June 17, 2025 |
Anything goes this time around with Dam Swindle. Fronted by Amsterdam natives Maarten Smeets and Lars Dales, the formidable pair are gearing up for a back-to-back summer packed with European gigs following the release of their latest album, Open, and tapping into a renewed commitment to creative spontaneity both in the studio and on the stage.
After keeping fans satisfied with a steady stream of singles and EPs over the past seven years, Open dropped in May, marking a bold new chapter in Dam Swindle’s sonic journey. Embracing a more free-form, expressive approach, the album ventures into realms of synthwave, slowed-down tempos and hip-house – revealing a more melancholic, ethereal subtlety that the duo hadn’t previously explored. The project showcases an eclectic mix of collaborators, with standout contributions from Faye Meana, Hailé Supreme, Ric Wilson and Joep Beving.
Since breaking into the electronic scene in 2011, the Dutch duo have earned a reputation for their boundary-pushing approach to making and spinning club tracks – effortlessly moving between deep house, garage, breakbeat and classic house. Their 2013 single Break Up to Make Up became a breakthrough moment, sending dancefloors into a frenzy with its irresistible bassline and dreamy chords. That same year, they launched Heist Recordings, now recognised as a leading independent label for underground dance music and the creative home of artists like Cinthie, DJ Sneak, Kassian and Makèz.
More than a decade after helping shape a new wave of deep house, Dam Swindle have arrived at a place of full creative freedom – letting go of any rigid expectations around “what a Dam Swindle song should sound like”. That same spirit carries into their live sets this summer, with a jam-packed run of shows that reflects their evolving, all-embracing sound.
The summer kicks off on June 20 with a high-energy set at Hï Ibiza, where they’ll share the bill with Ewan McVicar. Just a few days later, on June 26, they’ll bring their signature grooves to the iconic Pikes Ibiza, followed by a homecoming appearance at Lago Lago in the Netherlands on June 28. July sees the duo heading to Switzerland for the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival on July 4, before returning to the Netherlands for a double-header on July 5 with Wastelands Festival during the day and their own Swindle Sessions at Shelter by night.
The Dutch dates continue through July with performances at PAAK on July 18, Tasty Folk on July 19 and Soulful at the Beach on July 26. In August, they’ll touch down in Spain for a rooftop session at the W Hotel in Barcelona on August 3 and return to Amsterdam for Loveland Festival on August 10. Rounding out the summer, they head north to Norway for shows at Jaeger in Oslo on August 22 and Balestrand on August 23, before making one last trip to Ibiza on September 9 for a set at PIV in Cova Santa.
From beachside venues to mountain-backed jazz stages, Dam Swindle are embracing every corner of the dancefloor this summer. Whether it’s a sun-drenched terrace or a midnight warehouse set, their genre-fluid, no-rules philosophy promises something different every time.
Here, we caught up with Smeets and Dales to chat about their dream collaborators, the highs and lows of touring and having underwear thrown at them.
1. This is your first album since a seven year hiatus. How does it feel to be back?
Both: It’s been really nice to work on a full-length piece of music again. It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years since we released High Life, but then again, we’ve released so many EPs in the meantime and have had our worlds turned upside down like everyone else, so maybe that’s why it doesn’t feel that long.
2. How is this album different from your previous releases?
Smeets: I think Open – more than any other release that we’ve done – is a freeform exploration of the Dam Swindle sound both on the dancefloor and away from it. Our mindset when we began writing for the album was very much one of “anything goes”. We just wanted to let our creativity flow without any limitations. If we needed to worry about form or function, we’d tackle that later. As a result, we allowed ourselves to get dragged into a rabbit hole for each musical direction we took. Whether that was by recording almost an entire track with live musicians or going deep into an ambient mood, it was all good. I hope you can feel that uncompromising and free attitude throughout the album.
3. Describe your sound in three words?
Dales: Warm, feel-good, energetic.
4. Who would be your dream collaboration and why?
Smeets: Well. There’s aplenty! Kaytranada, because we both feel that we have that same flow and way of sampling, and he’s just really cool. Cory Henry would be nice, as a half hour with him would probably give us all the chords we’ll ever need in our lives.
5. What’s your favourite thing about working as a duo?
Dales: We’re both very different in terms of character but also in terms of production focus, so when one of us is working on one thing, the other has his eye on something completely different, and almost always, a track ends up having the best of both of us.
6. Who or what has had the biggest impact on your career so far?
Smeets: In terms of touring, it was definitely our first year with so many releases. It launched us into touring life, which has given us so much in the past thirteen years but has cost us as well. We get to live the life of a travelling musician, but that also means we miss out on a lot at home. Birthdays, days off at the weekend, or even just hanging out with friends on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It’s just something we’ve hardly ever done, although we’ve gotten better over the past few years at scheduling time off in our calendars. In a way, my wife and kids might have the biggest impact on my mindset. While she was at home, taking care of our family, I was on the road and realised I really wanted to be present when not touring. For most of the time, I stayed away from any real partying and all the extras that come with the job to make sure I was able to be a husband and a father when I was home. Living that life has kept me focused on the things that really matter. Moreover, there’s always another show, another party, another after. There’s a lot more to miss out on at home, and I didn’t want that for myself or my family.
7. You’ve collaborated with a lot of people off this album, what was this experience like for you?
Dales: We didn’t intend to do it like this, but it just kind of happened when we let the tracks flow in the direction they needed to go. Maarten spent countless hours looking for the right voice, the right person for these tracks, and the exciting collaborations outside the world of house music. We ended up working with people from London, New York, Chicago and Amsterdam for this record, which was a great experience. There were definitely moments where this process became tough, and ideas didn’t work out with a certain vocalist. But we kept going and ended up working with all these talented people, who all really understood what we wanted to say with each track. And that’s something very special and something we’ll keep doing, although a bit of sampling and making something in our studio also has its charm ;).
8. Do you have a favourite song off the album and if so, why?
Smeets: Mine is Not Enough with Haile Supreme. That track started out really sample-heavy, and we ended up getting rid of all the samples. We had so many musicians on that project as well! From our lead singer, Haile Supreme, to a background vocalist, piano, bass, flute and horns. When Haile sent us his first vocal demo, I cried with pure happiness. He understood exactly what we wanted to say with this song… absolutely amazing.
Dales: Mine is the title track Open. The instrumental was done really early on in the writing process, but it ended up being the last track we finished because it took forever to find the right vibe for the vocal. Samson [who features on the track] struck the exact right nerve with his London vibe and tapped into that ballsy, rougher aesthetic of the track, which was exactly what we wanted.
9. What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen behind the decks?
Dales: We’ve had everything from having underwear thrown to us, to getting indecent proposals, to people ordering drinks from us cause they thought it was the bar, and even building windshields out of cardboard with the crowd on a boat party in Croatia to make sure our vinyl party could keep on going during a freak storm.
10. What’s next for you?
Smeets: Our world tour will take us to a lot of places this year, so there’s going to be a lot of touring for this album. We’re also already working on a lot of new music that’ll have a bit of everything; some dancefloor records, some collabswith vocalists. We’ve been on a nice creative flow recently, so we’re enjoying life as it comes to us and are just happy we get to share a lot of new music with our fans. We’ve worked on Open for three years, so we’re excited to finally have the record out in the world. Who knows what will happen after that.
Photography courtesy of Dam Swindle.
