Armand Van Helden is the bad-boy of house, as instantly recognisable to clubbers everywhere for his goateed appearance as his unique sets and production nous.
Although early releases on Strictly Rhythm were lapped up by those in the know, the adopted New Yorker came to mainstream prominence in the UK with his remixes of Sneaker Pimps and Tori Amos, helping to propel both acts up the Top 40 in the process.
His mix of the Pimps' 'Spin Spin Sugar' also, ironically, gave the then fledgling UK garage scene (or Sunday Scene as it was known at the time) its first anthem before most UKG producers had even switched on their samplers.

Since then it's been his own productions that have stolen the limelight, especially the UK No.1 hit and massive house anthem 'You Don't Know Me', which famously featured his postman Duane Harden on vocal duties.
'Koochy', his twisted, distorted mash-up of Gary Numan's 'Cars', showed a radically different side to his sound and did almost as well, reaching No.4.

Armand continued to leave his mark on the charts with the equally anthemic 'You Can't Change Me' and 'Why Can't You Free Some Time', but DJmag readers will still know him best from his tireless touring schedule and frequent visits to UK clubs, where his unashamedly party-slanted vibe inevitably cleans up.