2manydjs are kings of the mash-up
DAVID and Stephen Dewaele have already changed the musical landscape once.
Two brothers from Ghent in Belgium, who make up half of electro-rockers Soulwax, were at the forefront of the early millennium bootlegging, remixing, mash-up phenomenon of ‘bastard pop’.
And if you’ve been indie-clubbing anywhere in Manchester over the last few years, their influence is inescapable.
From the Warehouse Project to Clique to, well, anywhere that isn’t 5th Avenue, that sound of your favourite indie-rock tune being re-worked into a dancefloor magnet has the Soulwax stamp all over it.
Global juggernaut
During this time, various incarnations of David Dewaele’s global juggernaut roadshow party have given crowds nights to remember; Soulwax (the band), Soulwax Nite Versions (the band revising their own work) and Radio Soulwax (guest bands/DJs) have toured extensively.
Now, for the first time, the aftershow element is the main event, with the brothers’ 2manydjs alias embarking on a headline tour, completing a meteoric rise from cult electro-rock band to DJs du jour. How has it happened?
"You tell me!" Dewaele exclaims. "I have no idea. We’re still amazed. The only thing I can say is that we put in the effort. And people like to have fun."
Anything Dewaele is involved with tends to be a byword for fun. After two Soulwax albums in the mid-to-late ‘90s, the brothers’ switched attention to the turntable, creating bootleg compilations.
Vision of the future
The only one to get an official release, As Heard on Radio Soulwax 2, was a landmark, a vision of the future mixing everything from the Velvet Underground to Destiny’s Child, Dolly Parton to the Stooges.
As word of mouth spread, no self respecting party dared omit it from the stereo, and the mainstream embraced the underground. Things haven’t been the same since, though Dewaele is uneasy with the accolades.
"People have said we’ve revolutionised pop culture, and that we were rebels or pioneers, but I find that odd. We were just playing records we liked.
"That is all. It wasn’t some big business plan. It wasn’t like we thought ‘this could make us loads of money’. We never had any intentions. Just to make music. We like to keep things nonchalant, and we’ve ended up selling more records than big bands, which is incredible.
New challenge
This has been done exclusively, and it’s built up on its own. People are always asking us to put another CD out, but we don’t see the point. It wouldn’t have the same impact. We’ve done 24, that is enough. This tour is a new challenge."
The days when they would merely ‘show up' with a few records and tell everyone we had forgotten our headphones’ are long gone, and such is the popularity of 2manydjs they are now a major draw at summer festivals.
"We’re going on last at a few festivals, so we’re going to have to make it more interesting than two idiots standing behind a DJ booth. We’ve worked out a new show, thinking hard on the visuals to make it more like a performance."
One only has to watch Part of the Weekend Never Dies, a tour rockumentary by film maker Saam Farahmand, to see how spectacular that performance can be.
Capturing the hedonism
Perfectly capturing the hedonism of a night on the tiles with the visceral thrills of the Soulwax live experience, it shows how well modern electronic music can resonate.
"People go crazy," he laughs. "It’s great. And this all happened without an industry push. There is no machine behind us.
"It coincided with the industry losing all its power, and it was just the music that did it. And that’s the great thing; everything is in our own hands."
The latest innovation, Radio Soulwax, an online radio station, will be streaming throughout the summer, ‘an extension of the concept that will be collaborative, immediate and much more interesting’ than any previous recorded document, according to Dewaele.
Logical step
But what of the live shows? He acknowledges the significance of 2manydjs headlining their own.
"Clearly the demand is there, so we thought it was a logical step. We love DJing live, but this is quite ambitious. We know there is more pressure, but we are looking forward to it.
"Manchester will only be the second night, so we’ll still be a bit nervous. But if it works, it’s going to be great."
Published: Thu, 04 June, 2009
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