As Heard on Radio Soulwax, Pt. 2

Soulwax members Stephen and David Dewaele inaugurated the alias 2 Many DJ's for a series of radio-show mix sessions, few (if any) of which were recorded live; with the magic of computer processing, the pair spent hours constructing pinpoint mixes with editing software, deconstructing pop music of the '60, '70s, and '80s with multiple layers of familiar songs. And as unlikely as it appeared they'd ever be able to issue a proper album, 2 Many DJ's debuted a full-length mix with 2002's As Heard on Radio Soulwax, Pt. 2, a feat of licensing endurance and computer-aided mixing with few parallels at this early date in the history of mash-ups. (It's available only as an import, fully licensed and bonded for the notorious Benelux countries alone.) An hour-long mix with nary a pause for breath, the disc balances late-period electro-techno with some of the most hilarious one-over-another collisions of previously unimagined duets in history. When the vocal on a pitched-up "I'm Waiting for the Man" finally drops out, it's difficult not to be a little shocked once you realize that midway the beat morphed into "Dance to the Music," and Lou Reed's hip whine is replaced by an a cappella version of "Oh Sheila." Sexual frustration (the Stooges' "No Fun") competes with sexual release (Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It"), the wistful one-shot "I Wish" by Skee-Lo sounds a bit more extroverted when pasted over the Breeders' "Cannonball," and "Independent Woman, Pt. 1" by Destiny's Child gradually gives way to "Independent Woman, Pt. 0" -- that is, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5." There's as many incredible rare grooves on this record as there are familiar shots, a sure tribute to 2 Many DJ's as combination collectors/mixers/taste-makers than anything else. Most of the ideas here really aren't new -- just talk to Grandmaster Flash or Kool Herc about borrowing any records at hand to keep a crowd moving -- but 2 Many DJ's have acres of talent and great ideas about constructing a mix record. ~ John Bush

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