“The people with the funny hats and the noise makers, they’ve gone home Goldie. The party’s over baby, it’s dawn, it’s reality”
Since the Funky Shell Toes on AV8 to Witch Doktor days on Strictly Rhythm, Armand Van Helden has spent 30 years fine-tuning his talents behind the decks and manning the production desk, ratcheting the dj technique and performance thrill factor to 11, popping out hits like a pez dispenser (with lashings of Duck Sauce on the side). He has made collaborating comfortably with and doing B2Bs alongside the greats from A Trak to Junior Sanchez and from Pacha to DC10. With a style ranging from hip hop turntablism to tech house / progressive terror, it goes without saying that a record released under his own moniker is nothing short of an event. Predictably ‘Know Thyself’ does not disappoint. It has a bottom end that screams Paradise / DC10 main floor and an arm-raising vocal that chants Miami Ultra Music Festival. Driven by a fearsome kick, ‘Come on now’ ‘wave Your hands’ ‘wooh’ vocal prompts, techno snares and a souful singalong vocal ‘Cos I can’t love nobody till I can love myself, you can’t love nobody till you can love yourself’ and a phat piano house jam – this record has club and radio dynamite written in red block120pt type on the label. It made my ears prick up like a dog whistle in a tornado. Shit just got real.
5/5 Paulette
https://soundcloud.com/armand-van-helden-official/know-thyself
