Essential Mix - Radio Soulwax

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Radio Soulwax, BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix January 2, 2005 (YSI link) tracklist in comments

I had a few ideas for today's essential mix post, but decided to go with a DJ set by one of the major figures in this whole indiedance, dancerock scene (maybe we can come up with a good genre name here?) Soulwax have had their hand in so much amazing shit, it's kind of hard to imagine. It all started with their 1999 album, Much Against Everyone's Advice, which was quite big to my surprise. They really made their mark on the scene with their albums from a few years ago, Any Minute Now and Nite Versions. Classic, classic albums that helped

I came to them via their series of mixes in the early part of this new millenium. I can remember reading some amazing reviews in Wire magazine of all places, by my favorite critic, Peter Shapiro. I can remember first being struck by the illict nature of all of this, how they weren't cleared to put these out and had to sell them in a secretive way. It was probably a bit of b.s. but whatever. I was so psyched when I came across As Heard On Radio Soulwax Part 2, as I got on the bus early. I know that my first thought was "Wtf?" and that I didn't like it. But I kept coming back to it, at first to hear a few songs like "Waiting for the Man" and "Fuck the Pain Away" and quickly it began to make sense. It was a pretty pivotal moment for me to realize how you didn't have to stick to one genre, that dance music could sit alongside hip-hop and rock.

So, here's the Essential Mix they did for Pete Tong's BBC Radio One show at the very beginning of 2005. It's another killer, almost frightening how seamless the Soulwax/2 Many DJs guys make it all, like there's literally no moment where you can sense even a slip on the mix. It's probably the closest to capturing what I consider the perfect anything-goes DJ set. Unlike last week's Lindstrom & Prins Thomas mix, this one covers every and all genre, keeping the audience on its toes and probably allowing more people to enjoy themselves. Curious what you guys look for when you hear a DJ: the anything goes or the genre specific? How about home-listening?

One of my favorite Essential Mixes from two of the most pivotal figures for Pound for Pound, enjoy.