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Armand Van Helden is a house music artist and music remixer whose biggest success came from his remixes of the Tori Amos 1996 dance hit "Professional Widow" which reached the top of the UK charts.
Biography
Van Helden was born in Boston but travelled around the world as a child spending time in Holland Turkey and Italy as his father was a member of the US Air Force. At the age of 13, he brought a drum machine and started DJing two years later.
He returned to Boston in 1988 but also moonlighted as a DJ in Boston clubs. He quit his legal review job in 1991 to work as a remixer and take up an occupancy at the Loft, Boston's leading nightclub. He released his first official single, a mix of Deep Creed's "Stay on my Mind" through Nervous Records.
He released "Move It To The Left" credited to Sultans of Swing later in 1992 on the Strictly Rhythm label which became a moderate club hit. His first track to make the Billboard dance charts was "Witch Doctor" which made the top 5 in 1994.
The success of "Witch Doctor" led to opportunities to remix acts such as New Order, Deep Forest, Jimmy Somerville, Deee-Lite and Faithless. However, it was the "Professional Widow" remix that established him and became a dance hit around the world as well as the number one hit in the UK. Ironically, van Helden did not receive a penny for this mix as he presented it uncommissioned and thus was not entitled to compensation. However, it led to work remixing the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson and Puff Daddy as well as Daft Punk and the Sneaker Pimps as well as adding to his reputation as one of the world's top house musicians.
"Cha Cha" was another top ten dance hit from his first album "Old School Junkies" released in 1996 with "The Funk Phenomena" also appearing. A greatest hits album appeared the next year followed by a breakbeat album later in 1997. "U Don't Know Me" was a #2 hit on the Billboard dance tracks and a top 20 single on the pop charts in Australia and Canada.
Van Helden released the Killing Puritans album in 2000 which contained the dance hit "Koochy". His single "Why Can't You Spend Some Time" made the top 40 in the UK in 2001. His "New York: A Mix Odyssey" album released in 2004 has so far produced two hits:
- "Hear my Name" reached #7 on the Billboard dance chart, was top 30 on world and internet charts and was a top 40 hit in the UK and Australia; and
- "My My My" has so far reached #4 on the world internet charts, #5 in the Belgian and Dutch charts, #6 in Australia, top 20 in the UK and top 30 in the world dance charts.
Discography
- Old School Junkies: The Album 1996
- Da Club Phenomena 1997
- Live from ya Mother's House 1997
- Enter the Meatmarket 1997
- Greatest Hits 1997
- 2 Future 4 U (1998 UK 1999 US)
- Armand van Helden's Nervous Tracks (1999)
- Killing Puritans (2000)
- New York: A Mix Odyssey (2004)
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