Dam Swindle

Dam Swindle are an Amsterdam-based Dutch house and electronic group, active since 2020, made up of Maarten Smeets. The act was formerly known as Detroit Swindle. It begins as a Dutch pair, with Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets breaking through in 2011 in the electronic music scene, and it develops into a project known for club-focused grooves that draw on house, deep house, disco, techno, soul and other styles.

Style and development

Their music is rooted in house, but it draws on a wide range of influences. They move between classic house, obscure disco, African funk and soulful techno, combining older and newer sounds in both productions and DJ sets. Their approach is built around storytelling and on connecting different parts of dance music rather than staying within one style.

Key releases and tracks

Early tracks such as The Wrap Around and The Break Up bring them wider attention on dancefloors. Their 2018 album High Life and the Coffee in the Morning EP continue that house-based sound with a sense of continuity and detail.

Heist Recordings

Since 2013, Dam Swindle run Heist Recordings, a label that issues much of their own music. The label also works as a platform for other artists and includes showcase projects such as the annual Roundup EP, in which artists from the previous year remix one another after a random selection process. Heist releases music by artists including Nebraska, Adryiano, Kassian, Demuir, Makez, Max Graef, Pépé Bradock, Nachtbraker, Matthew Herbert, Ge-Ology and Byron the Aquarius, and its artwork is designed by Bas Koopmans.

Collaborations and remixes

Dam Swindle collaborate with and remix a wide range of artists. Their collaborators include Tom Misch, Seven Davis Jr., Jungle by Night, Marc de Clive-Lowe, Jitwam and Lorenz Rhode. They also remix Pat Thomas, The Mauskovic Dance Band, Kerri Chandler, Mayer Hawthorne and Tom Misch, including a reworking of Pat Thomas’s Yamona for Strut and Soundway.

DJ sets and record collecting

They are known as collectors of old and new records, and that shapes their DJ sets, which move across different eras, places and genres. Their selections are built to shift between familiar and more obscure material while keeping a strong sense of flow.