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The 15 Best Camper Vans for Road-Tripping in Style

Now you can experience #vanlife in comfort and style..

Senior Staff Writer

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The first years of this decade have already provided ample evidence that it’s important to get away from our daily lives from time to time.  And you don’t have to suffer the airport hordes or step foot on a plane to do so. We currently find ourselves in something of a golden age for luxury trailers, which has made it easier than ever to take your life on the road without sacrificing many, and in some cases any, of the comforts of home. And now, there are plenty of manufacturers and dedicated conversion shops giving the same treatment to vans and other similar vehicles. They may not be able to sleep as many people as their hulking cousins—with one key exception—but these all-in-one wonders come loaded with perks such as high-end kitchens, Wi-Fi-enabled multimedia systems, and plush beds. Plus, their relatively smaller size means they are more agile, off-road friendly, and easier to park. Below are 15 campers that will let you experience #vanlife in comfort and style.

Our Best Camper Van Picks

Best overall: airstream interstate 24x, best for off-roading: jayco terrain, best for weekend getaways: mercedes-benz eqt marco polo, best for off-the-grid trips: winnebago solis, best for cyclists: outside van tails, best for camping (anywhere): storyteller overland beast mode 4×4, best to live in: loki expeditions discovery series, best all-electric option: tonke eqv.

• Best for G-Wagen Lovers: Terracamper Tecrawl

Best With a Bathroom and Shower: Thor Motor Coach Sanctuary

Best for $50,000: caravan outfitter free bird, best for families: winnebago boldt, best for winter road trips: sportsmobile sprinter 4×4, best conversion: boho old faithful, best for diy couples: ford transit trail.

Airstream. Thankfully, the company isn’t afraid to branch out. Just look at the  Interstate 24X , the trailer maker’s attempt to take the camper van to new heights. Built on the bones of a  Mercedes-Benz  Sprinter—like a lot of the models on this list—the vehicle has everything you need to rough it in comfort. Airstream has done a lot to maximize space in its climate-controlled cabin. A modular dining table doubles as a desk, and it can be easily converted into the largest sleeping area in a Class B Motorhome. There’s also a full mini kitchen and bathroom. You can take the van off-roading, too. In addition to a 3.0-liter turbo-diesel V-6 engine that churns out 188 hp and 325 ft lbs of torque, it also comes equipped with four-wheel drive, a height-adjustable suspension and all-terrain tires. Pricing for the all-around beast starts at $213,850.

Inside the Interstate 24X

Special Features: —A climate-controlled living area that has been designed to maximize available space. —A modular dinner table, a mini-kitchen and a bathroom with a toilet.

Jayco is best known for its hulking travel trailers, but like Airstream, it can do compact, too (well, compact enough to fit in a parking space, that is). The US company’s new  Terrain  model, which starts at $192,000, is an adventure van designed for those who like to veer from the beaten path. As the name suggests, it’s designed for off-roading, with a turbo-diesel V-6, Koni shocks, a rear stabilizer and a rear hitch strong enough to tow an additional trailer if you need more room. Inside, it’s a little spartan compared to some other options on this list, but its kitchenette can be converted into a sleeping area with room for a full-size bed, as well as plenty of storage space beneath. There’s even a built-in awning when you need some shade in the summer months.

Inside the Terrain

Special Features: —Equipped with Koni shocks, a rear stabilizer and a heavy-duty tow hitch. —Kitchenette can be converted into a spacious sleeping area with room for a full-size bed.

Mercedes-Benz clearly doesn’t want to relinquish its title as the go-to van maker for outdoor lovers. At last year’s Düsseldorf Caravan Salon, the German marque showed off a prototype based on its upcoming all-electric EQT van called the Marco Polo. The stylish EV has everything you need for a weekend at the campground and is more compact than the ubiquitous Sprinter. When the van’s rear seats are folded down, the back can be used as either a sleeping area with room for a double bed or a cooking and entertaining space. The kitchen doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of some of the other entries on this list, but it does have a pull-out stove, fridge and sink. There’s also a pop-up, roof-mounted tent if your travel party includes more than two. The Marco Polo is a concept, but Mercedes will sell a module that will allow you to turn any EQT into a camper van when the $51,500 EV goes on sale in the spring.

Inside the Marco Polo

• Mercedes-Benz

Special Features: —All-electric power train, so you don’t have to worry about doing too much damage to nature while you explore it. —Its  camping  gear—from the bed to the kitchenette—is part of a module that can be fully removed when you need more cargo room.

The Winnebago Solis is for adventurers who don’t want to be confined to the campground. The van is available with an optional power kit that has everything a group of up to four adults needs to spend a few days off-the-grid. The setup, which includes an inverter, a shore battery converter, a battery energy converter, a solar energy converter and an alternator energy optimizer, can produce enough power to keep the van and all its features running for up to 72 hours. On top of that, the van features a kitchenette, a convertible entertainment area with room for a double bed, and a full-width wet bath.

Inside the Winnebago Solis

Special Features: —A unique power kit that can provide enough power to spend up to 72 hours off the grid. —Still has all the features you’d expect from a luxe camper van, including a full-width wet bath.

If you like to mix biking and camping, Outside Van has the vehicle for you. The Portland brand’s  Tails  model is a camper van designed with cyclists in mind. The van, which is based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, has everything you need for a few days away from home, including a kitchenette, a roll-over sofa and a convertible mattress. But what really sets it apart is the rear of the vehicle that’s basically an on-the-go bicycle repair shop, with a fold-down work table, an air compressor and Molle panels to hang all your tools. If that wasn’t enough, it somehow has room for six bikes, even when the bed is laid out for the night.

Inside the Tails

Outside Van

Special Features: —The back of the van is basically a bicycle-repair shop with a fold-down table, an air compressor and plenty of storage space for tools. —Has room for six bikes, even when its convertible sleeping area is out.

This latest offering from Storyteller Overland, based in Birmingham, Ala., is a true adventure van. The  Beast Mode 4×4  is the outfit’s most feature-packed model yet and was designed specifically for overlanding (as you may have guessed from the company’s name). It’s a true 4×4 powered by a 188 hp turbodiesel V-6 that’s strong enough to tow an additional 5,000 pounds. Its slick retro-style livery is offset with loads of useful off-roading gear, too, such as an LED light package, a roof rack and a side ladder and custom wheels wrapped in BF Goodrich K02 tires. Inside, you’ll find everything you need to relax after a day of exploring, including a cushy lounge that can be converted to a full-size sleeping area. There’s even a climate-control system to ensure you’re comfortable no matter the weather outside. It’s priced at a flat $198,746, for everything listed above.

Inside the Beast Mode 4×4

Storyteller Overland

Special Features: —Turbodiesel V-6 sends 188 hp of power to all four wheels and is strong enough to tow 5,000 extra pounds. —Surprisingly cushy lounge for an off-roading beast.

Let’s get this out of the way: the Loki Expeditions Discovery Series isn’t technically a camper van. It’s a giant expedition vehicle, but because its cabin is installed directly onto a heavy-duty truck chassis you also don’t need anything to tow it. The vehicle’s cabin is what separates it from anything else on this list. Loki Expeditions has turned a shipping container—yes, you read that right—into a full-featured living space that has all the amenities you’d expect to find in a luxury apartment, including a full kitchen with a large fridge, an entertainment area with a U-shaped banquet, and a wet bath with a cassette toilet. It’s also big enough to sleep six adults, with room for two in the dedicated bedroom and four in the entertainment area. And because the heavy-duty vehicle, which starts at $550,000, has all-wheel drive, you can take it practically anywhere.

Inside the Loki Expeditions Discovery Series

Loki Expedition

Special Features: —Cabin has all the features you’d expect to find in a well-appointed apartment and can sleep six adults. —Built on a burly heavy-duty truck chassis that gives you the freedom to venture off the beaten path.

Looking for an EV you can take to the campground. The upcoming EQV just might fit the bill. Despite its relatively compact size—it’s smaller than the ever-popular Sprinter—Dutch camping outfit Tonke has managed to outfit it with everything you need to spend some time communing with nature. It has an entertainment area that doubles as a workspace along with a kitchenette, both of which can be converted into a two-person sleeping area with a simple flip of a bench (a roof-mounted, pop-up tent means it can sleep two more, too). Best of all, there are two variants available—the Touring, which is designed for long road trips, and the Adventure, which is aimed at casual campers.

Inside the Tonke EQV Touring

Special Features: —Fully electronic power train means you won’t have to worry about filling up the tank (though the battery is another story). —Can sleep up to four even despite its relatively compact size.

Best for G-Wagen Lovers: Terracamper Tecrawl 

The Tecrawl isn’t a camper van per se, but it’s hard to leave something this cool off a list like this. Terracamper’s latest offering is based on one of Mercedes-Benz’s most legendary vehicles, the G-Wagen . The German shop has dreamed up a modular accessory kit for the luxury 4×4, that starts at $11,900 and includes a roof-mounted tent, a convertible sofa, and a pull-out kitchenette with a fridge box. Thanks to the ingenious setup, the boxy SUV can sleep up to three and act as your home base next time you want to rough it for the weekend. And because it’s a G-Wagen you can take it as far off-road as you want.

Terracamper Tecrawl 

Terracamper

Special Features: —A G-Wagen but has room for up to three people to sleep. —Packs a brawny powertrain that’s well-suited for off-road adventures.

Thor Motor Coach makes camper vans for those uninterested in making sacrifices. With the  Sanctuary , the company has taken Mercedes-Benz’s already excellent Sprinter 2500 4×4 and turned it into something you could easily live on—on or off the grid. The off-road-ready vehicle comes in two configurations—the 19P ($148,680), which features a back bench that converts into a bed, or the 19L ($151,060), which has a fixed double bed. Even with the bed there’s still plenty of room for other creature comforts, including a bathroom, an entertainment area with a TV and a kitchen with a sink, a dual-burner cooktop, a convection microwave oven and a fridge. An Onan 2500 LP generator keeps everything up and running, too, including an A/C system you can leave on for eight hours at a time. There’s also retractable power awning when you want to spend some time outdoors.

Inside the Thor Motor Coach Sanctuary

Thor Motor Coach

Special Features: —Full-featured bathroom has a sink, a shower and a toilet. —Available with your choice of either a convertible or a fixed bed.

Caravan Outfitter’s third-generation Free Bird isn’t the most feature-laden camper van out there, but it has everything you and the family need to spend a weekend (or more) at the campground. The van, which starts at $50,810, is built on the relatively compact Ford Transit Connect platform but still has room for a full-size bed, a multi-purpose table that can be used as a dinette or workstation, and a pull-out kitchenette with a sink. Because it’s smaller than other options on this list, it only has room to sleep two, but there are several enticing add-ons, including roof- and rear-mounted capsule tents, in case you’re traveling group includes more people.

Inside the Caravan Outfitter Free Bird

Caravan Outfitter

Special Features: —It’s the rare camper van that’s small enough to be comfortably parked inside your garage. —Caravan Outfitters offers several intriguing add-ons so you customize it to your liking.

Airstream isn’t the only famous RV maker that’s gotten into the camper van game. Winnebago actually sells several, and our favorite is the luxe  Boldt . Despite being nowhere near as long as one of its campers—it caps out at 22 feet in length—the $230,276 van has everything you’d expect from the larger vehicle, including dedicated living and sleeping areas, a fully functional kitchen and a bathroom equipped with a shower. You also have several interior decor options to choose from, each of which delivers an updated take on classic Winnebago style. The Boldt is designed for paved roads and campgrounds, but if you want a more rugged ride, the brand also offers the off-road-ready  Revel.

Inside the Boldt

Special Features: —Stretches 22 feet bumper to bumper, meaning there’s plenty of room for you and yours. —Enough space for dedicated entertaining and sleeping areas.

Take one look at  Sportsmobile’s Sprinter 4×4  and it’s clear what its designers had in mind: off-roading. Whether you go with the 12- or 14-foot configuration, the Texas outfit’s stripped-down take on Mercedes’s ultra-popular van comes equipped with a 3.0-liter BlueTec V-6 connected to a five-speed automatic transmission and pumps out 188 hp and 325 ft lbs of torque. That should be more than enough to tackle even the toughest terrain. Inside, you’ll find a spacious living area with a full-featured kitchen. If you want even more room, you can also opt for a pop-up sleeping area that’ll make it that much easier to lounge in comfort.

Inside the Sprinter 4×4

Sportsmobile

Special Features: —Well insulated throughout, but also has space for a propane furnace or heater. — 3.0-liter BlueTec V-6 and four-wheel drive mean it can take on any terrain.

Struggling to find a camper van that’s just right? Boho might be able to help. The Arizona-based company specializes in conversions and will work with you to create the vehicle of your dreams. The company offers several 20- to 24-foot layouts—of which the most popular is the appropriately named Old Faithful—that can be further tailored to meet your needs, whether your priority is multi-season versatility, lots of cooking space, or spending serious amounts of time on the road. The company also offers plenty of cool add-ons too, like wood paneling and flooring.

Inside the Boho Old Faithful

Boho Camper Vans

Special Features: —Versatile layouts that can be further customized so that you’re getting the exact van you want. —The wooden interior option looks better than it has any right to.

Ford’s ready to knock the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter off its perch. The Detroit giant unveiled its own camper van, the Transit Trail, last fall. The adventure-ready vehicle is based on its uber-popular commercial van but is taller, wider and outfitted with protective body cladding. It’s also powered by a potent V-6 that sends 310 horses and 400 ft lbs to all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic gearbox. Right now, Ford seems content to let the $65,975 vehicle be the base for the camper van of your dreams, but it comes loaded with a slew of features that will come in handy at the campground, including a drillable wall you can use to install shelves, a kitchenette or furniture, along with a 12-inch infotainment touchscreen and a back-up camera. It also available in three body configurations—medium-roof, standard length; high-roof, standard length; and high-roof, extended length—one of which should fit your needs.

Inside the Transit Trail

Special Features: —It’s basically a blank slate for you and your partner to create your own dream camper. —Still comes with premium features such as a 12-inch infotainment screen and a back-up camera.

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Armand van Helden tells his history through house music [Interview]

• April 1, 2015

Steph Evans

Not too long ago, Ministry of Sound created a special mix series entitled Masterpiece – a compilation retrospective inviting house music's greatest accomplished artists to create their own vision of the genre's history through a multi-disc release. Previously inviting those like Goldie, David Rodigan and others who this generation of fans may not know by name, they inducted a new, more familiar name to their honorable club last month: Armand van Helden . A producer whose success story is one that other artists dream of, van Helden worked his way up to stardom through working in the underground, rehabilitating club scene of 1990s New York, eventually going on to become a hit maker and one half of Duck Sauce (along with A-Trak).

We got to sit down with the American icon and look at his personal history and its relationship to music, the development of house and of course his own contribution to Masterpiece all in his own words.

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This recent compilation that I worked on for Ministry of Sound, they usually ask various people in the industry with various styles to take part in this Masterpiece series. They tend to ask people who have developed a career in music, so when they asked me I really thought it was a big honor. I know it's a thing where people kind of just dig up old records to show the public their musical tastes and build a collection. But for me, I thought it would be so much better to theme each disc, mix each disc, and make each disc a part of my own identity and a part of my life as well.

The last disc on masterpiece is freestyle, which predates me getting into house music. because freestyle is actually older than house – the first freestyle record they quote as being shannon's "let the music play" from 1984, and house came through in around '85, '86 (and the thing about house is that it was very underground and took a while for it to get to the clubs). nightclubbing though, in the '80s, was just as big as it was in the '70s, and predominantly the music playing was freestyle or soul and funk. it wasn't hip hop and it wasn't house and for sure wasn't rock. for me, freestyle was a big thing from about 1984-1989 when i got into house and it therefore felt cheesy from then on. i remember it got so cheesy i actually wasn't hanging out with the same people anymore once i got into house. it was crazy – today's analogy, it would be dubstep's transition to trap. freestyle, in short, though is like "planet rock" by afrika bambaataa with vocals..

'91 was the first time I put a real record out on a real label. It was called "Deep Creed" and it was on Nervous Records . Before that I was in my home making beats and that alone because I was living up in Boston, and in those days everything was coming out of New York City. But I got lucky and got a record picked up and just started to think "Hey, maybe I have a chance at this game."

At the time I was actually working at a mutual fund company so I was doing this stuff when I would get home and that would be it, along with clubbing a lot and working as a promoter as well. The first disc in the mix series is called 'The Loft: Boston' and The Loft was a club that I started in 1991 as well, I think winter of '91. I was a promoter and the house DJ here and there, wasn't that busy and was getting little gigs here and there, but The Loft was "the one."

The disc is really from my deep house days, which to be honest, not a lot of people know that when i went from freestyle to hip hop and got into house music i got into an extremely deep form of it. we're talking in 1988 when i got into that, which is crazy that i went very deep very quickly., we were really lucky with the loft: we found this after hours spot in boston until 6 am, and the cool thing about the loft simply is that it was one floor with deep house for the real heads, and one floor with rave and techno. it was a very unique environment for 1991; usually those camps didn't sit together. it was one of those kind of clubs that created a cult environment, and i would intentionally let in some of the younger generation because i know that you can mold them (i was 21 at the time, so maybe 18 young). i thought about how the older you get, the more jaded you get and the less you want to be there every week so that you wouldn't be considered "that" type of person. but when you're 18, you don't have anything else going on, so the loft kind of became a church for this younger generation and they were the ones propelling it. they had this insane energy in the club: they would scream to the records and stuff, so they were an important key thing for us there., it was pretty unique for boston, though we did kind of already have a small scene already. i wasn't the only one out there, but we were really copying new york. it's weird, in boston all we did was want to be like new york – not in sports – but in music, we wanted to be like new york., i worked on the loft until about '93 and then during the summer of '93 i moved to new york. i was somehow able to gather up enough funds and i had been wanting to move there since even before i started up at the loft. when i was in boston i made one trip down to new york during the fourth of july weekend and i just lost my mind: it was my first time "really" being there at age 19 and after that i just didn't know why i was living in boston. so i always wanted to get to new york but it just took me a while to get it right, and i moved there on this business plan of selling tracks., the yacht rock disc on masterpiece has really nothing to do with house music, but really was a pivotal time for me growing up as a kid when a parents when my parents would play these records around the house. i would hear these songs, and they didn't really resonate with me when i was a kid because i thought, "well, that's my parents' music." but it sure as hell did when i became a record collector when i was about 24 or 25 and started picking up break beats and everything. it was then that i rediscovered fleetwood mac, steely dan and doobie brothers and thought "oh my god i love this music." so i lived the music when it was new, but didn't say to anyone that i really liked it, and then when i hit my mid-20's man did it resonate with me..

By the point I had moved to New York, I had a number of releases out already, and I was starting to realize that back then you could make a good $1200 on a 12". Generally it would be a minimum of two songs: an A or a B side and two totally different dubs, generally four tracks. Every single house music record label at that time was based in New York City, so my plan was to do three record releases a week ($1200 was a lot of money back then). And I went with that idea and it worked out for me, and "Witch Doktor" was about a year later on that plan. It was getting to the point where I was going to the record labels almost too often, and the A&R's would be like "Dude, we have three of your records coming out we don't need another one."

I was very focused on music, and the key thing is that i wasn't going to new york to party or to get wrapped up in some scene or to be a fashionista. i was kind of just like, "i need to make money." i was totally possessed with music and didn't really know a lot of people there when i first got there, so i had to start from that small matchstick and that kept me focused. like maybe i was a little lonely, but then what do you do when you're lonely you make music, so it was only a good thing. and i'm very happy things played out that way because at that age you can go either way..

It's funny, I got so lucky. I remember coming down to the city for two weeks at the end of July to find a place and fortunately I was allowed to stay at one of my manager's friend's places who was gone for 10 days. He gave me the keys to his place which was up in the 90's on York, and all of the places I was looking at were of course downtown, like way downtown. I found a spot on 30th street – it was a roommate situation since I couldn't afford my own place. And the thing was that of course I needed my studio in there, so it wasn't like massive speakers or anything, but I couldn't just get a place real quick because I would get kicked out of the building! It wasn't an easy find, and luckily I found this place right next to The Garden, and back then, that area was a dump, In 1993, that was No Man's Land: you couldn't even define what that area was. We had the top floor, which was basically the whole roof of the building, where the floors were cement, and my room was a vault. I was so lucky that he liked me and that he let me move in, because when I played and closed the vault door, you couldn't hear me at all. It just sounded like the faint noise of a night club down the block.

Our apartment overlooked the garden, which looked like a huge ufo, and my roommate would throw crazy parties on our roof because he was an old school doorman at clubs like tunnel and at area. there was this old piano, and we would put turntables up on that. it was just an insane first experience in new york., right after "witch doktor" i kind of realized that i could make a career out of this. i was saving enough money where i was like, i could probably end up at a point where i could be like my idols – todd terry, masters at work, david morales. i knew that they were super paid and excelling in their field, and after that single i really felt like i might be coming into mine. so from that point on i kind of tried to stay with that game plan – i would make a beat every so often, something that you could consider a hit i guess, and i kept on that flow into the 2000's..

1998-Present

I did this track called "you don't know me," and around that song and after it came out i kind of had an epiphany thinking, "okay, this is an official hot number 1 record." it was kind of an exhale where i could be in a more zen, centered zone. before that i was pretty possessed, staying on my game and being competitive to make sure this was going to be a long term thing. and after '98 i was ready to slow it down a little: it was way too early for me at 28 to retire, so from then until now really, it's been a slow downgrade..

Through that gradual slow down, there's been a few things that have worked out for me in the music game. I do consider myself to still be in the music game, you know, I'm not retired or anything, but if I think about how I started in '91, next year will be 25 years of being in the music industry. I'm very blessed.

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• Download Masterpiece: Armand Van Helden
• Download Old Love / New Love

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Armand Van Helden: “You can basically make one hit and DJ for the rest of your life” – Interview

Armand Van Helden

Armand Van Helden is that rare thing – a DJ whose musical directions are genuinely difficult to second guess. He’s been busy of late, adding a sequel to his New York Mix Odyssey for Southern Fried, while having a ‘Best Of’ wrapped up for him, a collection that takes care to examine his importance in the world of the remix as well as the original.

For now, though, we’re talking primarily about Van Helden the DJ, the record spinner who remains capable of exciting and pissing off house heads, sometimes in equal measure. For his second Odyssey compilation, however, he went back to his old love, and he talks in smoky tones of the approach.

“The first one in the series was definitely geared towards rock, while this second one was geared more towards hip hop. With the first one I was looking at pulling stuff together that’s not supposed to go together, putting opposites next to each other, whereas the second one I wanted to be more integrated. If you’re gonna do a part two or a part three in a series I think it’s difficult to do the same thing, and in this case it would have ended up as a strange collage.”

Van Helden is an unhurried interviewee, with some of the sense of brooding that comes across in his pictures, but that sense never makes him difficult to talk to. When I offer the opinion that he rarely seems to do the same thing twice, as in this series, he agrees. “In production and in DJing I have my youthful side, that’s how I like to explain it – I like to keep moving forward. It’s attention deficit disorder to some extent, I just have to keep moving forward. A lot of people develop a sound, and their fans go almost mental if they decide to change it.”

That doesn’t particularly affect the DJ. “My biggest issue is that I almost consider myself as not having one fan. I think if you don’t think you have any fans then it actually becomes easier, as there’s no constraints that you think about before you decide what to do next.”

The focus of the second ‘Odyssey’ is a rich period for hip hop and house, that of the late 1980s when both scenes were still blooming. Van Helden has happy memories of his house music induction. “I remember the nights with Roger Sanchez at Ego Trip, with David Morales at Red Zone and with Louie Vega at several places. These were big, huge clubs at the time, and people tend to look back at the extravagance.” He considers further. “I think there’s no history that tells us the right story. There was a strong hip hop side in New York, and that was a normal thing to be, but when you went to clubs it was house. There were no clubs where you could go to hear rap or hip hop. You went to the clubs to hear house, and even when something like Grandmaster Flash ‘s The Message came out you never heard that in the clubs.”

Warming to his task, Van Helden continues. “It took a while for things to fully take hold for me, until about 1992. Then I really fell in love with house music with people like Todd Terry at the Red House and Louie again. I remember thinking, ‘This shit is amazing, the coolest thing ever!’ The people were there for the music and not much else. With house music there was no cocaine, the girls – they’re there, of course. You’d be dancing, making sounds at the DJ, and you’d take a back pack when you went out. If you could picture a mainstream guy introduced to an underground scene, that’s me – and I thought ‘this is what it’s about’.”

“I remember thinking, ‘This shit is amazing, the coolest thing ever!’ – Armand Van Helden’s house music awakening

He reflects next on the antithesis of his love of house music. “I’ve found going to Pacha and that, it’s models and bottles, Dolce & Gabbana, and I was then thinking ‘What the fuck is this?!’ Not because I don’t want to enjoy house music, but I think whatever I experienced at the introduction has done a 180 degree turn.”

Van Helden’s dress bears out his love of hip hop, without indulging into much bling. “My main thing with my style is that you can’t really pinpoint it. In the house scene I dressed hip hop, and now the house DJs in the younger scene look like hip hop artists!”

His second ‘Odyssey’, not to mention the ‘best of’, would seem to be particularly well timed given the current preoccupation with the ‘Summer of Love’, 1988 and all that. He laughs softly. “The weird thing about dance music, and this is a strange one, is that you can basically make one hit and DJ for the rest of your life. You make one classic song and go out and DJ. The house music scene, when they want to remember something they remember it, and once you’ve got into that it’s great. With me I think it’s kind of weird, as I did songs for different scenes – some speed garage, some more NY hip hop. A number of different songs made their mark in those scenes that don’t even talk to each other. They did their thing in the scenes that were around at the time.”

Although people still think of Van Helden as a house DJ, due no doubt to success with You Don’t Know Me and Professional Widow, he agrees that hip hop plays as much of a part in his life. “It does, and I don’t want people to feel distant from me. For a certain part of my life I lived house music, from say 1989 through to 1995 or 1996. That’s a long time ago. It was very different then, I would say. If you got into house music around 1989 there were no white people, and a lot of people don’t even consider old house as straight, either.”

“In the house scene I dressed hip hop, and now the house DJs in the younger scene look like hip hop artists” – Armand Van Helden observes how the fashion tables have turned in house music.

Yet while he has moved around, he has no criticism to direct at DJs staying put in the genre. “No, because if you’re a guy making beats, and your song blows up, you’ve just bought a house and a car, now you have a studio, you’re not gonna want to blow that up, are you? Or how are you going to be able to play music? You can’t blame anyone, I understand the intent. A lot of artists in general are able to pull out a gem.”

Van Helden made a brief visit to these shores in October, DJing at Fabric’s sister club matter. He enjoys his trips across the Atlantic. “London’s probably my second or third favourite city, after New York obviously. I’d actually say it’s the closest thing to New York, it seems to be the cosmopolitan nature. There’s a pretty good ratio of cultures, perhaps not as strong as New York but strong nonetheless. It’s a working city, and they give me the same vibe. I went to a hip hop and R&B club in London, and they played the same set I’d expect to hear back home. Miami, or LA – there you’d hear a different set.”

So how does he prepare for a DJ gig? “I pretty much prepare my sets just before I leave. Younger DJs I know, they blog all day, they blog and they’re freaking out. I’m really happy but I can’t do that any more. I know what it is, it’s raw passion – but I don’t have the passion anymore. The focus? It’s never changed for me, but I think the mix of people’s cultures and styles has changed.”

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Armand Van Helden - Masterpiece

• Published Mar 18, 2015
• Words Carlos Hawthorn
• Label Ministry Of Sound MOSCD383
• Released February 2015
• Genres House  ·  Pop
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• The only time I've seen Armand Van Helden was at Benicassim Festival in Spain, a month or so after my 18th birthday. While most of my friends were off watching Muse on the main stage, a small group of us splintered off to catch Van Helden closing out the weekend in the dance tent. He dropped "NYC Beat" and "My My My," as well as big-room remixes of The Prodigy's "Out Of Space" and Red Hot Chili Peppers' "By The Way." We danced non-stop, and when it got too hot, we took our tops off and tied them around our heads. That was in 2007. That same year, Van Helden released his seventh studio album, Ghettoblaster , a record that confirmed his status as a household name in the world of electro house. In the years that followed, he'd repeatedly break into the pop charts, collaborating with Dizzee Rascal, Steve Aoki, and A-Trak as Duck Sauce. Gone were the fiery, razor-sharp grooves and disco samples of his '90s productions, replaced by colossal basslines, cheesy vocals and hands-in-the-air pianos. This new Van Helden was totally unrecognisable from the young producer who was once the beating heart of New York's thriving house scene. Given Van Helden's recent history, Ministry Of Sound's decision to call on him for their Masterpiece series seemed, at first glance, a risky move. Van Helden doesn't have the lasting legacy of other artists in the series, such as David Rodigan, Gilles Peterson or Andrew Weatherall. But this mix asks us to forget the last 15 years of Van Helden's career. Starting at The Loft in Boston at the turn of the '90s, it explores two contrasting styles that had a profound impact on Van Helden growing up: American pop and freestyle. It was at The Loft, first on the dance floor and then in the booth, that Van Helden discovered his love for this new, funky club music, and there's not a moment on CD1 when that passion doesn't burst through. All of the scene's big dogs get a shout-out (except Van Helden himself), from Mood II Swing on the opening cut to Masters At Work, MK, Earth People and Jellybean. But it's Groove Patrol ("Need Your Love") and Soho ("Hot Music") who provide the standout cuts. Given its recent resurgence, you might think another classic US house mix is the last thing you need in your life, but this'll remind you why it's forever hailed as one of dance music's golden eras. If disc one delivers the goods exactly to order, disc two is the mix's curveball. In a homage to his parents' record collection, AVH presents an hour of soft rock from the '70s and '80s, ranging from the catchy to the downright soppy. There are a couple of guilty pleasures, but for every Toto track there's Exile's "Kiss You All Over," a Route 66 power ballad of the type you assumed existed but hoped never to hear. The third disc positions itself somewhere between the other two, homing in on freestyle, a short-lived electro-funk sound that emerged from the US in the '80s. The mix gets off to a thrilling start, all frenetic, brightly-coloured beats and lovelorn vocals, but occasionally errs on the wrong side of cheesy. A late outing for Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam's "I Wonder If I Take You Home," though, is one of the highlights of the package. As saccharine as it is in places, Masterpiece is the best thing AVH has put his name to since 1999's 2Future4U LP. That might not sound like much of an accolade, given the direction he took since then, but these three discs offer an insight into the musical memory of one of house music's most important figures.
• Tracklist CD1 The Loft - Boston 01. Mood II Swing - I Need Your Luv (Right Now) (Lem's Church Mix) 02. Saint Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Masters At Work Dub) 03. Happyhead - Digital Love Thing Underground M.K. Mix 04. Joe T. Vannelli Feat. Csilla - Play With The Voice (Joe T. Vannelli Free Voice Mix) 05. Groove Patrol - Need Your Love 06. Ian Pooley - Don't You Be Afraid 07. The Swing Kids - Yeah (The Dope Mix) 08. Three Generations Feat Chevell - Get It Off (Underground Mix) 09. Sterling Void & Paris Brightledge - It's Alright (Original Mix) 10. Jellybean - Spillin’ The Beans (Alzibar Mix) 11. Earth People - Dance (Club Mix) 12. 2 Direct - Get Down 13. Go Bitch Go! (Work) - This Pussy (Original Bitch Mix) 14. Soho - Hot Music 15. Logic - The Warning (Inner Mix) CD2 Yacht Rock Don’t Stop 01. Christopher Cross - Ride Like The Wind 02. Little River Band - The Night Owls 03. Robbie Dupree - Steal Away 04. Kenny Loggins - This Is It 05. Exile - Kiss You All Over 06. Climax Blues Band - Gotta Have More Love 07. Toto - Georgy Porgy 08. Boz Scaggs - JoJo 09. Benny Mardones - Into The Night 10. Player - Baby Come Back Single Version 11. Ambrosia - Biggest Part Of Me 12. Chicago - Wishing You Were Here 13. The Doobie Brothers - It Keeps You Runnin' CD3 Freestyle Forever 01. Giggles - Love Letter (12-inch Version) 02. Stevie B - Spring Love (Come Back To Me) 03. Nocera - Summertime Summertime 04. Coro - Where Are You Tonight (Extended Club Version) 05. India - Dancing On The Fire (Album Release) 06. George Lamond - Bad Of The Heart 07. Stevie B - Dreamin’ Of Love 08. Information Society - Running 09. Nice & Wild - Diamond Girl 10. Debbie Deb - Lookout Weekend 11. Freestyle - It’s Automatic 12. Debbie Deb - When I Hear Music 13. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam - I Wonder If I Take You Home 14. Hanson & Davis - Hungry For Your Love 15. Joyce Sims - (You Are My) All And All
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