Armand Van Helden-mania! – Part 2


So last week, I started you all off with a few old school Armand Van Helden tracks and remixes. It got a pretty good response, actually. Well, except from the Strictly Rhythm folks, and we can understand why, so we took down the mp3 of “Break Night”. Hopefully if you guys trust my opinion, you’ll buy the track, anyhow!

So this week, we’re bouncing ahead a little further. After his seminal album 2 Future 4 U, he has just sort of gone downhill, unfortunately. The edge isn’t there, any more. That’s a real shame, because for a good half-dozen years, this guy made nothing but quality. Here I’m sharing a few more of his tracks.

To start off with, we’re going to bring up Daft Punk yet again. Daft Punk was part of a crew that called themselves “Da Mongoloids”. Well, according to discogs, it was just Bangalter of Daft Punk that took part in the crew. The crew would extend out to guys like Junior Sanchez, Basement Jaxx, and DJ Sneak, amongst others. Well, Armand made a remix of “Da Funk” that really is just a nutso take on the original, and here it is.

[Download Daft Punk – Da Funk (AVH mix)]

Next up is possibly his best known remix, and the one that got him the assloads of work he got after this one. He remixed Tori Amos’ “Professional Widow” and then, just about every DJ worldwide seemed to be playing it. It was one of the anthems in dance music in 1996, and for good reason.

[Download Tori Amos – Professional Widow (AVH mix)]

The next three I have listed here are much lesser known remixes by Van Helden. He went on a remix tear for a few years, and was remixing just about anything thrown his way. Hell, I even found a copy of the 12″ for Rednex “Cotton Eye Joe” with three remixes he did. And yes, it’s godawful. I won’t even force you all to listen to that one. Well, here I have listed his remixes of Apollo Four Forty’s “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Dub”, Skunk Anansie’s “Secretly”, and The Trancesetters’ “The Search”. The last one, I’ve seen iTunes list an Armand remix that, unless he made a 2nd version? That isn’t it. So don’t waste the time on it.

[Download Apollo Four Forty – Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Dub (AVH mix)]

Skunk Anansie – Secretly (AVH mix)

Trancesetters – The Search (AVH mix)

Now, I have plenty more Armand cuts, and for now, I am going to leave those on the backburner. I think I’ll revisit this topic again in the next month or two, because I have a lot of good stuff to share that wasn’t made by Armand. Stay tuned if you’re a househead, because I have a few more gems to share with you all!

Now, go buy some of this! We do, and so should you!

More of the French! Viva la stupid arguments!

How important is an argument about a band? Well, it ranks right around watching paint dry, in my opinion. I got quite a testy response when talking about the fad-driven band MGMT, recently. Which made me wonder why people get so snippy about something so awesome as music. We’re all snobs to a degree with our music. We all hate certain bands, or certain types of music. Instead of saying, “This band sucks!”, I think what would be more appropriate would be, “This just isn’t my cup of tea.” And I hate tea! The site here isn’t intended to not be inclusive with our music choices. And the debate with these two hipsters – who are right now probably shopping at an Urban Outfitters and lamenting the state of a band only six months ago they went apeshit for – made me realize this even more clearly.

So to go in a complete one-eighty of such trivial and banal bullshit? I head back the way of the music I started in on last week. The French pop sound. And with that awesomely long-winded introduction, I give you Benjamin Diamond. Benjamin Diamond? Who the fuck is that? Rhetorical question, mind you. Diamond was the head of Diamond Traxx, and possibly best known for his stellar vocals on the seminal cut “Music Sounds Better With You”. He’s essentially the Prince of France, and deservedly so!

Stardust was the trio that featured Diamond on vocals, as well as Thomas Bangaltar (from Daft Punk) and Alan Braxe. Braxe would later release cuts like “Vertigo” and the EP Intro with the help of Fred Falke. Unfortunately, his latest efforts have been dull and uninspiring, but he did help with this cut, and we’re certainly thankful for that! Below I’ve brought you all the original mix, but as a little gift, I’m also featuring the DJ Sneak 32 on Red Mix. This is possibly my favorite DJ Sneak remix job, as it served admirably on its own in house sets of mine, as well as a great DJ tool record.

Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You (Radio Edit)

Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You (DJ Sneak 32 on Red Mix)

Well Diamond has had a solo career for close to ten years, now, and he’s just released a new album. Here, I’ll be featuring the track “Little Scare” off of his debut album Strange Attitude, along with the song “Baby’s On Fire” from his latest effort, Cruise Control. Viva la French pop!

Benjamin Diamond – Baby’s On Fire

[Download Benjamin Diamond – Babys On Fire]

Benjamin Diamond – Little Scare

And again, please do buy some of these! It helps to go a long way in helping us bring you this awesome stuff!