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.
Playing House
Armand van Helden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He lives across the street
Sometimes he'll call me up
When he wants to play with me, play with me, play with me
We play all kinds of games
We both play hide and seek
Sometimes he'll find me fast
Am I bit too old for games?
Too young to have a spouse
I like to try new things
I just like playing house
Although it's make believe
I know what love's about
Don't need no diamond ring
I just like playing house
I'm not a little girl
He's not a little boy
He comes into my world
And we share all our time, all, all our time, all, all our time
You look me in the eyes
And kiss me on the mouth
We both have separate lives
We're only playing house
Although it's make believe
I know what love's about
Don't need no diamond ring
I just like playing house
Ooh, but it feels like he loves me
When he's below or above me
If he ever sleeps away
I know he's thinkin' of me
And it feels like I love him
When I'm below or above him
And if he ever sleeps away
I'll have sweet memories of him
Don't need no diamond ring
I just like playing house
The song ‘Playing House’ by Armand Van Helden feat. Kudu portrays the theme of innocent childhood playfulness with a twist of maturity. The lyrics describe a special friend who lives across the street who calls up the singer to play with different games such as hide and seek, and playing house. Even though the singer might be too old to play childhood games, she still enjoys trying new things and playing pretend with her friend. Although the play is make-believe, the singer knows what love is, and she doesn’t need any diamond rings as love is enough for her.
The song conveys a feeling of innocence, but as the lyrics progress, they become more sensual. The singer talks about how her friend kisses her on the mouth, and she knows what love is. The use of phrases such as “When he's below or above me,” and “If he ever sleeps away, I know he's thinking of me,” shows a mature tone that indicates the possibility of physical intimacy. The song portrays how love can be experienced in different ways without any societal norms or obligations. The singer is playful and enjoys being in the moment with her partner, and the pleasure derived from playing house surpasses materialistic gifts like a diamond ring.
Line by Line Meaning
I have a special friend
I have a close companion
He lives across the street
He resides nearby my dwelling
Sometimes he'll call me up
Occasionally he'll contact me
When he wants to play with me, play with me, play with me
When he desires to engage in activities with me
We play all kinds of games
We participate in various amusements
We both play hide and seek
We both take turns concealing ourselves
Sometimes he'll find me fast
Occasionally he'll locate me quickly
Sometimes it takes him weeks
Sometimes it takes him an extended amount of time
Am I bit too old for games?
Am I too mature for recreational activities?
Too young to have a spouse
Too inexperienced to have a significant other
I like to try new things
I enjoy experimenting with novel things
I just like playing house
I simply enjoy pretending to have a domestic life
Although it's make believe
Despite it being imaginary
I know what love's about
I know the essence of love
Don't need no diamond ring
I don't require any expensive jewelry
I'm not a little girl
I'm not a child
He's not a little boy
He's not a child
He comes into my world
He enters into my personal sphere
And we share all our time, all, all our time, all, all our time
And we spend our time together, all the time
You look me in the eyes
You gaze into my eyes
And kiss me on the mouth
And give me a kiss on my lips
We both have separate lives
We both have individual existences
We're only playing house
We're merely pretending to live together as a couple
Ooh, but it feels like he loves me
But it appears as though he has romantic feelings for me
When he's below or above me
When he's physically below or above me
If he ever sleeps away
If he ever slumbers apart from me
I know he's thinkin' of me
I know he's contemplating me
And it feels like I love him
And it seems as though I have romantic feelings for him
When I'm below or above him
When I'm physically below or above him
And if he ever sleeps away
And if he ever slumbers apart from me
I'll have sweet memories of him
I'll reminisce fondly about him
Don't need no diamond ring
I don't require any expensive jewelry
I just like playing house
I simply enjoy pretending to have a domestic life
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: ARMAND VAN HELDEN, SYLVIA GORDON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind