Armand Van Helden Albums (12)
What The Critics Say
The title Ghettoblaster says it all, and with it Armand Van Helden blasts back through the club scene's past, across a dozen freestyling tracks. Retro is the key theme here, even the song titles evoke yesteryear -- "A Track Called Jack," "Je T'aime," "To Be a Freak," as Van Helden not only resurrects the sounds of the past, but deliriously mashes them together. "Go Crazy!" sets the stage with propulsive beats and the synth stabs so popular in their late-'80s day that they even infested the Jamaican dancehall; with its funky, faux bassline, exultant vocals from Majida, and a new wave-y synth line, this is house as it never was, but always seemed to be. As exuberantly old-school as that is, "Touch Your Toes" has it beat, a hip-hop, scratch-laden anthem driven by a bassline even fatter than Fat Joe, who with B1 gets the exercise class rocking. Both of those are originals. "I Want Your Soul," in contrast, is an inspired adaptation of "Do You Want It Right Now," where new wave meets hands-in-the-air house. Back in the Big Apple, music flows from every neighborhood, creating a stew of sounds all its own, and "NYC Beat" captures the nitty-gritty feel of the city, powered by a lethal bassline, shout-along Ramones style vocal samples, and a rocking new wave infected melody line. That quartet of songs supply the blueprint for the rest of the set, as Van Helden careens between new wave, early house, funk, and soul, occasionally sprinkling the set with a carnival feel courtesy of the cowbells. The cut and paste "This Ain't Hollywood" is sure to impress, the kaleidoscope styled "Still in Love" equally so, while "Je T'aime"'s down and dirty rhythm and fat, funky bassline will have the whole house shaking. However, in places Ghettoblaster suffers from the same problems that bedeviled the extended remixes that proliferated in the new wave scene: what sounded great for three minutes became interminable after four. High scores for accuracy then, but a few points docked for lack of imagination. Overall, however, this is an extremely clever, fun-infested set, with Van Helden effortlessly evoking specific styles and songs with a single note or beat. Old-school fans will have a field day, while the younger generations should find this trip down memory lane just as entertaining. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
You would've made 2004's New York: A Mix Odyssey too if you were a former world-class house DJ who no one had heard from in a while. It was obvious, shameless, and pandering (electroclash, new wave -- all the easy marks), but it was also the jam. 2005's Nympho is equally shameless, and it gives even more props to the kind of dirty sex where no one knows anyone else's name. The big Mix Odyssey hit single "Hear My Name" is reprised, and Van Helden taps Spalding Rockwell again for the less successful, weird femme-Ministry thump of "Jenny." Evidently Mary Louise Perlman and Nicole Lombardi weren't available for "Come Play with Me" -- it features vocals from Misshapes models Créme Blush, instead. But it doesn't really matter who's singing on Nympho, from Van Helden himself (as Virgin Killer) to Aussie/New Yorker Jessy Moss, because the album is unblinking in its meaning. This music is about new positions and plunking cowbells, and guitar chords ringing out over insistent house hi-hats. Persistent, too, in the case of the incessantly repetitive "When the Lights Go Down" and "Into Your Eyes." It really feels like Van Helden isn't trying very hard with Nympho -- any DJ with record-collection savvy and downtown connections might make the same record, and speaking of Ministry's heyday, some of Nympho could even be My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. (See "Juicy Juicy.") But like he did with Mix Odyssey, Van Helden makes you forget the music's repetitive shamelessness in favor of getting sweaty in an underlit upstairs club somewhere, or even trying to emulate the activities the songs suggest. If that's the case, you're going to need a stretch limo, unisex lingerie, and a PA system that's all volume and treble. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
'New York: A Mix Odyssey'
Release Date 3/29/2004
Tracks 16
Label Sony / BMG Import
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Armand Van Helden, the superstar late-'90s house producer forever known for gracing the world with the epochal "U Don't Know Me" (among a few other big hits), dropped off the club/dance map for several years after his Gandhi Khan album bombed in the wake of 9/11 (the album was released only a couple weeks after the tragedy and, understandably yet unfortunately, didn't go over well as a result). Granted, Van Helden was already in a bit of creative slump by that point, but the disregard of that album must have really sunk his spirits, because he was simply nowhere to be heard from for years (not even a one-off commercial single surfaced) -- that is, until the release of New York: A Mix Odyssey in 2004. This release by Tommy Boy serves no doubt as the almighty "comeback" that most flagging artists resort to in a bid to reestablish themselves. And like most comebacks, New York is a fairly safe release -- one that is what remaining fans most likely expect from Van Helden (true-blue house music à la New York City), one that is risk free and fairly mass-market orientated (a DJ mix with a couple inclusions everybody knows), and one that is anchored by a sure-fire hit single ("Hear My Name," a Van Helden-goes-electroclash anthem). As such, New York: A Mix Odyssey is an effective comeback. The new single may sound like an outtake from Felix da Housecat's Kittenz and Thee Glitz, but that's precisely its charm. In fact, Van Helden shapes his entire mix into that very same throwback vibe -- a clash of contemporary house and neo-electro against '80s new wave classics. Those '80s classics are beyond doubt the highlights of the mix, and for good reason -- they're all monumental: Blondie's "Call Me," Wire's "Three Girl Rhumba" (remade here by Klonhertz), Yazoo's "Don't Go," Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," and Yes' "Owner of a Lonely Heart." You may wonder what these songs have to do with New York house. Well, like the city itself, New York's dance scene is very much a melting pot, and these such songs were commonplace amid the city's storied new wave danceclubs (i.e., Danceteria, Roxy) and have remained so thereafter. Van Helden illustrates this throughout his mix as he intersperses them amid contemporary tracks, including three of his own new ones. His mixing isn't anything to call home about, nor are many of the contemporary selections, but the overall mix is relatively fun from open (Blondie) to close (Yes), if not especially groundbreaking. A Mix Odyssey alone won't catapult Van Helden back to the heights of his heyday. What it should do, however, is remind you that he's still alive and kicking. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Funk Phenomena: The Album'
Release Date 6/10/2003
Tracks 12
Label ZYX
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Killing Puritans is another guest-heavy, genre-bending full-length to file alongside Armand Van Helden's last full LP, 1998's 2 Future 4 U. Harking back to the glory days of late-'80s acid house, it's heavy on dark club jams that work around a simplistic sample with diva theatrics and rapper freestyles. As such, most of these tracks work much better on the dancefloor than the living room. On the breakout single, "Little Black Spiders," Van Helden spends eight minutes running through different filters on a metal riff (from the Scorpions' "Bad Boys Running Wild") while his guest vocalist Fiona Marr repeats the title. Van Helden increases listeners' attention spans during the rest of the album though, hitting peaks with the rolling disco charm of "Full Moon" (featuring an excellent performance by Common) and the electro-scratch nightmare "Koochy," which matches a near-pornographic cell-phone vocal with a scratch-heavy treatment of the main riff from "Cars" by Gary Numan. "Hybridz" has another prominent sample -- the bass and rhythm track from the acid house anthem "No Way Out" by Armando -- while Van Helden's alien alias, the Mongoloids, scats over the top. Though it lacks a massive club hit the likes of "U Don't Know Me," Killing Puritans remains an enjoyable look at several different flavors of the domestic dance scene. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Armand Van Helden's Nervous Tracks'
Release Date 9/6/1999
Tracks 10
Label Nervous
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
House DJ Armand Van Helden slices and dices on the electronica set Innovators Series: Armand Van Helden 1. Van Helden's signature tight progressive house mixes things up on tracks from Kim English, Veda Simpson, and Jungle Juice. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
'Armand Van Helden Phenomenon'
Release Date 5/25/1999
Tracks 10
Label ZYX
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Armand Van Helden's most varied release to date, 2 Future 4 U includes a few predictable (though no less enjoyable) club tracks like "The Boogie Monster" and "Flowerz," plus the suitably enormous anthem "U Don't Know Me." The songs that make this mini-LP truly worthwhile, however, take Van Helden's club formulas into unfamiliar territory with amazing results. He attaches a darker-than-dark tech-step bassline to "Alienz" and makes a paranoid house-stormer out of what could have been just a so-so anthem. "Rock Da Spot" detours into turntablist territory with a guest slot by Mr. Len, of underground rappers Company Flow. The warm keys and downtempo vibe of "Summertime" make for yet another radically distinct moment on a release capable of pleasing anyone and everyone. (2 Future 4 U is also available in an import edition.) ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Just as Armand Van Helden began to be acknowledged as one of the forefathers of Britain's favorite new dance form of the moment, speed garage, he released Enter the Meatmarket, a tribute to his background in hip-hop and Latino house. In fact, it's an old-school rap album through and through, with a carload of classic "hands in the air" samples from the likes of Fat Boys and Dana Dane plus an appearance by Funkmaster Flex on the devastating "6 Minutes of Funk." But while Van Helden's production skills are solid throughout, Enter the Meatmarket suffers from its lack of true vocals. It's so close to a hip-hop album that the listener can't help but feel that something's missing without the raps. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
