DIGITAL FORMAT

Back in ’94 Armand Van Helden was still two years away from his breakthrough remix of Tori Amos’ ‘Professional Widow’, five years away from his international hit ‘You Don’t Know Me’ with Duane Harden and still further from his ‘Bonkers’ collaboration with Dizzee Rascal.  But even then, Van Helden still had a focused attitude, a belief in his own direction and a musical edge that set him apart.  That attitude and edge are present in every bar of Get Up, his first ever mix compilation.  It’s no mean feat to stamp your personality on a mix made from only one label’s output even if that label is Strictly Rhythm, but this collection of tough, tribal grooves is unmistakably the AVH of the time.  And it’s not just because the mix boasts a two-copy mix of ‘Witch Doktor’ and his remixes of Reel 2 Real’s ‘Raise Your Hands’ and Barbara Tucker’s ‘I Get Lifted’; Zound Of 2’s ‘Samba’, Full Swing’s ‘I Need To See You Soon’ and Gloo Factory’s ‘Hoe Down’ among others fit perfectly in this exploration of the deeper, darker side of Strictly Rhythm.