"The gigs here have been great, except for the last one at Camden Palace," David offers, "that was okay, but certainly nothing special".

"Because we played in the middle of the indie disco, it felt like we were spoiling everyone's fun," explains Stephen, "they were dancing and the floor was full, and then we came on! We really prefer playing to people who know our music."

Certainly not playing to their own audience is difficult for Soulwax. On the eve of a slot supporting Therapy? (which is not the most likely of combinations for one bill) nerves are holding up, just about.

"I think they're going to throw food at us," David solemnly declares.

"Great, forty minutes of rotten food"

"We've actually played with Therapy? at the Tourhort festival in Belgium" David remembers. And is intruding on mudfests as much of a problem as intruding on discos?

"We have mixed feelings about festivals," says Stephen, "we've had good receptions in some of the places we've played, like Pink Pop and the Lowlands, but the problem is that people don't come especially for us and it shows. We prefer to play to our fans who are there especially for us; intimate gigs are totally different."

"When you play small gigs to your fans, you get a genuine atmosphere; people don't really have to try and have a good time, and clap for the sake of it."

Which brings us on to their popularity. Not so shallow as to really care, but just how big are they in Belgium?

"How big? As big as the Eiffel Tower." lies David

"As big as Oasis are here." lies Stephen. "No, really, our record went gold, which we've just celebrated."

"We have had an impact, and we do get recognised a lot, "says Stephen, "but it doesn't really matter because you come somewhere like here and no one's heard of you. We don't want to be famous, we just want to play our music."

So what would you like to achieve as a band before you split up? What's your aim?

David: "Our aim is to play venues where there's a good backstage area and food. And heat."

With my fingers about to fall off due to frostbite, I agree that their ambition is well chosen.

Soulwax's music is possibly the hardest thing in the world to describe, because of its originality. I put it to them to describe their music, but get a reply I don't want: "How would you describe our music?"

Ermm. I fall back on my favourite like-Whale-doing-George-Clinton-covers comparison.

"Yeah, that's a really good way to describe us," says Stephen.

Heh heh heh.

Are they so diverse because of their influences?

"Our dad [they're brothers, by the way. How sweet was a DJ, so we grew up with lots of music around. We can name twenty influences, but we don't necessarily sound like any of them," explains Stephen. Fair enough. So what kind of music do they listen to now? Stephen's first answers to this question involve Fiona Apple, Beck, Nine Inch Nails, and Pinback.

David proudly says, "We have an incredibly good record collection."

"Which is why we're so good!" quips Stephen. Well, no objections there. Soon to be on tour with fellow future-of-music band, Muse, it wouldn't be a bad idea to check both bands out at the same time. Expect funky. Expect madcap shenanigans. Expect catchy tunes clinging to your brain all evening. But most of all, expect the unexpected.