deni hines
Biography 2008
Deni Hines is without doubt considered one of Australia’s foremost entertainers. From hit singles and albums, to lead roles in musicals & television, Deni has grown up in front of audiences from an enthusiastic young performer to a mature, sophisticated all round entertainer.
Deni’s career began when she was 15. Many performers have quirky or interesting stories of how they were discovered. Deni’s story is simple – she was “discovered” singing to the radio in a friend’s kitchen. Encouraged to pursue singing as a career, she began touring as a backing vocalist for the who’s who of the Australian industry, including the likes of INXS & Kylie Minogue.
It wasn’t until Deni began working with The Rockmelons that her true potential began to emerge. As lead vocalist on a string of hit singles, Deni was touted as “the next big thing”. The hits – “That Word (L.O.V.E), “It’s Not Over” and the hugely successful – “Aint No Sunshine” all became Top 10 smashes, with Deni becoming one of the most well known faces, and voices, in Australia.
Fast forward a few years later and Deni released her debut album “Imagination”. Signed to Mushroom Records, Deni spent 9 months recording for her debut release in the UK with writer/producer Ian Green. The first single from the album, “Its Alright” smashed into the charts at #4, ensuring her first solo hit with a platinum award. Further hit singles including “I Like the Way”& “Joy” solidified Deni as a solo star in her own right, and Deni deservedly received an ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Award for Best Australian Debut Performance. The album went on to sell over 300,000 in Japan alone, while the UK release (re-titled to “Pay Attention”) result in yet more hit singles and saw her tour with Earth Wind & Fire, Chaka Khan and the Lighthouse Family. In France, “Its Alright” topped the charts for 7 weeks, making Deni a massive star and sought after collaborator. All told, Deni’s has clocked in sales over 1.3 million copies worldwide. Not a bad start.
Not content with just singing, Deni also appeared as Mary Magdalene in the hit musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” – making her the second only black woman in history to perform the role. Displaying her versatility and desire to explore live musical theatre further, Deni also appeared in “Big River”, cementing her credibility on stage.
Following her success in France, Deni was asked to work on the soundtrack and 2 songs for director Luc Beeson’s film “Taxi”, which achieved Gold Status in its home country. Her music has also appeared in other films including the David Bowie film “Everyone Loves Sunshine”, and “Australia’s “The Wog Boy”; for which Deni recorded a cover of the classic Grace Jones track “Pull Up To the Bumper”, produced by The Black Eyed Peas.
Turning her had to television presenting, Deni became the host for Channel V’s urban/R&B show “Soul Kitchen”. As host for 2 years, Deni showed her quick wit and vivacious personality could excel in any medium, with a balance of both humour and unchallenged knowledge in the urban genres.
2001 saw the release of “Delicious Collection” – a best of album featuring new tracks and rarities. Headed by the new single “Frenzy”, the album also included “What Makes You A Man”, one of the tracks written for Beeson’s “Taxi”. The album served as a showcase from her early Rockmelons & debut solo years, ending with hints of her new direction.
For the most of 2004/2005 Deni was traveling to London, New York and LA writing tracks for her new album, the first in over 6 years. Working with the likes of The Family Stand (Heather Leadley, Tamia and their own releases), Jarrad Rogers (Lauryn Hill, Brand New Heavies, Delta Goodrem, Christine Anu), Whole 9 in LA (Babyface’s production team) and the cream of the Australian scene, Deni had grown as a co-writer like none before.
Whilst in London, Deni received a call from well known French artist I:AM with the request to fly to Marseille to write a track for Beyonce who was featuring on his new album. In 48 hours the song “Welcome” was written and recorded, played to Beyonce down the phone and greenlit. “Its was so bizarre and quick” says Deni. “Beyonce is one of the biggest female RNB/Pop artists in the world and I get called up to write a song for her, which is always an honour for any artist” comments Deni.
Titled “Water For Chocolate”, the album was released in 2006 and surprised and delighted both her fans and peers, with a new found confidence, direction and image. With a mixture of oh-so-now grooves, heartfelt ballads and sassy beats, its time to finally introduce the real Deni to the world. And trust us, everyone loves it. As quoted by many a journalist, “Deni, why is it that you seem to make albums that are two years ahead of everyone else” . A nice testament to a true artist. The first single of the same name was quickly added to Nova Network and hundreds of radio stations across the country.
In February 2005, Deni was approached to audition for a lead role in the new musical extravaganza on Dusty Springfield, “Dusty The Original Pop Diva”. The audition was a success and Deni accepted the role of Reno, a collective of characters involved in Dusty’s life. The hugely successful musical ran from January to September in 2006 with rumours for a renewed season here in Australia and in London’s West End. “I was thrilled to be able to do another musical, its got to be close on 8 years since I had done one and whilst its really challenging, it’s a great endurance test, in addition to the brilliance of Dusty Springfield. Performing to over 400,000 people in 253 shows, the show grossed in excess of $16M. Deni was also nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.
Subsequent singles “Son of a Preacherman” and “5 Days of Rain” from the album Water For Chocolate were released throughout the remainder of 2006 and into 2007 which Deni toured relentlessly and having not formerly been much of a touring artist, relished in the closeness one can get with an audience and the increase in bums on seats each and every show. “There’s nothing better than performing to an audience who are interested in you and your music, I find myself wanting to know about them as much as they want to know about me” says Deni. “the places, the people, the experiences are unforgettable, it’s a big world out there, and who said touring was a task master – I love it” laughs Deni.
Not resting on her laurels, it was almost like – what’s next? Having spent most of her childhood listening to classics by Ella and Billie from her grandmother, and re-acquainting herself with this heritage of music which was inspired by her time on Dusty, Deni was yearning to let another part of her musicality and personality out. A Jazz duets album was suggested and there was only one person on that list as a partner – the maestro himself, James Morrison.
One phone call, a meeting two days later at the Hilton Hotel, Sydney airport and the album was underway. Deni had already selected the tracks she really wanted to record and discussed them with James, he went through them one by one and said, “we’ve got a stellar album”. Although James, ever the jazz and music virtuoso commented, “to sing jazz you have to had experience life’s pains”, Deni’s response was “well I’ve been married twice, engaged a few times, I think I’ve had my fair share”, with a glint in her eye.
In two days “The Other Woman” (album title) was recorded at Trackdown Studios, Sydney, one of Australia’s leading sound-stage recording facilities and with the best musicians Australia has to offer. “It was amazing, I’ve never done an album live in the studio with musicians, its always been over a period of months and different locations, often different musicians and producers, this was mind-blowing, James is such a freak, he’d scored every instrument, the arrangements, the works, I feel so privileged to be in the company of these people” says Deni almost jumping out of her skin.
“The Other Woman” hit the top of the Jazz Charts in Australia and Top 30 on the digital charts. Deni has brought her soul inflection into the mix and preview shows were near sell-outs. A National Tour commences on the 11th January 2008 and it will certainly be an experience for all.
So what does the rest of 2008 have in store for Deni? There’ll be a tour of indigenous communities with Christine Anu, another tour with a few other artists (sorry we can’t say much more about this one as yet), an ECO TV show that will air mid 2008, a few more performances with James such as the Melbourne Jazz Festival and Christchurch Jazz Festival, then the latter part of 2008 Deni will spend some time in the US writing and recording for her next album to be released in 2009. Oh and did we mention that Deni is one of the new ambassadors for Landcare and Mount Franklins tree campaign, aiming to plant 250,000 nationally in 2008. And doubt there’ll be to come….. she’s only getting started.
www.denihines.com
www.myspace.com/theotherwomanproject
For further information please contact: Karen-lee Goody @ Entertainment Consulting Ph: 0417 243 064 karen-leegoody@bigpond.com
DENI HINES
FACT FILE:
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Sales in excess of 1.3 million records worldwide
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Releases in Australia, New Zealand, UK, Europe, US & Japan
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Recent track cut by Beyonce Knowles with French hip hop icons “IAM”
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Top 10 hits in Australia, France and UK with tracks such as “Ain’t No Sunshine”, “That Word LOVE”, “It’s Alright”, “Its Not Over” and more
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#1 and over 300k units in Japan alone
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Featured tracks on French art house film and soundtrack for Luc Beeson’s “Taxi”
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Voice for World Vision (sponsors 2 children)
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Hosted her own urban/soul program on Channel V “Soul Kitchen” in 2002/3
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Guest appearances on Comedy Inc, Australian Idol, Spicks & Specks, RockWiz, 20 to 1 and many others
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Toured and performed with Earth, Wind & Fire, Chaka Khan, Lighthouse Family in UK/Europe
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Lead role in Australian productions of Jesus Christ Superstar & Big River & Dusty the Musical.
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ARIA Award for Best Australian Debut Performance for her debut album “Imagination”
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Helpmann Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress 2006
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Numerous Gold & Platinum accreditations
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Featured on Channel 9’s “Skating on Thin Ice” reality TV program July 2005
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Organic vegetarian
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Landcare ambassador
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Jazz album with James Morrison “The Other Woman” 2007/2008
For further information please contact: Karen-lee Goody @ Entertainment Consulting Ph: 0417 243 064 karen-leegoody@bigpond.com
