They’ve given us musical marriages between Royksopp and Dolly Parton, given Destiny’s Child a Dreadlock Holiday and are now taking Radio Soulwax to a whole new level with an online, topically themed 24-hour series. And recent collaborations with grime King pin Dizzee Rascal and fidget duo Crookers has seen 2ManyDJs re-take the electro high ground.
Now David and Stephan Dewaele are heading to Dubai to give Chi a birthday party to remember. DJ Magazine spoke to younger sibling David about the birthday gig, John Lennon’s glasses and playing in Saudi Arabia.

You’ve just finished a five week tour of Australia and Asia. Do you notice a difference in crowd atmospheres depending on the continent?

We’ve been touring the world, if you will, since around 2002. I’d have to say that the differences between audiences is getting smaller and smaller. I can only assume that 25 years ago the difference must have been bigger, I guess because of the internet and people being connected all of the time. It’s not that surprising to arrive in Korea and find a bunch of people who are nuts for Boyz Noize. These people are on message boards and YouTube and in that respect the world has changed considerably. There is still something odd, but it’s not related to a continent: clubs and cultures can change how an audience acts. For example, if we play in Zurich there are certain clubs that are for rich and beautiful people, very rich people like models and bankers. We can go and play there and obviously it will be completely different if you go back and play for a bunch of kids. That difference can exist in a city, not necessarily a continent.

What country has the craziest fans and do you havea favourite destination to play in?

Kids go crazy universally these days, which is good. Spain is like that and Australia too. We have a special affinity with Japan. Steph and I are very much interested in pop culture from the 50s to now and we absorb it like hungry animals, Japan has a similar thing. They have an obsession with little things, last week I saw a store that sells only John Lennon glasses. These people have spent 20 years looking all over the world and they have found like over 200 different versions. We feel we are kindredspirits with Japan.

According to your Myspace page, Chi is now located in Saudi Arabia. Where is the strangest place you’ve played?

(Laughs) I take no responsibility for that! Not that it’s strange but we did Jakarta a few weeks ago. It’s the kind of place where I wouldn’t have imagined playing but it was really good. And two years ago we went to Costa Rica which is a place where you wouldn’t expect our kind of thing to exist. But it does and it was a great night.

You are playing in Dubai for Chi Nightclub’s 3rd Birthday. Have you played in Dubai before?

We’ve played once before and I remember it being a place where not a lot was allowed. It wasn’t very long ago, but long enough for me not to remember that much.

Your close friends and occasional Djing partners Mixhell surprised you with cak  and sparklers on your birthday recently. Will you be bringing any special birthday treats for the party-goers at Chi?

Ah yes, there was some You Tube footage of this - I was aware that it was my birthday but didn’t know about the cake on stage. Do people expect me to bring a cake?

Boyz Noize jumping out of an oversized cake would be sufficient enough.

Might be tough luggage wise but I’ll see what I can do (laughs).

Have you got anything in particular lined-up for the Dubai gig?

Well, what we have been doing on the tour is a kind of bigger production show, it’s got a bigger emphasis on visuals. When we come to Dubai we’re just coming to DJ, it will be audio only but it will be good audio for sure!

Some of your recent productions have had a full-on relentless electro feel. Is this sound something that you naturally moved towards after doing so much pop mash-ups for Radio Soulwax?

Yes. Nothing has been thought of, every production isa different thing. When it comes to say, the Chemical Brothers, we just did whatever we found at that point in time the most relevant thing to do with the track. Same thing with Dizzee Rascal. In the case with Crookers they came to our studio and we just messed around. We don’t sit down at the beginning of the year and go OK, this year will be electro! We just do whatever we feel musically works.

Which do you prefer, touring or producing?

Personally I prefer producing. I think my brother likes a balance between the two. The concept for Radio Soulwax online sounds impressive - 24 hour-long themed mixes on rotation.

How big was the need to work on an innovative project like this?

I know it’s new, but I think it’s the kind of thing that won’t seem so innovative. It seemed so obvious to me as a DJ as it’s a great vehicle and I’m surprised no-one has done it before.

Have you ever met Dolly Parton?

No, but we’ve had the chance at some festivals but in the end we were like no thanks (laughs). We have met many of the artists on the albums and also many of the people who refused. They had contacted us saying they had no idea and that they would have loved to be involved. It’s been quite funny.

2many DJs are performing at Chi's 3rd birthday March 4th buy tickets here