Who is Armand Van Helden? To some he is a Superstar: Fatboy Slim’s chart topping DJ sparring partner and one of the most recognizable dance music protagonists in the world. To others he is the studio alchemist who can take any track and turn it into purest dancefloor gold. He’s the bad boy of house music, a ghetto fabulous ruffneck flipside to cheeky European upstarts like Basement Jaxx and Daft Punk. Of course, he is all of these and more.

Armand’s name comes from a Dutch-Indonesian father and a French-Lebanese mother. A US Air Force baby, Armand grew up on bases around the world. Moving back to Boston in 1988, this hip hop and house-obsessed teenager quickly fell into a bad boy lifestyle, hustling to pay for a studio engineering course and generally making a nuisance of himself.

Moving to New York, he learned a different kind of hustle, hanging out in full-on rave clubs by night, looking for DJ gigs and record deals by day. This all changed with “The Witch Doktor,” his 1994 single on Strictly Rhythm. Unlike most regular house records coming out of New York, “The Witch Doktor” was an evil voodoo brew of punishing techno drums and rave sirens and was a massive hit with discerning DJs on both sides of the Atlantic. This kicked off a slew of remix work for which he honed his craft and made his sound in the years to come.

In 1996, his unforgettable mix of Tori Amos’ “Professional Widow” went to Number One in the UK and his net worth went through the roof. His influential sub-bass heavy mixes of CJ Bolland’s “Sugar Is Sweeter” and The Sneaker Pimps’ “Spin Spin Sugar” put him at the genesis of UK garage. Never one to play by the rules, his debut artist album for FFrr/London was a hip hop heavy mash up of rap, funk and reggae samples.

In 1999 Armand Van Helden went ballistic. After years of remixes and underground DJ tunes, suddenly he was the micro-bearded wonder behind the mutant disco anthems “U Don’t Know Me” (UK No.1), “Flowerz” (UK Top 20) and the Ibiza-quaking anthem “The Boogie Monster.” His critically hailed album “2Future4U” was swiftly followed by his boxing ring soundclashes (as the Manhattan Mauler) with Fatboy Slim. Before then he’d been a hero to house heads the world over. After that, everybody knew who Armand Van Helden was. When he played Ibiza’s coolest club, Space, it was sold out with Armand’s worshiping clubbers, shouting for his hits. It was the respect the Bostonian B-boy had waited for all his life.

In 2004 one of the world’s most sought-after DJs returned with a bang. A two year hiatus was over. 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 and left dancefloors and radio stations quivering in their wake.

Fast forward to 2007 and Armand is back! A new album titled ‘Ghettoblaster’ set for release this year and a new track ‘Touch Your Toes’ set to ignite dance floors around the world, it’s lucky for us in Australia one of those dance floors will be at the inaugural Smirnoff Experience 28th April 2007 where Armand will receive the royal treatment making a flying visit to be the Exclusive headline act. It’s been many years since Armand played anywhere in Australia and it’s sure to be a massive event. Already the bribes are flowing in fast for the chance to see this legend of dance music face to face.

Armand Van Helden – truly original.