Superstar DJs launch Duck Sauce

It's fair to say that both Armand Van Helden and A-Trak know what it takes to build a dance hit.

Boston's Van Helden, one of the most prolific DJs of the last two decades, was last heard sprinkling dust on Dizzee Rascal's UK chart topper Bonkers.

Meanwhile Canadian A-Trak, a comparative newcomer to New York's house scene and previously Kanye West's personal DJ, runs super cool record label Fools Gold.

Together they are the brains and brawn behind Duck Sauce.

Initial meeting

"We just met in New York, going out a little bit and just being in the scene in New York - that's how we became friends originally," says A-Trak sleepily down the phone.

"So we've been hanging out for maybe like a year and a half."

Despite the gap in experience - A-Trak was winning a DJ World Championship at 15 in 1997, Van Helden was already two albums in by then - they've become good friends.

"Armand works a little bit more straightforward than me," he ponders on the pair's likenesses. "He gets the song done pretty quickly."

The duo cleared space in their diaries in spring of this year to mix their chemistry - the product of which was four tracks under their odd moniker.

"It just sounded right," he says of the name. "In New York there's a tradition of getting Chinese take away food. It always comes with this pack of Duck Sauce and no-one ever knows what it is. It sounded cool."

Single aNYway, released later this month, is their first official release - a disco house banger, the video of which pays homage to the Jackson 5.

"We're both similar in the sense that we're both very laid back," recalls A-Trak from the sessions. "Easy to get along with and at the same time pretty focussed on what we want to do."

What started as an experiment is now something more serious - a project both will return to.

"It's something that we both want to do so we'll work it out," he outlines.

Right now, an album and live sets ("possibly, we'll see" he says) remain unconfirmed but look unlikely.

Personal projects

Before the pair get a chance to reunite they're concentrating on individual projects. First on A-Trak's priorities list is his own debut album.

"It's not going to sound like much else out there," he boasts. "It can't be compared to much.

"Like a lot of the stuff I do by myself it'll fall somewhere between hip hop and electronic music.

"You have a couple of guests but also it'll rest on my production."