An interview with SOULWAX

I thought I'd share this interesting interview with David Dewaele of SOULWAX that URGE sent over to me.

"David Dewaele: I have many theories. One of them is, in terms of dance music, America is still very traditional in many ways. I think for all kinds of music in America, you need to do it live. I don't think America is ready yet to watch people play a laptop. They need a show, a frontman, a drummer. Even in hip-hop. You can mix the most advanced kind of electronic, weird hip-hop, and if you want to do it live — even Timbaland or The Neptunes' stuff — they bring in some s****y drummer and [yell corny stuff like] "wave your hands in the air." I think that's a typical American thing; it's the reason why The Prodigy works, and something like Underworld won't. In essence, Prodigy has a frontman going, "Come on, jump up and down!"

URGE: Is that why you've incorporated a live-band performance aspect into Radio Soulwax? Are you trying to trick people into liking dance music?

Dewaele: Yeah, like a scheme. [Laughs.] No, it's a lot more simple. We made Nite Versions, and we wanted to do it live. The thing with Radio Soulwax is that it's set up like a continuous party. It's not necessarily a live gig then a DJ set; it's one continuous performance, where one flows into the other. The thing that everyone keeps talking about is the blend of indie and dance music, electro and new-rave, whatever you call it. To us, that's just normal. It's what The Clash used to do. People think a little bit too much in categories. If you can dance to it, it works. That was at the basis of 2 many dj's and with Radio Soulwax, it was just an extension of that. In our heads, it doesn't really matter if it's Vitalic or Justice, or WhoMadeWho that we bring with us on tour. It's all the same aesthetic for us. It musically brings the same point.

URGE: With all your various personas, it's sometimes difficult to figure out what separates Soulwax from 2 many dj's. You're a band, you're DJs, you're remixers, but you remix yourselves, and reinterpret your music
in different ways.

Dewaele: I don't think it'll seem so confusing in a few years time. In 2007, it's almost like the only way to go. If you're just a band touring... you're like thousands of other bands doing the same. A lot of upcoming kids who send us stuff do the same thing: They're a band that plays drums, remixes, produces other people. It's almost becoming the norm. With things like the music industry changing and the Internet and MySpace, definitely the way people put out music or express creativity is changing as well. We all have to adapt to it, and whatever we're doing won't seem abnormal."

Read more of the SOULWAX interview and much more at MTV's URGE