Back around the turn of the millennium, pop music experienced an evolutionary leap in the form of the mash-up. At first, songs like The Freelance Hellraiser’s 2001 hit “A Stroke of Genius”—fusing Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle” with The Strokes’ “Hard to Explain”—might have seemed like ironic novelties. But as MP3s grew in popularity, and people’s iPods filled with rock and rap and pop and dance and beyond, the walled gardens of genre began to feel quaintly irrelevant. What’s more, listeners found themselves jonesing for that frisson they experienced when two familiar yet unlike things came together.
2manydjs’ 2002 mix As Heard on Radio Soulwax, Pt. 2 shifted that evolutionary leap into overdrive. In the space of an hour, Belgian brothers David and Stephen Dewaele—also known as indie rockers Soulwax—not only blew through dozens of tracks; they made each blend feel like a brand-new song. (It reportedly took them only two weeks to make, but nine months to license all the tracks—and even then, the CD was legally available only in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.)
The mix definitively dynamites the idea that different styles should be kept apart. The sleazy electroclash of Felix Da Housecat’s “Silver Screen (Shower Scene)” spills over into The Stooges’ “No Fun”, which overlaps with Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It”, yielding a deliciously lascivious triptych. Later on, an almost imperceptible scrap of Nena’s New Wave classic “99 Luftballons” sets up a passage pairing Destiny’s Child’s “Independent Women, Pt. 1” a cappella with the borrowed reggae of yacht rockers 10cc’s “Dreadlock Holiday”, and then that song morphs into Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5”, of all things. It’s a dizzying cascade of references, yet Radio Soulwax, Pt. 2 never feels like it’s trying to be clever for cleverness’ sake. What makes the mix so spellbinding is how flat-out musical it is. All the Y2K-era hype around mash-ups obscured the fact that DJs had been making recombinant magic for years. On Radio Soulwax, Pt. 2, 2manydjs just made that sleight of hand sound more effortless than ever.
Tracklisting
| Position | Title |
|---|---|
| A1.1 | Peter Gunn (Live) |
| A1.2 | Where’s Your Head At (Head-A-Pella) |
| A2 | Fuck The Pain Away |
| A3 | I’m Waiting For The Man |
| A4.1 | J’Aime Regarder Les Mecs |
| A4.2 | Dance To The Music |
| A4.3 | Oh Sheila (A Capella) |
| A5 | I Wanna Be Your Dog |
| A6 | Disko Kings |
| A7.1 | The “O” Medley |
| A7.2 | Silverscreen-Shower Scene |
| B1.1 | No Fun |
| B1.2 | Push It |
| B2.1 | Joe Le Taxi |
| B2.2 | Crush On You (A Capella) |
| B3.1 | Funkacise |
| B3.2 | Motocross Madness |
| B3.3 | French Kiss |
| B4 | Serious Trouble |
| B5 | Androgyny ‘Thee Glitz Mix’ By Felix Da Housecat |
| B6.1 | Disc Jockey’s Delight Vol. 2 |
| B6.2 | Kaw-Liga (Prairie Mix) |
| B7 | Shake Your Body |
| B8 | Into The Stars (Firebirds Remix) |
| B9.1 | Concepts |
| B9.2 | 99 Luftballons |
| C1.1 | Independent Women Part 1 (A Capella) |
| C1.2 | Dreadlock Holiday |
| C2.1 | 9 To 5 |
| C2.2 | Eple |
| C3 | Death Disco |
| C4 | Keine Melodien |
| C5.1 | I Wish (A Cappella) |
| C5.2 | My Gigolo |
| C5.3 | Cannonball |
| D1 | Human Fly |
| D2 | Danger! High Voltage |
| D3 | Don’t Bring Me Down |
| D4 | Hand To Phone |
| D5 | La Rock 01 |
| D6 | I Was Made For Loving You |
| D7.1 | The Beach |
| D7.2 | Sandwiches (A Capella) |
| D8 | I Sit On Acid (Soulwax Remix) |
| D9 | Start Button |
Apple Music
Release Images
Release Information
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia URL | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_Heard_on_Radio_Soulwax_Pt._2 |
| Format | 2× Vinyl (Gatefold) LP, Mixed, Reissue, Repress |
| Label | Play It Again Sam |
| Catalog Number | PIASR565DLPR |
| Notes | ℗ & © 2022 - 2manydjs under exclusive license to Play It Again Sam. Made in the EU. Gatefold sleeve. Front Hyper Sticker “40.PIAS.COM” First released for Record Store Day 2012, later available as a part of “[PIAS] 30 Years” re-release campaign and now reissue for PIAS 40 Edition. |
| Discogs URL | 2 Many DJ’s - As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt.2 |