Biography
Formed by the brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, the Belgian group Soulwax started as a guitar-driven rock band. Their first two albums were largely melodic pop/rock songs, though 1996 debut Leave the Story Untold made occasional nods to grunge with heavier guitars. The followup Much Against Everyone's Advice had a moodier tone and more keyboards, making it a close cousin to pre-OK Computer Radiohead. It was the first worldwide release and first to get US attention. Following this album, the Dewaele brothers launched a Belgian radio show, Hang the DJ (title courtesy the Smiths), which applied their remixing skills to a wildly eclectic selection of tracks. Using the name 2 Many DJ's, the brothers began releasing mix tapes and posting the radio shows on the Soulwax website. They licensed enough recordings to make one official DJ release, As Heard on radio Soulwax, Part 2-- one of the most eclectic remix collections ever assembled, covering their grasp of pop history from vintage rockabilly to prog-rock to punk and electronics, along with pop of all stripes; one track mashed together Destiny's Child and 10cc. The New York Times named this the best pop album of that year. The DJ aesthetic then began informing their work as Soulwax, starting with the more electronic 2004 set Any Minute Now; the first single "E Talking" was banned on some TV stations for its tongue-in-cheek celebration of recreational drugs. The album was accompanied by a remix set, Nite Versions, and Soulwax became in demand as remixers for other artists. In 2005 they remixed the song "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" by KCD Soundsystem, and followed that with a mix ("Ribiot Rock") for Daft Punk itself. Other mix clients includes Klaxons and Peaches. They also did some soundtrack work, including a mix of the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" for the Kevin Spacey movie 21. Their work as Soulwax continued to get more conceptual: In 2016 they scored the movie Belgica, about the downfall of two brothers running a dance club, and did the 15 songs in the style of fictional bands who played the club. Also during 2016 Soulwax performed a live show called "Transient Program For Drums and Machinery," a set of mostly-new material that was written around multi-drum grooves, This became the basis of the following year's From Deewee, the first Soulwax album in ten years, which was recorded in a single 48-minute take.
