Consisting of Oscar de Jong, Wim Plug, and Mark Kneppers, Kraak & Smaak have spent more than two decades working across disco, funk, electronic music, deep house, soul, and pop.
Photo credit: Kraak & Smaak – Official
Since debuting with ‘Boogie Angst’, the Dutch trio have released seven studio albums and taken their DJ and live shows across Europe, the United States, Asia, China, and Mexico.
Their latest chapter began with 2025 album ‘Velvet Seas,’ written between Leiden and Los Angeles and featuring collaborators including Kosta G, Butter Bath, The Undercover Dream Lovers, Kainalu, IVAR, Izo FitzRoy, and Berenice van Leer. Now, ‘Velvet Seas Remixed’ places material from the album in the hands of Yuksek, Diogo Strausz, Anoraak, Ray Mang, Harvey Sutherland, Stirmouth, and Sound Support.
In this conversation, Kraak & Smaak discuss remix culture, adapting their music for the stage, the continued importance of physical formats, and what lies ahead.
EG: Hi Oscar, Wim and Mark, welcome to Electronic Groove. It’s a pleasure to have you with us. How have you been, and what has been keeping you busy since the release of ‘Velvet Seas’?
Kraak & Smaak: Thank you for having us!
Well, after a well-deserved holiday, we are getting back in the live room of our studio for rehearsals with the band.
It always takes time to see what happens when playing the album live and, to be honest, right now we are remixing the album tracks for the next rehearsals, again, as we are doing some of the biggest venues in Holland, one of them during the Amsterdam Dance Event, so that needs some work (but awesome work!!)
EG: Now, ‘Velvet Seas Remixed’ revisits the album through a fascinating group of producers, each bringing a very different musical language to the original material. What made this the right moment to open the album up to reinterpretation?
Kraak & Smaak: Dropping a remix album reflects the way we have always approached making, performing, and releasing music. We are not only a studio act but also a DJ act (needing dancefloor tunes), a live band (some tracks need an overhaul to really ‘work’ live), and the feeling that a particular remixer might bring an original to another level. We have always been part of the remix culture, have made quite a few ourselves over the years. And although it has become more difficult to keep that culture alive nowadays, it’s important for us to keep it going.
EG: The remixers span French Touch, Brazilian disco funk, British disco, Melbourne club music and more. How did you go about choosing the artists, and what did each of them bring to the project that particularly excited you?
Kraak & Smaak: To be honest, it’s always a mix of personal favourites and/or the idea that a track might fit the sound of a particular other producer really well. Sometimes we are also just very curious about how a total change of musical context might turn out (which sometimes can be a total disaster and other times a perfect gem!). Diogo turned in an amazing, exotic-styled remix of ‘Travel Light’ that combines both the song and a rawer dancefloor part, really cool. Yuksek always delivers the perfect Nu Disco version to our psychedelic, more pop version of ‘Nothing Is Forever’. Ray Mang is def the man for a more easy-going, smooth sailing, dubbed-out version of ‘Velvet Seas’. Anoraak, Harvey Sutherland and Sound Support go for more clubby approaches, but each in their own musical language.
EG: Yuksek, Diogo Strausz, Ray Mang and Harvey Sutherland all have very recognizable signatures. Were there any remixes that surprised you because they took the original somewhere you hadn’t anticipated?
Kraak & Smaak: The ‘Heat’ track was actually a difficult track to find the right vibe to — we struggled a bit with the original as well. But Anoraak found a great approach, with a driving, upbeat piano-tinged version that works on the dancefloor too.
“We have always been part of the remix culture, have made quite a few ourselves over the years”
EG: ‘Velvet Seas’ itself was shaped between Leiden and Los Angeles, with that contrast between Californian psychedelia and light, deep funk and cinematic songwriting running through the record. How much of that geographical duality still comes through when you hear these tracks in completely new forms?
Kraak & Smaak: We always like to think that there are two sides to our music, one being more rhythmical and the other being more, let’s say, symphonic, cinematic, as you say.
I think it’s the melancholy you can hear lingering on in lots of music from Europe, which comes from our symphonic tradition, of course, but then everything else comes from… the US.
EG: The original album brought together a particularly broad circle of vocalists and collaborators. What did those different voices add to the creative process, and how does hearing them recontextualized through the remixes change your relationship with the songs?
Kraak & Smaak: We are always on the lookout for fresh vocalists, as they are an important part of our productions. Moreover, it keeps us fresh as well; new input stirs up our creativity and makes us explore new territory too. We do tend to look for remixers that could ideally take a song to an alternative life on its own, so to speak. We must admit that in a few cases the remix is actually better, haha. But that still feels good, as apparently it found its proper home.
EG: Your sound has remained remarkably consistent over two decades, while still evolving across seven albums. What do you think has allowed Kraak & Smaak to keep moving forward without losing that unmistakable identity?
Kraak & Smaak: Well, we always try to do different things, and it’s for other people to decide what it sounds like, but apparently even the latest album, which is miles away from our first album ‘Boogie Angst’, still sounds like… Kraak & Smaak. So I guess we just have to go on and do our thing.
EG: You’ve gone from small European clubs to Coachella and American late-night television. How has your relationship with the dancefloor changed over those twenty years, and what still gives you that same excitement about playing live?
Kraak & Smaak: Good question. Well, when we play clubs, we play for a crowd with 700-1500 people most of the time. And that’s what we like most.
And yes, that still gives the same thrill as the first show we ever played.
EG: There’s also a limited-edition vinyl picture disc accompanying the project. How important is the physical format to you in an era where so much of music consumption has moved into the digital space? What can your fans find on that version?
Kraak & Smaak: For us, the physical, tangible thing is exactly the thing we want to embrace right now. Making the difference selling vinyl through Bandcamp, in shops in cities you visit with the band, and first and foremost, after shows talking to fans, makes all the difference and makes you feel connected.
“For us the physical, tangible thing, is exactly the thing we want to embrace right now”
EG: Finally, now that ‘Velvet Seas’ has been explored from so many different angles, where does Kraak & Smaak go next? Are you already working on the next chapter?
Kraak & Smaak: Currently, we are in the midst of transforming our live show into the next phase, doing some big clubs in Europe and the UK. Also finishing ‘Scirocco’ part two (check out our first EP ‘Scirocco’!), an exploration into ’70s French and Italian cinematic music and the translation of that sound into the 21st century.
Release can be expected in spring 2027. After that, anything could happen, really.
EG: Thank you so much for your time. We wish you all the best with ‘Velvet Seas Remixed’, the limited-edition vinyl, and everything ahead. Take care!
Kraak & Smaak: Thanks for supporting us!
Kraak & Smaak’s ‘Velvet Seas Remixed’ is out now via Boogie Angst. Stream and download here.
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