About this item

Amsterdam natives Maarten Smeets and Lars Dales, aka Dam Swindle, unveil their third long-player, a multi-genre trip exploring lower tempos, synthwave, hip-house, and downbeat across fourteen tracks. With a gestation period that traces back several years, ‘Open’ is their most intimate and personal body of work thus far, birthed during a time of self-reflection away from touring and during a time of individual growth for the pair.

While the trademark Dam Swindle four-to-the-floor beats are still ever-present on tracks like ‘The Present Is Always Perfect’, ‘I Need You’, and ‘Is This Love?’, it’s the gentle waves of synths on opener ‘Home’, the contemplative piano chords of ‘Bloom’ featuring Joep Beving, and the lo-fi ambience of ‘It’s Okay, I Can Wait’ that showcase a melancholic, ethereal sensibility previously uncharted by the duo. Collaborations with vocalists such as NYC’s Haile Supreme on ‘Not Enough’ and Neo-soul singer Faye Meana on ‘Girl’ expertly find room in between the dancefloor and home listening sessions, and a clear standout on the LP is the title cut where message-heavy rapped vocals from UK artist Samson ebb and flow amongst iridescent grooves.

Under the helm of Maarten and Lars’ adept A&R, their Heist imprint has become a beloved home for house heads of both schools old and new, platforming some of dance music’s biggest names from Cinthie to DJ Sneak as well as the musical dawning’s of artists such as Kassian and Makèz. The Dam Swindle alias has achieved house music royalty-like status across a storied 15-year career that includes two critically lauded full-lengths, collaborations with the likes of Tom Misch and Kerri Chandler, and a globetrotting touring schedule. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Not content with crafting certified club bangers for their Heist label, Dam Swindle turn their attention to a varied and expansive long player featuring a wealth of guest vocalists and exploring myriad styles.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Home
A2. Not Enough Feat. Haile Supreme
A3. The Present Is Always Perfect
A4. Girl Feat. Faye Meana
B1. Run, Run, Run
B2. Only Ever Now
B3. Open Feat. Samson
C1. I Need You
C2. Bloom Feat. Joep Beving
C3. Some Day Feat. Ric Wilson
C4. Kiki Feat. LYMA
D1. Is This Love?
D2. It's Okay, I Can Wait
D3. Closer