Soulwax are back with another album full of heavy-hitting, analog-sounding electronic music with their June 2018 release of Essential. While it’s called “Essential Three,” the band’s latest single from the album is actually its second helping of Soulwax from the new album (logically, it is placed third in the album’s track list). The band previously released “Essential Four” upon announcing the release of their newest LP.
If there’s something that is noticeable about the song, it’s the heavy use of the word “essential.” No, it’s not a coincidence and the story behind this song and the rest on their upcoming LP is a testament to the sheer creativity and work ethic of the Dewaele brothers, who form the core of the band.
According to a press release, the band explained that they were approached by BBC to make an Essential Mix for the network. Now, most artists would take this as an opportunity to show off some of their favorite tunes from other artists while exposing a few lesser-known artists, whether through a simple mixtape or remixing the originals. Instead, Soulwax took a completely different approach to the request: lock themselves in the studio and not come out until they created a full-length of original music based around the word “essential.” Such a simple idea, but one that is incredibly challenging.
It ended up taking the band two weeks to come up with the 12 new songs, which together account for an hour’s worth of new music. Unsurprisingly, this is the first time ever a group has created completely original music for their BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix. Another interesting wrinkle in the story of Essential is that it was recorded using the equipment they didn’t use for the sessions that resulted in 2017’s solid effort From Deewee, which was their first new album in 10 years.
The band also has a couple of live dates coming up. They are all in the European Union or United Kingdom, so fans of the band located elsewhere around the world will have to sit tight until a proper tour is announced.
Soulwax tour dates
5/26 – London, UK – All Points East
7/07 – Caen, FR – Festical Beauregard
7/13 – Clitheroe, UK – Beat Herder
7/19 – Carhaix, FR – Vielles Charrues Festival
7/21 – Nice, FR – Nice Jazz Festival
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