by RAF KATIGBAK

Literary types would say Belgian brothers David and Stephen Dewaele have the Midas touch. In Canada, we’d say they “give’ er.” It’s not so much the sheer amount of crazy shit that the Dewaele brothers do, but the high standards and flawless execution of it all—rock band Soulwax, dancefloor-destroying DJ duo and mash-up pioneers 2ManyDJs, remixers of dance-music illuminati LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk and DJ Shadow, and producers of shit-hot dancefloor singles for electro darlings like Montreal’s Tiga.

But there are several reasons that the musical projects of the Dewaele brothers should not work. The most obvious is that, in theory, anyone else with as many things on their plate should either be dead from exhaustion or constantly tweaking from an ADHD-enhanced crystal meth binge. But somehow, fuelled by an intense musical appreciation that they claim borders on “freaky,” they get shit done. How do they keep it all organized? “We don’t,” explains Stephen Dewaele from his Belgian home. “It’s fucking chaos man.”

Catching the Dewaele brothers at home is a rare moment. This is only their second day in Ghent after being on the road for almost two months straight, and in fact, Stephen is in the midst of packing his bag, only four hours away from the start of his American tour.

“I was thinking, ‘Shit! I really only have one night left, I still want to pack my suitcase, do the artwork for something, hang out with some friends,’ and then this guy called up and he wants to sell his record collection to me, and I’m like, ‘Fuck! I only have four hours left!’”

Prioritizing is always the first step to organization, and of course Dewaele did what any self-respecting music freak would. “I gotta be honest, the first thing I did was see that guy’s record collection. Actually, talking about it now makes me realize that being a record collector is sad. I mean, I should be hooking up with good-looking girls and hanging out with people who are fashionable and having orgies, but I’m more excited about going to record stores.”

It’s that sort of obsession with music, placing it above everything else, that has kept the Dewaele brothers at the top of their game since they broke ground with their genre-bending Salt N Pepa-meets-the Stooges 2ManyDJs mix four years ago. Now they’re hitting North America with yet another project, Nite Versions, a live-band performance of dancefloor remixes of their own band. Confused yet? “The idea of a Nite Versions came from Duran Duran’s ‘Planet Earth (Night Version)’ 12-inch single. I heard that record execs wanted a club version of that song so Duran Duran actually went back into the studio and re-recorded everything just for the dancefloor. That’s what we always wanted to do with Soulwax’s album Any Minute Now, and Nite Versions was born. We only wanted to play live four or five times, but people went fucking nuts and here we are a year and a half later, still touring.”

Indeed, there aren’t many rock bands that have the capability, let alone balls of titanium, to remix themselves, then go out and play those remix versions live with a band. “It’s about doing something you love, hitting the road with your friends and making the crowd go fucking crazy.”

What about the orgies? “C’mon, man. As sad as it sounds, wherever I am, 90 per cent of the time, you’re gonna find me in a record store.”

Nite Versions and 2 ManyDJs join Tiga and Jordan Dare at SAT on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 9 p.m., $20+

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