To some he’s a Superstar. To others he’s the Witch Doctor The studio alchemist or the bad boy of house?  In 1988, this Hip-Hop and House-obsessed teenager fell into a bad boy lifestyle by making a general nuisance of himself as he hustled to pay for a studio engineering course.  Moving from Boston to New York taught him a different kind of hustle, hanging out in rave clubs by night and looking for DJ gigs and record deals by day. 1994 saw him hit the charts with “The Witch Doktor” and he’s never looked back.

AJ: How did you get into the industry?

AVH: I was just making tracks at my house. You know that’s how it starts for everybody. It wasn’t until my friends put faith in me to shop some of my music to a label in New York. Once I did that I got picked up by a label in New York and that’s when it started. You make a 3 song demo and you just drop it off at every label and you see who bites back. Sometimes nobody ever does, but I just happened to get one bite back, and it was the main label in New York that I wanted to be with and that’s how it happened.

AJ: How old were you when you started?

AVH: 21

AJ: What style of music do you play/produce?

AVH: I don’t know if I have a style…. I’m known in the dance world. I guess at the end of the day what I play is House music. But obviously that’s just the foundation. It could be anythng on top.

AJ: Who has inspired you over the years?

AVH: If you are talking about House music, when I was first getting into it, I just wanted to be Todd Terry. But in terms of regular music because I’m a record collector. That’s pretty endless.

AJ: You have a very multicultural background. Has this influenced your style of music?

AVH: I guess. When you don’t really belong you’re kind of an outcast. It makes you more open minded I guess. You don’t really fit in anywhere so your never really part of the gang. I’m sure that has a lot to do with where I’m at today. I don’t know how. It’s not really something that can be explained. Yeah, being kind of an outcast or a misfit in society can definitely make you see things with an open, broader sense of things.

AJ: Your new CD New York: A Mix Odyssey is your latest mix CD. How did you put it together?

AVH: Putting it together wasn’t easy. You know track selection all that stuff. It wasn’t easy because I love a lot of music. It was just fun finally once I got the songs. In terms of me mixing it wasn’t easy. A lot of the BPMs don’t match. So I had to play around in Pro Tools. Sure some of it’s mixed and some of its affected enough to sound smoothly mixed.

AJ: Hear My Name and My, My, MY have definitely dominated the club charts here in Australia. Did you expect the tracks to have such a commercial appeal?

AVH: I don’t really know for the majority of the songs I make. I can’t really forecast what’s going to happen when I make a track.

AJ: What can we expect from your forthcoming album NYMPHO?

AVH: I stayed away from electronica and keyboards from those little electronica sounds in songs today. If that makes it any easier to explain. It’s kind of more like a rock album. It’s obliviously not Rock but its Dance music. I just tried to make it a very raw Rock based Record.

AJ: Your studio is the number 1 thing in your life; how is it set up to give you great pleasure?

AVH: The studio for me is where I like to be the most, if it was my choice. That’s the humble part of what I do. It’s just that I go and make music when I feel like it in my house. When I make music, even for the albums I put out and all the 12” remixes, they all come out my house from start to finish.

AJ: Obviously you love your record digging. Do you search for things while on tour?

AVH: No, I don’t because I pretty much have everything. I’m not a real record collector like Kenny Dope. I’m not really getting multiple copies of original pressings of some abstract Brazilian Jazz record. I’m not like that. I own a ton of original vinyls of a lot of recordings but I’m not over the top. I know if I was on tour there’s plenty of great stores around the world that have exclusive vinyl in them. I’m not like that. I have what I have including some obscure records. I’m not the type to go crazy about them.

AJ: Is there any specific era that has influenced your present style?

AVH: I think the 70’s and 80’s were pretty amazing, even the late 60’s. The 90’s are cool but they seemed Hip-Hop. Obliviously I was a big Hip-Hop fan in the 80’s to, but the 80’s seemed to have a lot of good vocal songs. I think the 70’s and 80’s would be two great times I borrow a lot from.

AJ: Is it difficult to find singers to compliment your style of production?

AVH: Usually with any person I’ve worked with in the studio, it’s more like fun. It’s not like we are really taking it seriously because I don’t take it seriously. So they kind of feed off that vibe and they just go with the flow. I’m not a tedious person. So if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work and I leave it alone as that. I’m not trying to perfect something if it’s not going to work. To me it’s I just make it and leave it up to the public to decide.

AJ: After doing remixes for the likes of Tori Amos’, CJ Bolland, The Sneaker Pimps, Britney Spears and Despina Vandi just to name a few; what would be you’re most enjoyable remix you’ve done?

AVH: Enjoyable?None of them are enjoyable.It’s a great job I have. I’m not going to deny that. Not everybody gets to be in the position that I’m in.The remixing is not fully originally creative. Obviously you’re working around a preformed shape. So you’re just trying to make the shape better. It’s almost like being hired to fix something. So it’s not straight, original creativity. But you can really go there. It depends on the people that hired you to mix it. If they’re pretty open to you experimenting then it’s obviously going to be a lot more fun. Remixing isn’t a solo thing. It’s a team effort.

AJ: What would be your most commercially successful remix?

AVH: I think it would have to be my first remix of Tory Amos’s, Professional Widow.
 
AJ: Do tracks impact differently around the world?

AVH: Yeah, It’s like anywhere. In Europe it’s broken down to every country. What’s weird is you could be in England and what works in Germany is totally different. With me coming from America, I’ve got a lot to think about. It’s a lot easier if you live in one of these countries. So when I go to Europe, Asia, Australia etc. everyplace is different and that’s the way it’s suppose to be.

AJ: Do you enjoy travelling?

AVH: I did…. I still do today, but I’m very vacationery now days. Like this is perfect for me. Like I’m here in Sydney in your summer which is my winter back in New York. New York winters are real, real ugly. This type of stuff is enjoyable. For me going to England in the middle of winter isn’t really that stimulating. It’s just raining and it’s cold and the sun never comes out. So travelling has its ups and downs. I mean I’m definitely a sun & beach person. Anything with that in the picture, chances are I’m going to enjoy it.(Laughing)

AJ: Having played and sold out venues worldwide; do you have any favourite venues?

AVH: No favourites… I’ve played at amazing clubs all over the world. I’ve been fortunate to be out there DJing at all these crazy exotic places. It’s such a privilege to be able to go and share music with people and enjoy being on vacation at the same time. It’s a great job as they say.

AJ: How do you find Australian audiences compared to others throughout the world?

AVH: I’d say their definitely geared up. I think anybody I’ve talked to about Australia is always pleased with the Australian crowd. I’ve never heard anything Negative.

AJ: Who’s your favourite DJ or Producer?

AVH: My favourite DJ’s are ones that don’t really play dance music. When I’m out in New York on my free time I like to hear Stretch Armstrong or Mark Rhonson. They’re celebrity DJ’s but they play so many different styles of music and they play all night (6 Hour Sets). They play a lot of Hip-Hop and a lot of Rock. Which is what I want to hear when I’m out. Producers would be The Neptune’s because they’re so consistent at what they do (and chances are that my mother knows who they are!). So it’s like they’re making such a huge impact. It’s kind of weird how I look at the Dance world. It’s kind of so small to me. I don’t know why? Maybe because I live in America where Dance music is the Basted Child of the industry. Nobody wants to give it any respect. So because I live in America, we look at producers like Rick Rueben, or Timberland and Rock and Hip-Hop producers as iconic figures. I kind of fit that same mould.

AJ: Most embarrassing moment whilst DJing?

AVH: When you’re up there, there’s a million things that could go wrong, just like a band. Power can cut out, you can blow the system, and somebody can spill a beer over the record. Any one of these things can happen and I’ve had all of them happen to me. Sometimes stuff just doesn’t go right which has nothing to do with anything. It’s just fate.

AJ: With such a varied career, what do you see your future directions being?

AVH: I’ve been very fortunate in this game. People always ask me in interviews; “How do you keep returning when you not suppose to?”. People like you aren’t suppose to ever re-appear. Which isn’t a normal thing. I hope people can just see that I love what I do for a job. Obviously I love making music and that’s the key. Everything else outside of making music; I wouldn’t say I love it. I enjoy it. There’s ups and downs to it, but my greatest enjoyment is making my music. “It’s just me and my studio like a painter and canvas”. It’s the same thing.

AJ: If you weren’t in the music industry, What would you like to be doing?

AVH: I’d like to make movies. Don’t know if I’d ever do it and don’t know if I have the talent for it. Photography and Archaeology. I’m into the Sciences. What I do is like Science. When I was in College I took Media Technology, but it’s a degree in science. So when you go to school to become a music producer it’s a science degree. So I’m into the Sciences…

Armand Van Helden has just toured Australia as one of the headline acts for Two Tribes 2005, leaving a sea of happy punters in his wake. His eagerly anticipated artist album Nympho is released this March.