Dam Swindle & Friends Return with ‘Round Up Pt. 12,’ Reaffirming The Label’s House-First Vision
Returning for its twelfth iteration, the much-loved series brings together Dam Swindle, D Stone, Demuir, Tesfa Williams, Cinthie, Ossie, and GOME for another wide-ranging collection of future favorites.
Returning for its twelfth iteration, the much-loved series brings together Dam Swindle, D Stone, Demuir, Tesfa Williams, Cinthie, Ossie, and GOME for another wide-ranging collection of future favorites.
Every year, the Dutch duo of Maarten Smeets and Lars Dales, aka Dam Swindle, bring together their much-anticipated annual compilation, which doubles as both a celebration and a creative experiment for their Heist Recordings family. For 2026, it’s ‘Round Up Pt. 12’ – an annual compilation in which artists from the past twelve months remix one another in a joyful, blind-draw exchange.
Across its previous editions, the label’s ‘Round Up’ has become a reliable source of fresh perspectives on dance music with standout tracks, unexpected stylistic cross-pollinations, and reworks that have consistently found their way to tastemakers at BBC Radio 1 and NTS.
Now returning for its twelfth iteration, the compilation once again leans into that sense of openness and exchange, bringing together Dam Swindle, D Stone, Demuir, Tesfa Williams, Cinthie, Ossie, and GOME for a wide-ranging collection that reflects the label’s global outlook on house music while staying rooted in house music’s core values. It’s a snapshot of where the Heist sound is right now: soulful and reverent of history, but unafraid to push tempos, textures, and moods.
Label bosses Dam Swindle set the tone for ‘Round Up 12’ with a tender reinterpretation of Ossie’s ‘Are U Still Smiling?’ Fellow Amsterdam hotshot D Stone follows next by reshaping Cinthie’s ‘Deep Inside Love’ into an uptempo deep house burner, driven by timeless chord progressions and carefully placed vocal touches that pull at the heart while keeping the groove locked in.
Chicago-based producer Demuir follows with his Playboi edit of ‘Move Over’ feat. ELY, softening the edges into a soulful groove where an instructional vocal and vamping chords bring the heat. Tesfa Williams then channels his unmistakable UK energy into Dam Swindle’s ‘Open,’ the title track from their acclaimed third album, fusing gritty sound, signature bass pressure, and no-nonsense grime vocals. Berlin house queen Cinthie transforms ‘House Music’ into a sleek, timeless anthem driven by a killer bassline, before Ossie flips ‘Get It Together’ with trademark true school flair, R&B vocal hooks, and punchy drums.
Finally, to close things out, Hamburg duo GOME deliver a smooth, soulful lift to Demuir’s ‘Ain’t No Stoppin,’ layering silky chords over supple percussion while letting the original samples shine. The twelfth ‘Round Up’ once again captures the creative and collaborative spirit at the heart of Heist, adding yet another essential chapter to the series while affirming the label’s place as the quintessential “house of house.”
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