Armando (producer)

Armando Gallop (sometimes written as Armando Gallup) (February 12, 1970 – December 17, 1996), who released material under his first name only, was an American house-music producer and DJ who was an early contributor to the development of acid house.[1]

Armando was born in Chicago to parents of Afro-Cuban descent. He was a star baseball player as a youngster before spinal meningitis put an end to his athletic aspirations. He became interested in dance music, organizing parties by age 16 and mixing on radio by age 17.[1] He and Mike Dunn founded Musique Records and Warehouse Records in 1988, the latter releasing Armando's singles "151" and "Land of Confusion". "Land of Confusion" became a transatlantic club hit in Chicago as well as in Britain, where it influenced their early acid-house scene.[1] He also produced Warehouse releases from Ron Trent, DJ Rush, and Robert Armani.

Instead of working on production, Armando spent most of the early 1990s with a residency at Chicago's new Warehouse club (in Randolph Street[2]) from 1992 to 1994. He served as an A&R rep for Felix da Housecat's Radikal Fear label and, soon afterward, recorded for that label himself. His first and only full-length album, One World, One Future, was released in 1996 on Play it Again, Sam. Armando died of leukemia shortly after the album's release.[1]

References

The Armando Project: An Oral History from Armando's friends and fans