Интервью Рэя и Аниты одному голландскому изданию:
As danceduo 2 unlimited, Ray and Anita did score between 1991 and 1996 hits like Twilight Zone and No Limit, and they sold 20 million singles worldwide. Fights with the producers behind 2 unlimited, and between Ray and Anita were the cause of them leaving the group.
Fourteen years later, their comebacksingle In da name of Love is here. Above that Ray and Anita will come with a new album and a tour. "Our dream is to conquer Amerika."
In real life, Ray Slijngaard and Anita Doth don't look like the singing diva and the tough rapper which they seem to be in the colourful clips of 2 unlimited. Anita describes herself as happy and above that, as a mother. "The most important thing is that my 4 year old son Destyno gets a carefree youth." Rapper Ray says that he's a lot calmer in private life than on stage. "In my free time, I like to walk with my kids through the park."
The artists have had a love-hate relationship. Through the years of 2 unlimited, they were a couple. "Our partners don't have to be afraid of our comeback," Anita laughs. "Ray and I are like brother and sister. A relationship would feel like incest."
Rays good relationship with his ex-girlfriend Anita is very special: "I have good contact with only a very few of my ex-girlfriends. Although things between him and Anita weren't always fine, he admits. "Towards the end of 2 unlimited, we were irritated with small things of eachother, and we were throwing mud towards eachother through media."
Anita said in an old interview that her ex-colleaque was agressive towards her. "and she called me King Ray", Ray grins. Ofcourse he was walking beside his shoes. "When you're in Russia and 20 soldiers with guns are accompanying you to the stage like you're Michael Jackson, then you feel like you're the man."
Anita: "but that's human". Ray: "but I would never say: "do you know who I am? "
A year ago they made up. Ray: "Anita and I went through a lot of things which other people cannot imagine. Like a huge performance in Malaysia, or a private concert for the sultan of Brunei. We went into a private jet with Rod Stewart.
That creates a bond between us.
"We both know what succes can do to you mentally", Anita adds. "It's really bizar when your environment starts to treat you differently."
Anita regrets her words in the media. "We created something beautiful and you break that image when you say negative things about eachother."
They were only 19 years old when they started 2 unlimited, the project of producers Phil Wilde and Jean-Paul de Coster. It didn't take long until the team became a hitmachine in countries like Australia, Japan, the UK and South Africa.
"In a single day I made more money than I did in a month when I was a cook," Ray says. Anita: "when we were 21, we already were millionairs."
The dark side of the succes, was that they had to perform 360 days a year. Ray: "We never fully felt our own succes. We were number 1 in 35 countries with No Limit, but we were also continously travelling over the world and too busy to see how special it was."
They were directed by their producers, who only wanted to make money. Ray: "Every minute of our life was already planned and everything was arranged for us, from my shoelaces til my hair. We couldnt use any lyrics which were too political or anything. We were writing our own lyrics and I still remember that I made a heavy songtext about racism for faces, but they threw it away immediately."
After 5 years and 16 hits, Ray and Anita left 2 unlimited because of arguements with the producers about money and their musical course. Altho they were happy about their free time at first, the happyness changed into a black hole. Anita: "Our succes was over and I had to do it on my own. I did try to seek things to do, like making an album, presenting on radio and tv." Ray and Anita both weren't very succesful on their own, and both recieved many questions about a possible reunion.
Anita: "I did find that frustrating sometimes, but I know now that people want to see us only together, and in a way that's very special."
In the name of love for their fans, Ray & Anita made the single In da name of Love. The song entered the top 40 on number 28. "When we were singing it live for the first time during Vrienden van Amstel live, everyone was very excited."
That was a great relief, according to Anita. "What if people would have said: "please give us that old shit." The couple is working on an album and will go on tour later this year.
Ray: "We want to put our music on the map again internationally, and a big dream of us is to conquer America.
Anita: American people know Get Ready for This, since it's being used a lot during baseball competitions, but they don't know our faces!" Now that their comeback is a fact, Ray and Anita pull the strings themselves. Anita: "We are in charge of how we sound, how we look and the number of performances we do. That's how we enjoy everything a lot more now."
Recently Anita got bad news, she has cancer. She will be getting chemotherapy for a year. "We have to take it a little bit easier and watch everything at a time. I can't plan forward too much." She does want to perform though. "It gives me a lot of energy."
Ray: "Anita will beat this disease. She discovered it early and she's strong. Everybody is positive about our return and that motivates her. It will pull her through this, I'm sure of it."
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