John Bush, All Music Guide

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.

Helen Marquis, Amazon.co.uk

As Heard on Radio Soulwax Vol. 2 follows some mixed reviews for the Soulwax boys' efforts at composing from scratch: they discovered they had a much greater talent for ripping other people's works together to create a whole new sound of their own.
As pioneers of the mash-up scene, the Soulwax boys were the first to actually get something into the public domain, and you can but wonder at how they managed to get most of the stuff on here cleared for use. Despite their clever moniker, 2 Many DJs is just two guys with a digital mixer and a box full of tracks that you'd never think to mix together. From Salt 'N' Pepa's "Push It" cut up with the Stooges' "No Fun", to Destiny's Child's "Independent Woman" over 10cc's "Dreadlock Holiday", blending seamlessly into Dolly Parton's "Nine to Five", the tracklisting may look like someone's idea of a joke, but somehow it works.

This is quite possibly the ultimate party soundtrack with something for everyone and the emphasis firmly on fun.

Victoria Segal, New Musical Express

They're good boys, Stephen and David Dewaele. In the quest for their perfect mix album, Soulwax's singer and guitarist hunted down legal clearance for over 187 tracks. Their website announces proudly that 114 were approved, 62 were refused and 11 remained untraceable. There are, of course, those that would say that the resulting record – available in this country on import only – is every bit as commercial as the Sugababes single, another blow to the legally shady spontaneity of the underground.

Yet if Soulwax have spoilt it for everyone else, at least they've done it with panache: bootleg culture, electroclash, disco, pop, rock'n'roll – all are well served by this Belgian musical puree. The website manifesto insists that '2 Many DJ s' shouldn't be seen as the soundtrack to the bar or boutique – but you can almost taste the sushi as their bootleg of 'Push It' and 'No Fun' makes a stylishly raucous appearance. No longer fashion renegades rifling through the second-hand sample bin and mixing it up with designer chart knock-offs, Soulwax are your personal shoppers, refining the process of musical discovery for ease and accessibility.

Still, there's an abundance of witty segues: 'Independent Women Pt 1' gives way to Dolly Parton chortling through 'Nine To Five'; Peaches' unpleasant 'Fuck The Pain Away' flexes into 'I'm Waiting For The Man'; there's a particularly twisted troilist encounter between The Cramps, The Breeders and Skee-Lo. Then there's Dakar And Grinser's take on 'I Wanna Be Your Dog', Felix Da Housecat's 'Silver Screen Shower Scene', New Order, Royksopp, Kylie - there's little here that you wouldn't turn up the radio for.

It's ironic, however, that their love and knowledge of music, compiled and formatted like this, should become such a simple musical commodity. '2 Many DJ s' is a zeitgeist-flavoured Slimfast: never mind all those heavy, fattening records, just play this selection – lovely flavours! – and then if you want, you can listen to a proper record in the evening. Soulwax might feed your ears, but you'll need more substance to feed your head.

Rob Mitchum, Pitchfork Media, August 30th, 2002

Bootlegs! They're not just Maxell XLIIs with fuzzy recordings of that acoustic Smashing Pumpkins Tower Records appearance anymore! Bootlegs! Compilations of which are finding their way onto even the most esteemed criticos' mid-year best-of lists! Bootlegs! Their pissing-on-copyright-laws approach poetically mirrors-- and is, one might argue, made possible by-- the wonders of digital file-sharing! Bootlegs!

Quasi-anonymous 2 Many DJs are the kings of the bootleg mountain. Otherwise known as Soulwax, the Belgian duo (brothers Stephen and David Dewaele) has released some of the genre's most popular MP3s, many of which sprang to notoriety after being posted to Boomselection, the web's primary resource for this new music. As Heard on Radio Soulwax Pt 2 is their first full-length release as bootleggers (they actually started out as a rock band), but genre classification aside, the album is really just a very cohesive, hour-long DJ mix. This incarnation of the 25-year-old artform, however, seems to be kicking up quite a bit of fuss amongst those 'in the know.' But what's the big deal? According to my analysis, four incredibly deep, insightful conclusions can be reached from the album's content:

1) All popular music is, by definition, pop music.

This has been the manifesto of the bootleg movement from day one, or at least since the Freelance Hellraiser's "A Stroke of Genius" started making the Internet rounds. Effortlessly merging the biggest hits of Christina Aguilera and The Strokes played a galactic prank on the hipsters of the world, showing that their latest pet band was just a few mouse clicks away from being the latest teenie pop sample loop. Nothing on Radio Soulwax is quite so subversive, but the integration of the thick-glasses crowd's favorite bands-- the Velvet Underground, The Breeders, The Stooges-- into what's basically a club house mix might ruffle some feathers. Who would've known "I'm Waiting for My Man" was just a Sly & The Family Stone tambourine away from being a party anthem? Who'd've thunk "No Fun" or "Cannonball" wrapped so perfectly around aged rap tracks from Salt N' Pepa and Skee-Lo? Nobody, actually, and that's part of the fun.

2) DJ mixes are not just a novelty.

Beyond this valiant mission, the dexterous wrists of 2 Many DJs appear to strive for even higher, more artistically lofty accomplishments with their mix. Witness, for example, the middle 20 minutes of the album, a movement largely devoid of mainstream-recognizable tunes. Dropping music from the household-name likes of Funkacise Gang, Alphawezen, and Zongamin, the duo slaps rhythm against rhythm in calculated haphazardry, creating new sounds sure to earn ever-more-arcane classifications from the self-appointed genre taxonomists. You might argue such experimentation is instant death to the album's boogie-boogie purpose, and is even a bit middling. Or you might argue that I and others are convincing ourselves of this objective's presence in order to wax intellectual about a pop music collection. On certain occasions, I'd be obliged to agree with you.

3) DJ mixes are just a novelty.

Because really: Dolly Parton into Rokysopp? Early New Order vs. house sleazeballs Detroit Grand Pubahs? These are combinations designed to provoke disbelief and mirth on the first listen-- which they do, admirably. But thereafter, as with the vast majority of DJ mixes, the Law of Diminishing Entertainment Returns applies more readily-- these krazy kombos are certainly worth the download-time to hear at least once, but the audio trickery wears out fast. Compounding the problem is the inclusion of fairly pointless pre-processed kitsch, like the techno covers of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and ELO's falsetto favorite "Don't Bring Me Down". Choosing to include the electro-fied versions of other mixing board pranksters is surely an odd decision, and resembles smirking in a hall of mirrors, with all the fun-or-headache debate that implies. So what's the real, overarching όber-purpose?

4) Hire us for remixes!

And hell, don't assume from our web address that I think there's anything wrong with a little self-promotion! 2 Many DJs show off their renovatin' stuff on Radio Soulwax, and their stuff ain't too shabby. Witness Destiny's Child's TRL fave "Independent Women Pt 1," transformed into a 70s lite-funk groover by the addition of 10cc's "Dreadlock Holiday." (Mere coincidence that Beyonce's movie-driven first solo step had similar funktastical leanings?) The duo also definitively proves that nothing goes with the gleefully self-aware over-the-top house of Basement Jaxx like the hilariously oblivious prog of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The hybridization of "Where's Your Head At" and a live take on "Theme from 'Peter Gunn'" has got BANG!-- you can already envision Pringles' ad execs riffling their Rolodexes.

Despite all my hypothesizing and yelling about stuff, I concede that Radio Soulwax is a good time. I don't know that it's groundbreaking, beyond the fact that whatever this bootlegging craze is the start of could eventually yield fantastic results. At this point, though, all I hear is a temporary house-party enhancer that, while fun for a while, isn't the kind of thing you're going to come back to in five years (or even two) to find that it's withstood the test of time. Enjoy it while you can.

© Frank Steven Groen