Van Helden was born in Boston on February 17, 1970 to a Dutch-Indonesian father and a French-Lebanese mother, but travelled around the world as a child spending time in the Netherlands, Turkey and Italy, as his father was a member of the US Air Force. At the age of thirteen, he bought a drum machine and started DJing two years later.
He returned to Boston in 1988 but also moonlighted as a DJ in Boston clubs. He attended Boston University. He quit his legal review job in 1989 to work as a remixer/producer for Mega-Mixx Productions DJ Remix Service (co-founded by his long time manager, Neil Petricone) where he reworked and re-edited a number of club records for the DJ-only service, including Shawn Christopher's "Another Sleepless Night." He also took up an occupancy at 'The Loft', Boston's leading nightclub.
Mega-Mixx's success was short lived. Mismanagement brought the company to a halt in early 1991. Later that year, he and Petricone, along with founding A&R coordinator, Tony Zeoli, launched X-Mix Productions, a similar DJ Remix service, which still exists today (http://www.xmix.com). Catching the attention of legendary Strictly Rhythm and Nervous Records A&R guru, Glady Pizarro, in 1992 Van Helden released his first official single "Stay On My Mind" under the psuedonym Deep Creed, through Nervous Records.
He released "Move It To the Left" (credited to Sultans of Swing) in 1992 on the Strictly Rhythm label, which became a moderate club hit. His first track to make the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart was "Witch Doktor" which made the top 5 in 1994.
The success of "Witch Doktor" led to opportunities to remix acts such as The Real McCoy ("Another Night", New Order ("Bizarre Love Triangle"), Blondie ("Atomic), Capella ("U Got To Know"), Lightning Seeds ("Jackie Lucky"), Deep Forest ("Marta's Song"), Jimmy Somerville ("Heartbeat"), Deee-Lite ("Dewdrops In The Garden") and Faithless ("Insomnia"). However, it was the "Professional Widow" remix that established him and became a dance hit around the world as well as a number one hit in the UK. Unfortunately, Van Helden did not receive a penny for this mix as he presented it uncommissioned, and thus was not entitled to compensation. However, it led to work remixing The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and Puff Daddy as well as Daft Punk and the Sneaker Pimps, and adding to his reputation as one of the world's top house musicians.
Within dance music circles, Van Helden is widely credited for the introduction of the U.K. bred Speed Garage sound to the U.S. club scene with incredible set of remixes. The sound, identifiable by its deep bass subtones, long melodic breaks, and devestatingly hard hitting beats are exemplified in the following remixes beginning in 1995 with Jimmy Somerville "Heartbeat"; CJ Bolland's "Sugar Is Sweeter"; Faithless "Insomnia"; Tori Amos "Professional Widow"; Apollo 440 "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Dub"; and Sneaker Pimps "Spin, Spin, Sugar."
"Cha Cha" was another top ten dance hit from his first album Old School Junkies released in 1996, along with "The Funk Phenomena". A greatest hits album appeared the next year followed by a breakbeat album later in 1997. "U Don't Know Me," a collaboration with vocalist Duane Harden from the album, "2 Futur 4 U," was a number two hit on the Billboard dance chart, a Number one in the UK and a top 20 single on the pop charts in Australia and Canada.
In 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, Armand Van Helden explained, "You Don't Know Me was a perfect example of putting 2 simple things together, the beats from Jaydee's Plastic Dreams and a disco loop from Carrie Lucas."
Van Helden released the Killing Puritans album in 2000 which contained the dance hit "Koochy". His single "Why Can't You Spend Some Time" made the number 34 in the UK in 2001. His New York: A Mix Odyssey album released in 2004 produced two hits:
* "Hear my Name" reached number 7 on the Billboard dance chart, was top 30 on world and internet charts, made number 34 in the UK, and reached the top 40 in Australia; and
* "My My My" reached number 4 on the world internet charts, number 5 in the Belgian and Dutch charts, number 6 in Australia, number 15 in the UK and top 30 in the world dance charts.
In 2010 Van Helden teamed with A-Trak to form the duo Duck Sauce. They had an international smash hit with "Barbra Streisand," which used an ingenious sample from Boney M.
Koochy
Armand van Helden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I want there koochy and I'll do it right
when I call your house after work
I want there koochy and I'll make this work
I want there koochy and I'll make this work
I want there koochy and I'll make this work
When I call your house after work
I want there koochy and I'll make this work
When I call your celly late at night
I want there koochy and I'll make it right
When I call your house after work
I want there koochy and I'll make this work
The lyrics to Armand van Helden's song "Koochy" seem to be quite explicit and to the point. The overall theme of the song is about the singer's desire for sexual intimacy with another person, specifically referred to as their "koochy". The repetition of the phrase "I want there koochy and I'll make this work" throughout the song emphasizes the singer's persistence in pursuing their desires, regardless of the time of day or location.
The use of slang terms like "celly" (meaning cellphone) and "koochy" (meaning vagina) adds to the casual and casual nature of the lyrics. This creates a sense of intimacy and familiarity between the singer and their desired partner, implying that they have an existing relationship, whether romantic or purely sexual.
Overall, the lyrics to "Koochy" are quite straightforward and leave little to the imagination, reflecting a bold and confident attitude towards sexual desire.
Line by Line Meaning
When I call your celly late at night
If I dial your mobile number in the middle of the night
I want there koochy and I'll do it right
I desire physical intimacy with you and will ensure that it is done correctly
When I call your house after work
When I phone your residence following my employment hours
I want there koochy and I'll make this work
I crave sexual intercourse and am willing to put in the effort to achieve it
I want there koochy and I'll make this work
I long for sexual pleasure with you and will work hard to make it happen
I want there koochy and I'll make this work
I want to engage in sexual activity with you and will take the necessary steps to achieve it
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: ARMAND VAN HELDEN, GARY ANTHONY JAMES WEBB
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrWeekendoff
We played this at my grandfathers funeral. It’s such a beautiful song everyone was reduced to tears when I put it on
@wainstallsboy
RIP Grandad. 😃
@tiborsaas
I'd be pleased if my grandson put it on on my funeral. But only after the Twin Peaks theme.
@bartoszkomarowski2924
ungratefulmetalpansy brilliant 😂
@johnlawson3023
Did he get frozen by Box, or did you nuke him?? :-)
@brzi225
@jon jon Brasileiro long live Gary Numan
@craiglowe9668
Numan and Van helden make a great team
@MirageMusicUk
This is genius sampling, Kudos to Mr Van Helden for this.
@GabREAL1983
pure art. the whole thing is just insane.
@sergeyp7052
respect to Gary Numan. (cars)