Dam Swindle’s Maarten Smeets Returns to Aus Music as Wanderist

One half of Dam Swindle, Maarten Smeets returns to Aus Music under his Wanderist moniker with four tasty cuts. Searching for new ways to express himself, Smeets delivers a fresh perspective via his alter ego and the Translucid Dreams EP is the latest result.

A nod to the golden era of dreamy electro and spacey techno, Translucid Dreams is indebted to the ’90s. On this record, Smeets calls on his experience to spin a timeless sound, adding licks and contemporary flourishes to give his Wanderist project unique flavour.

Inviting

Machines Have Feelings Too is a celestial electro cut with inviting melodies, throbbing bass hits and floaty atmospherics. Translucid Dreams layers acid stabs and bursts of funk with radiant pads shimmering underneath. U Got Love lays focus on loopy percussion and ghostly leads with underlying tension throughout. But Astral Highways is our pick of the bunch with light-hearted grooves bouncing elegantly off the glossy synth and rich chords.

Out now, Translucid Dreams is Smeet’s second EP as Wanderist and there’s more in the pipeline.

Intense

After a decade producing and performing as Detroit Swindle, Maarten Smeets and his studio partner Lars Dales changed their name to Dam Swindle in November 2020. The name change followed intense conversations about cultural appropriation.

“When we chose the name Detroit Swindle back in 2011, it was homage to the music from the Motor City,” said the lads at the time. “Our mutual love for Motown and Detroit hip-hop brought us together and inspired us to start making music. We added the ‘Swindle’ to make sure people wouldn’t think we were claiming to be from Detroit.

Reflective

“We never intended to claim ownership over something that was not ours to claim,” they added. “We’ve always been open about this when people asked us about our name. Even though we have always been clear about our intentions, our name has still sparked conversations about cultural appropriation. We feel it’s important to realise how our actions come across to others. We want to be reflective, learn about our blind spots and be sensitive to how other people experience and view the world.”

The ‘Dam’ in Dam Swindle relates to Amsterdam, the city where Maarten and Lars both live.

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