"No Limit" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch Eurodance group 2 Unlimited, released in January 1993 by Byte, ZYX and PWL. It was their fifth single in total and the first to be released from their second album, No Limits! (1993). Co-written by the group's Ray Slijngaard and Anita Dels, the song became one of their most commercially successful singles, especially in Europe, reaching the number-one spot in 35 countries[5] and the top 10 in several others. Like previous releases, the UK version of the single removed all of the raps from Slijngaard, leaving just Dels' vocals. One word from the rap was kept, the word 'Techno' (from the line "I'm making techno and I am proud") which was looped and repeated during the middle of the song, turning the line into "Techno! Techno! Techno! Techno!" and giving the song an extra vocal hook. Its accompanying music video was directed by Nick Burgess-Jones and received heavy rotation on MTV Europe.[6]
Composition
"No Limit" started as an idea to do a high-speed techno track. Producer Phil Wilde told Melody Maker in 1994, "Like most techno, 2 Unlimited's material floats somewhere between 125 and 148bpm; "No Limit" came in at 144." Wilde programmed the rhythm with hand claps every four beat. He had the groove and went searching in his sound library, starting jamming with sounds. He explained in the same interview, "For 'No Limits' we started jamming with sounds. Then I got the sound which we used for the main melody in that song...it's mostly a combination of sounds. It's so important to have a good sound, and not so easy to fine one. On 'No Limits', the sound came, then the melody. We already had the bass and the drums, and the sample for the lead sound in the end was just a sample. But I'm not going to tell you what it was."[7]
Chart performance
"No Limit" peaked at number one in 35 countries.[5] In Europe, it went to number-one in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100. In the UK, the single reached number-one in its fourth week on the chart, on 7 February 1993,[8] and stayed at the top of the UK Singles Chart for five weeks. Additionally, it also made it to the top 10 in Germany (2), Greece (2), Iceland (4) and Italy (8). Outside Europe, "No Limit" peaked at number two on the RPM Dance/Urban chart in Canada, number seven in Australia, number 16 in Zimbabwe, number 21 on the US BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart and number 40 in New Zealand.
The song was awarded with a gold record in Australia, Austria, France and Germany, and a platinum record in the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Critical reception
Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "After several weeks at the top of Britain's pop charts, European rave duo is ready tackle the U.S. radio market with a bright ditty that melds techno, hi-NRG, and rap elements. The hook is irresistible, and the pace is heart-racing. Will please fans of last year's hit, "Twilight Zone", while reeling in newcomers."[9] Tony Parsons from The Daily Telegraph declared it as a "high-speed anthem".[10] Per Reinholdt from Danish Gaffa called it a "dance-powerhit", noting its "inciting up-tempo" and a rhythm and theme "with the same temper as a dressed beeswarm". He also named the song a "piece of pop art".[11] In a Guinness World Records review, the sound of "No Limit" was compared to "the sound giant dinosaurs might make stomping on cities".[12] A reviewer from Irish Independent described it as "a humugous global hit".[13] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "Of all the techno-rave dance acts, 2 Unlimited are the most successful, notching up 5 hits in a row with all making the 20. "No Limit" being the latest and most frantic".[14] The Stud Brothers of Melody Maker praised it as "magnificently kitsch".[15] Alan Jones from Music Week viewed it as "obvious pop fare".[16]James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update declared it as "madly catchy" and a "tuneful techno pop galloper".[17] Johnny Lee from Smash Hits called it a "stormtrooper".[18] Australian student newspaper Woroni complimented it as "tremendously exciting and highly recommended",[19] naming it an "obvious highlight" of the No Limits! album.[20]
Impact and legacy
NME ranked "No Limit" number one in their list of "Top Five Euro-Hits of All Time" in December 1993.[21] The magazine's Paul Moody wrote, "The ultimate piece of pop existentialism as Anita and Ray suggest the whole world is one huge playground of hedonistic excess. All to a video set within a huge pinball machine. Sublime."[21] The song was ranked number 65 in BuzzFeed's list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s" in 2017. Stopera and Galindo said that "this is possibly the most aggressive beat from the '90s. It's like they're strumming a GIANT rubber band."[22] Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger felt the track's "echoey hi-hat hits and the union of steam-hammer bass and rubber-ball synths" carry the industrial, "piston-powered aggression" of Belgianrave music. He also noted the presence of a cowbell in the back of the track.[23] In 2015, Graham Clark from The Yorkshire Times stated that "the track at the time sounded unlike anything else but you can hear how it has influenced so many of today's electronic dance music tracks".[24]
Music video
The accompanying music video for "No Limit" was directed by Nick Burgess-Jones[25][26] and filmed in London.[27] It features Anita Dels and Ray Slijngaard performing inside what appears to be a giant pinball machine,[21] wearing leather apparel.[28] Burgess-Jones also directed the videos for 2 Unlimited's next two singles, "Tribal Dance" and "Faces".
"No Limit" was covered by German band beFour on their fourth studio album Friends 4 Ever, and as a single in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The song entered the German Singles Chart in 2009.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
