Armand Van Helden, Saraga, y Groove Armada

House music isn’t a genre that’s necessarily popularly associated with the United States - for one reason or another, it’s often seen as a much more European sound - but whilst Armand van Helden’s Dutch roots certainly provide him with a name that carried plenty of credibility in that respect, he’s actually one of America’s premier DJs, emerging from Boston in the early nineties. He had a slew of chart hits throughout that decade, including ‘Cha Cha’ in 1996, but he didn’t really break through on the record front until 1998, with his seminal 2 Future 4 U becoming a key release in the genre’s history. Today, he continues to be revered, and has continued to find ways to sneak into the mainstream; along with A-Trak, he forms part of the duo Duck Sauce, who went to number three in 2010 in the UK with the novelty hit ‘Barbra Streisand’. His live sets, too, remain at the forefront of the house genre; referencing a career that’s now been ongoing for almost twenty-five years, he mixes classics of the style with new cuts and inventive remixes to ensure that he’s still a staple of the clubs in both the UK and overseas.

With almost twenty years in the business now firmly under their belts, Groove Armada are now officially veterans in the UK electronic scene, to be filed alongside the likes of Fatboy Slim and Massive Attack as part of an old guard that continue to surprise and impress and the years roll by. They’ve often threatened a genuine mainstream crossover, without every quite managing it - number eight as is high a singles chart position as they’ve managed, with 2007’s superb ‘Song 4 Mutya’ - but with the likes of ‘I See You Baby’, ‘Superstylin’ and ‘Get Down’, they’ve certainly cemented a place in the British public consciousness. Their glowing reputation is down in no small part to their thrilling live shows; on their most recent UK jaunt, they performed in front of a giant screen broadcasting complex visuals to the crowd, whilst reworking the classics with a live band and bringing a host of guest vocalists into the fray. Stylistically, you’d struggle to find a more diverse gig than a Groove Armada one; they range from downbeat trip hop and electro to their signature big beat cuts and tracks that touch upon the niche likes of dub, reggae and disco. The inclusion of a full live band is key to properly translating the London duo’s vision; with a new EP, Pork Soda, due this year, we can only hope there’ll be a tour to go with it.