Armand van Helden is one of those essential artists in dance music
that keeps things interesting and progressive. From the beginning, his
house music has always had a rough, funky, techno edge. The old
classic "Witch Doktor" on Strictly Rhythm revved things up... I mean,
how quirky and funny was it to hear that old jalopy horn in the
buildup?
Sirens and trains were the popular elements at the time and he opts
for something that sounded like the Beverly Hillbillies' junker of a
car coughing onto the dancefloor. Then seemingly, out of the blue, he
remixes Tori Amos "Professional Widow" and blows the roof of clubs
worldwide. Single-handedly with his remix of Sneaker Pimps "Spin Spin
Sugar" he invents speed garage. I once heard someone comment his
tracks had all the subtlety of a Buick's trunk door slamming shut.
That's Armand van Helden: he hits hard and brings the funk.
Totally unapologetic: soul runs deep in his tracks. Never shy of
trying something completely different, he put out a white label (years
ago) that featured the sound of helicopter blades on an entire side, a
snare roll on the other. And how many remixers can claim to have
remixed The Rolling Stones? You gotta love Armand van Helden. By now,
plenty of folks have heard and witnessed the devastation of his new
tracks "Hear My Name" and "My My My," taken from his current
full-length album Nympho. With Nympho, van Helden pulls from 80s punk
rock influences. The production has the down and dirty, "three chords
no waiting" sensibility.
Big distorted guitars come to the forefront along with a healthy dose
of screaming punk male vocals. It's easy to hear shades of Gang of
Four, Agitpop, Pere Ubu and The Stooges all through the album. With
this current sound of van Helden's, one can imagine him rocking out
clubs like CBGB's. Additionally, there's tasty female punk vocals in
tracks like "Hear My Name," "Jenny" and "When the Lights Go Down" -
even a dash of disco soul vocals in "My My My."
The album in general reminds me of the direction The Scumfrog took on
his last full-length, "Simmer." In the van Helden tradition, execution
of the punk chic is done in raw, gritty style. In these days of
superslick production, Helden opts to use the machines to create
something as undeniable as the new punk sound of the 80s. This ability
to stylistically morph is a testament to house music's broad range and
longevity. Along with various house styles of progressive, tribal,
commercial, electroclash- this punk rebirth within the open arms of
house music is fascinating and fun. A great track relating to this
style is The White Stripes "7 Nation Army," and with "Nympho" Armand
van Helden adds his personal touch and undeniable style to an exciting
trend in house music. So if you think you've heard all that house
music has to offer do yourself a favor- put in this raucous CD, and
turn it up to 11. The mosh pit is right here. They don't call it
annihilating rhythm for nothin'.
