DENI HINES

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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 hand 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.

In 2012, Deni appeared as Nerine Rogers in the ABC drama series, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. As a jazz singer in a 1920s Melbourne nightclub, the role provided Deni with the opportunity to show of her wares as both an accomplished singer and actor to Australian and overseas audiences.

After getting married, Deni took some downtime to set up a home and continued to write songs along with commence working on what was to become "The Soul Sessions" album.

The forthcoming lead single "What About Love" is a modern Motown homage written by Deni and Sydney based producer/writer Eddie Said of Kings X Music. The film clip was directed by Award winning film maker Dean Francis, whose recent film "Drown" has been a huge festival success worldwide. Deni and Dean also worked together on the 2016 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Queer Film Festival season trailer.

"The Soul Sessions" is a glimpse into some of the artists who have influenced and shaped Deni's musical pallet. The album features her interpretations of songs from luminaries including King Curtis, Chaka Khan, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker, Jill Scott, Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston among others. The album also includes 3 original songs co-written by Deni, including a brand new acoustic version of her 2001 song "Runnin'", written with Dennis & Darren Dowlut. This version serves as a tribute to Darren who passed away in 2005.

The digital single release of "What About Love" will be released on December 2nd, and will include remixes by UK producers The Good Girls [Azealia Banks, Akon, Philip George] and Sydney DJ/producer Alex Taylor, in addition to an unplugged version.

"The Soul Sessions" features cover art from celebrated artist Gabrielle Pool - who created the painting which was sold at the Oasis Africa Australia Charity Auction night to raise funds for the children of Kibera - Africa's largest slum. Deni & Gabrielle flew to Kibera, with Deni teaching the children singing, while Gabrelle taught them how to paint.

"The Soul Sessions" is released worldwide 2017.