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.
MyMyMy
Armand van Helden Lyrics
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My, My, My
(Whoaaa)
Whoaa
How did we ever get this way
Where's it gonna go...
My, My, My
(Oooh Ooooh wee)
Ooh
How we gonna make it work
What's it gonna take to do it
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Whoaaa)
Whoaa
How did we ever get this way
Where's it gonna go...
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Oooh Ooooh wee)
Ooh
How we gonna make it work
What's it gonna take to do it
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Whoaaa)
Whoaa
How did we ever get this way
Where's it gonna go...
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Oooh Ooooh wee)
Ooh
How we gonna make it work
What's it gonna take to do it
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Whoaaa)
Whoaa
How did we ever get this way
Where's it gonna go...
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Oooh Ooooh wee)
Ooh
How we gonna make it work
What's it gonna take to do it
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Oooh Ooooh wee)
Ooh
How we gonna make it work
What's it gonna take to do it
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Whoaaa)
Whoaa
How did we ever get this way
Where's it gonna go...
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Oooh Ooooh wee)
Ooh
How we gonna make it work
What's it gonna take to do it
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Whoaaa)
Whoaa
How did we ever get this way
Where's it gonna go...
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Oooh Ooooh wee)
Ooh
How we gonna make it work
What's it gonna take to do it
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Whoaaa)
Whoaa
How did we ever get this way
Where's it gonna go...
My, My, My
My, My, My
(Oooh Ooooh wee)
Ooh
How we gonna make it work
What's it gonna take to do it
The lyrics to "MyMyMy" by Armand Van Helden feat. Tara McDonald are repetitive and don't have a clear narrative or message, but they do convey a sense of urgency and uncertainty regarding a relationship. The phrase "My, My, My" is repeated several times, along with the question "How did we ever get this way?" and the statement "Where's it gonna go...". These lines suggest confusion or disbelief about the current state of the relationship, and a lack of clarity about how to move forward.
The repeated question "How we gonna make it work, what's it gonna take to do it" also expresses uncertainty and a sense of needing to put in effort and work to salvage or improve the relationship. The use of "we" implies a shared responsibility for the relationship's success or failure, and the need for both parties to be invested in making it work.
Overall, the lyrics to "MyMyMy" express a sense of insecurity and doubt about a romantic relationship, and a desire to figure out how to save it or move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
My, My, My
The singer is expressing a sense of excitement or surprise.
My, My, My
The repetition of this phrase reinforces the singer's emotional state.
(Whoaaa)
An additional exclamation of excitement or surprise.
Whoaa
Another expression of surprise or excitement, possibly in response to a situation.
How did we ever get this way
The singer is reflecting on how their current situation came to be, possibly with a sense of confusion or disbelief.
Where's it gonna go...
The singer is expressing uncertainty about the future of their situation.
(Oooh Ooooh wee)
An additional exclamation of excitement or pleasure.
Ooh
An expression of pleasure or acknowledgement.
How we gonna make it work
The singer is expressing a desire to overcome the challenges of their situation.
What's it gonna take to do it
The singer is asking what steps need to be taken in order to overcome their challenges.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ARMAND VAN HELDEN, BARRY MANN, CYNTHIA WEIL, GARY WRIGHT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind