Made in Belgium: 2 Unlimited

I'm taking the "Made in Belgium" quite literal here as the 2 Unlimited duo is made up by the Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch singer Anita Doth but produced by 2 Belgian producers that were already active in the vibrant Belgian dance scene at the beginning of the nineties (remember eg Technotronic).

2 unlimited is one of the rare bands that were well known when I crossed the ocean on my exchange in the mid-nineties. The computerized dance music was a welcome familiar sound as a buoy against my culture shock when I discovered part of my class was into line dancing on country & western music whereas the rest of them had Alanis Morisette's "Jagged Little Pill" on an eternal repeat.

Currently there's some 'back to the nineties' hype in Belgium, with parties, new cd compilations & radio stations that replay nineties music during a week or so. For some music that's really great but I have the impression that 2 Unlimited didn't age well. It sounds so coarse-grained & unsubtle.

Nevertheless Ray & Anita are trying to come back with a slightly more modern sound (they are in dispute with one of the former producers who owns the name of 2 Unlimited so they can't use it anymore). I don't think they'll make the same level of success anymore but I'll leave that up to you to judge. It was also in the news this winter that Anita is currently fighting breast cancer. I wish her a good recovery.

No Limit





Tribal Dance





In the name of love - 2009