Detroit Swindle

Detroit Swindle is an electronic house music duo started in 2011 by Lars Dales & Maarten Smeets

The Dutch duo put out most of their music through their own label Heist Recordings and have quickly gained popularity through their early releases like “The Wrap around”, and “The Break up”. Just recently they have released an EP for the legendary AUS Music which saw them exploring a more electronic sound, while their edit of Gaoulé Mizik’s ‘A ka titine’ showed their appreciation of world music made ready for the dancefloor.

On their sophomore album ‘High life’ (released in 2018) they showcased their love for electronic funk, upbeat house and wordly electronics and worked together with artists like Tom Misch, Seven Davis Jr., Jungle by Night and Lorenz Rhode. Detroit Swindle have remixed artists like Tom Misch, Kerri Chandler, Mayer Hawthorne and Hercules & Love Affair.

As avid record collectors of both old and new music, their DJ style is as varied as their taste in music. Rather not limiting themselves to a certain sound, Detroit Swindle will play just about anything. So whether it’s classic house, obscure disco, African funk, soulful techno or any other genre from across the globe: if it puts a smile on your face, they’ll play it.

They run their house-focused label Heist Recordings since 2013. Heist has featured music from artists such as Frits Wentink, Pépé Bradock, Nachtbraker, Matthew Herbert, Ge-Ology, Byron the Aquarius, Adryiano, Alma Negra, Nebraska, Max Graef, Fouk and many more. They carefully curate the label’s output as well as it’s look & feel, working closely with visual artist Bas Koopmans to match their personal aesthetics.

Heist Recordings also functions a playground for discovering and nurturing emerging artists. This year alone they will introduce as many as three new acts to Heist: Perdu, Demuir and Makèz. Another exciting project in 2019 is the remix package to ‘High life’, which includes remixes by Sterac Electronics (Steve Rachmad’s alias), Matt Karmil, Jura Soundsystem, Gari Romalis and Cinthie.

The label is not only a showcase of their particular sonic view, it’s also a meeting place for likeminded artists. Their artists are brought together by the Detroit Swindle duo with label showcases and special projects such as the yearly Roundup EP; a tradition where every artist of that year remixes another artist, effectuated by the luck of the draw.

Detroit Swindle perform live together with their longtime friend and collaborator Lorenz Rhode. Lorenz Rhode is a key player from Germany with exceptional skills on the piano and talk box and their live show is critically acclaimed, with Red Bull Music, DJMag and XLR8R as avid supporters. Together, the three have played festivals like Weather festival in Paris, Mutek in Montreal, Dour and Wildeburg, as well as venues like Jazz Café in London, Nitsa in Barcelona and SmartBar in Chicago.

With a busy worldwide touring schedule, including new LIVE shows as well as fresh releases on AUS Music and their own Heist Recordings, some remixes in the works and their relentless DJ diary it will be hard to miss them.

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