Duck Sauce, anyone?

Earlier this year, Duck Sauce unleashed their debut single aNYway on an unsuspecting public. The house-orientated ode to New York City, featuring a sample of Final Edition’s I Can Do It, was an instant hit and shot to number one on the Official UK Dance Chart. The press release that accompanied the single simply read: 'Duck Sauce is Armand Van Helden and A-Trak making house music and eating Chinese food. Who’s hungry?'

This may seem like a seriously weak way to introduce a duo that consists of Van Helden, an international house music icon, and A-Trak, Kanye West’s tour DJ and remix golden child. However, it actually sums up what they do pretty well: “Armand and I were hanging out for a while before we even thought about making music. We actually met through Chromeo, my brother’s band. We would listen to music at his house. A year and a half later he brought up the idea of making a couple of tracks together.”

It seems a little strange that A-Trak would chose to work with Van Helden when the Canadian’s credentials suggest that he is more than capable of producing this kind of music on his own. After all, he did win the DMC World DJ Championships at the tender age of 15 and pretty much everything he produces is met with critical acclaim. But A-Trak insists he could not have done this alone: “It was more my idea to do disco loops and late 90s French house but it was not something I had done before – it’s just something that I thought would be cool to bring back. Armand used to make those records. He has the magic touch.”

Considering the high profile of both producers and their conflicting tour schedules, many have wondered why the pair would choose to take a step back from their successful solo ventures. As it turns out, both will continue to work alone and pursue this venture in their free time. “Everything is going to be really exclusive,” begins A-Trak. “We won’t be doing remixes and we will only do about one or two shows a year at the most. We are definitely going to make more tracks and I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up making a whole album.”

It seems only natural to find out where the ridiculous name comes from, but I think the story behind Duck Sauce is best told in A-Trak’s own words:

“In New York a lot of people get Chinese takeaway food and there’s this tradition that every Chinese takeaway restaurant in New York gives you these packages of Duck Sauce. There’s something very New York about our project because both Armand and I are very attached to the New York B Boy aesthetic. To a New Yorker, Duck Sauce means something right away.”

Van Helden and A-Trak have collaborated long enough to create a wave of hype around their project, only to suggest that their next release could be in a couple months or a couple of years. Some might call that teasing. We can only hope that the duo decide to get their act together soon and make more mouth-watering house creations. Then again, all good things come to those who wait – right?