Pump It Up |
Danzel |
| 2. Closer |
Slinkee Minx |
| 3. My Boo |
Usher & Alicia Keys |
| 4. What You Waiting For? |
Gwen Stefani |
5. Lose My Breath
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Destiny's Child |
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| DJ
Paul |
The
Vic, Perth, WA
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| 1. Let's Get It Started |
Black Eyed Peas |
| 2. Car Wash |
Christina & Missy Elliot |
| 3. She Will Be Loved |
Maroon5 |
| 4. This Love |
Maroon5 |
5. Four To The Floor
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Starsailor |
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| DJ
Daphie |
Cowboys
Leagues Club, Townsville, QLD |
| 1. Out Of The Blue |
Delta Goodrem |
| 2. Laura |
Scissor Sisters |
| 3. Do They Know It's Christmas |
Band Aid 20 |
| 4. Left Outside Alone |
Anastacia |
5. High
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Lighthouse Family |
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| Staff |
Ballroom
Billiard Saloon, Sydney, NSW |
| 1. What You Waiting For? |
Gwen Stefani |
| 2. Cold Hard Bitch |
Jet |
| 3. Take Your Mama |
Scissor Sisters |
| 4. Call On Me |
Eric Prydz |
5. David
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Gus Gus |
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| DJ
Craig |
Prolite
Discos, Sydney, NSW |
| 1. Call On Me |
Eric Prydz |
| 2. Tilt Ya Head Back |
Nelly feat, Christina |
| 3. Yeah |
Usher |
| 4. Push Up |
Freestylers |
5. Car Wash
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Christina & Missy Elliot |
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Technically
Speaking
January is the time for a 'spring' clean
The silly season is over and for some of you it's
a quieter
time of year (unless your venue happens to be in
a popular
holiday spot). Therefore, now would be the perfect
time to
get some Nightlife 'spring' cleaning done.
If you have recently upgraded to the HDMS™ and still
have
outstanding equipment at your venue, please give
our
Customer Support people a call on 1800 773 468 and
we
will make arrangements to get the gear picked up
and out of
your way. This equipment could include any old monitors
and PCs, removable drives, or 50 stackers and 200
stackers from your old VCD system.
If you don't have packing boxes for this equipment,
simply
let us know and we will send you the appropriate
boxes to
pack it in. We will also send you a return consignment
note,
which makes it even easier for you. Also, if you
already
have Nightlife gear packed in boxes and a courier
has been
booked but they haven't turned up within a reasonable
amount of time, please call us again and we will
re-book the
courier for you.
If you have any questions regarding old equipment,
please don't hesitate to call us.
And while you're in the spring cleaning mood,
there is no time like the present to grab a Chux
and some Mr Sheen and
give your system a 'sparkling' clean. As a
general rule, your system should be
located in a dust-free environment and
positioned where the built-in fans have
an unobstructed airway to keep the
inside of the system cool. Dust is a major
overheating factor for the HDMS™, and
can even cause the power supply to give up the ghost.
Please do not open the system. All we ask is that
you
position it in a favourable area and keep it clean
and tidy for
your benefit.
The Customer Support Team is here for you, so please
don’t hesitate to contact us .....
Telephone
1800 773 468
News from NZ
We now have proof that the Nightlife
system is a magical
product and is demonstrating its worth with the introduction
of the non-smoking legislation in all bars and restaurants
in
New Zealand.
It's a fact that a high percentage
of people who work in the
entertainment industry smoke, and naturally, this
legislation affects them as well as the patrons.
However,
with the HDMS™, DJs are able to set up a playlist
on
automatic DJ mode and walk away from the DJ box
for 5
minutes in order to have a puff!
Everyone reported a very busy New
Year's Eve thanks to
the horrid weather experienced right throughout
New Zealand during this period. The bars and clubs
that
reported no significant decline in turnover were
those that
had already made the investment in creating a
designated smoking area, one with all the ambience
and entertainment
that their patrons would receive in other areas
of the venue,
including Nightlife Music Video!
Happy New Year!
The NZ Team |
Nightlife New Zealand
Ph: Whangarei 09 430 3035 |
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