|
Welcome to Armand Van Helden’s Ghettoblaster, to release on Ultra Records on April 24th.
An incendiary call to arms, Ghettoblaster, from the unambiguous title to the thrilling sounds contained therein, is an unapologetic throwback to dance music’s joyous infancy. A time before house ate itself; a time when you could play Inner City next to Mantronix next to The Clash next to Rob Base and Easy Rock and no one would blink an eyelid.
Indeed, as Armand puts it: “On this album I was going for a retro throwback 1985-89 soul up-tempo urban type sound. Chicago meets Miami meets New York City kind of thing. Or to put it differently, house meets freestyle meets hip-house meets club meets new wave.”
Of course, being one of dance music’s most endearingly perverse characters, Armand is well placed to execute this resurrection of sound. “I am the dude to do this,” he boasts. “People expect it from me”.
“I want to bring it back round to a time when things were more soulful and song driven,” he states. “Before the onslaught of underground dance music.”
And in any case, Armand says these classic era-defining sounds have been slowly creeping in for some time now. “The snare sounds Prince used, the keyboards from Expose and those old 808 drums, I’ve noticed them coming back. I keep my ear to the street.”
One person who won’t be shocked by Armand’s sonic space hopping is his mum. As a young kid Armand was always getting into trouble with Mrs Van Helden for digging in the trash. “But me and my gang always found cool stuff,” he recalls years later, “and that’s what I’m doing on this record, this is the sound of my first nightclub. When I was in the studio writing and recording this album that was the feeling I was aiming for. I would close my eyes and immediately the neon lights would come rushing back. The cars out on the wet streets, the city lights shining on the people queuing up, that feeling of anticipation. I was also thinking of the fashions of the time: this was the accessory era – the bracelets, the crosses, the gloves, the earrings. All of that is captured on this record.”
“That’s just a natural by-product of me,” he says. “I’m not fascinated by intelligence, I don’t get a kick out of minimal techno. I don’t want my music to be intelligent. I like making sex records.”
Welcome back, Armand. It’s been too long.
Full album tracklisting:
1. Go Crazy! (feat. Majida)
2. Touch Your Toes (feat. Fat Joe & Bl)
3. I Want Your Soul
4. NYC Beat
5. Playing House (feat. Kudu)
6. This Ain't Hollywood (feat. Will 'Tha Wiz' Lemay)
7. Still In Love (feat. Karmen)
8. Playmate (feat. Roxy Cottontail + Lacole 'Tigga' Campbell)
9. Je T'aime (feat. Nicole Roux)
10. To Be A Freak (feat. George Llanes)
11. All Nite (feat. La Roka)
12. A Track Called Jack
For Press Inquiries, and to Request an Advance, Please Contact:
Sioux Z at Siouxz@magnumpr.net or Jessica Risling-Sholl at Jessica@magnumpr.net 212.532.4650
ARMAND VAN HELDEN
BIO 2005
You know Armand Van Helden, right? The self-styled 'bad boy' of
house, the man with a mountain-size ego, the six-pack framed poser
with his joke of an Ali G-like pencil beard, the money-hungry remixer
who famously cleared the dancefloor at Space, who really wants to
make hip-hop, but can't.
You know Armand Van Helden, right? The same Armand Van Helden that
doesn't own a flat, or a car, who chooses to walk around his adopted
home of New York, rather than chug about in a chrome-plated SUV.
The homeboy who was championing the raw, energetic, fun sound of
hip-house long before it became a fashion accessory. The straight-talking,
no-nonsense trainspotter who still spends hours thumbing through
thrift stores in search of tunes to sample, the music fan that owns
thousands of rock records.
Yes, Armand's been less than complimentary about dance music in
the past. Yes, he's sometimes indulged in his own fantasies and
come up short with underwhelming house and hip-hop 'concept' albums.
Yes, he pissed off several hundred European clubbers in Ibiza. And,
yes, he has been, as he admits, “cheap” at times.
“I can be blunt and aggressive,” he concedes. “I
don't have a lot of sarcasm in my conversation. I'm not all 'Mr
Funny'. In fact, I'm always dead to the point. But that's because
I have a deep love of what I do and I'm not playing games.”
Yet beyond the misconceptions rest the tunes themselves, a lasting
legacy of house music master strokes that are so brazen they virtually
slap you in the chops and command you to swing your hips and shuffle
your feet, they stretch back virtually as far as his career itself.
After spending his childhood at army bases in Europe before settling
in Boston, it was hip-house's mix and match ethos that provided
the basis for the tough, sample-heavy cuts with the city's X-Mix
Productions outfit that first drew attention his way. By 1992 he
had become both promoter and DJ for the after-hours Loft club and
made his solo debut - 'Stay On My Mind/The Anthem' - for New York's
Nervous records.
It wasn't long before the call came from the then-dominant Strictly
Rhythm stable, via whom Armand soon built up a rock-solid fan base
with both English and American DJs, thanks to a stream of tough
club cuts - including 1994's 'Witchdoktor' EP - that amplified tribal
house's template and sounded devastating on the dancefloor of the
best club in world, the Sound Factory.
Then came the Armand basslines. You know, the ones that fused jungle's
colossal sub-bass with razor-edged, steel-rimmed beats and virtually
commanded your feet to the dancefloor: Tori Amos' 'Professional
Widow' (a UK number 1 back in 1996), Sneaker Pimps' 'Spin Spin Sugar',
CJ Bolland's 'Sugar Is Sweeter' and Nu Yorican Soul's 'It's Alright,
I Feel It!'
In a sea of 'faceless' artists, Armand floated adrift by a mile,
and the UK's dance music media promoted him as a superstar. FFRR
signed him up thinking they'd found a new wallet lining and expectations
were raised. But while Armand embraced the attention behind the
scenes he continued to do what he'd always done, “make beats”.
In 1999 his single 'You Don't Know Me' - reached number 1 in the
British pop charts. A top-drawer house album '2 Future 4 U' followed
with Armand continuing to mix-up styles. He continued to dent the
UK charts too, with club crossover hits like 'Flowerz', 'Koochy'
(a top 5 hit in 2000) and 'Why Can't You Free Some Time?' As the
remixer, Armand turned tricks for a string of platinum-selling artists,
including P. Diddy, Janet Jackson and the Rolling Stones.
Just when it looked like house music's star had fallen from grace,
Armand returned in 2004 with a bang, the two year hiatus came to
an end. His mix album, 'New York: A Mix Odyssey' on Southern Fried
was the first outburst. Fusing Armand's passion for the rock and
house scene of downtown New York, its cut-and-paste party dynamic
received a rave reaction. Two huge singles, 'Hear My Name' and 'My
My My' followed, leaving a huge, ass-shaking impact on dance floors
and radio stations alike.
Now in 2005, Armand Van Helden releases a new album, the natural
next step. Incredibly, 'Nympho' is Armand's first full length artist
album in five years, and it's been worth the wait. Times may have
changed, but Armand's instinctual knack for soaking up various musical
influences and spitting them out again in the form of an undeniably
gut-wrenching killer track hasn't. One listen to this new album,
and the undeniable feeling of a good time being had, dancing underneath
a glittering disco ball and a late evening with friends, makes itself
obvious.
“I just do what I feel,” Armand continues. “Honestly
when I wake up - in the afternoon, usually - I love to make music
in my studio. That is the number one thing in my life. … I
love to lay down whatever is in my head - to get what ever is in
my head out there into the public eye.”
Armand Van Helden “Nympho” will be released on Ultra Records
September 9th 2005
For more information on Armand Van Helden please contact us at
Magnum PR on 212 532 4650 or email SiouxZ@Magnumpr.net or Jessica@Magnumpr.net
|
