Despite the implications of their name, Kraak & Smaak are actually a production trio, featuring DJ Knupplehout, Oscar De Jong, and Wim Plug. They formed a couple of decades ago in Leiden, Netherlands, and in their long career, they’ve released six studio albums and countless remixes, singles, and other projects, collaborating with a myriad of artists along the way. Now, to celebrate their twentieth anniversary as a group, Jalapeno Records has assembled Twenty, a collection of twenty tracks representing the breadth of their career up to this point.

We don’t often cover “best of” compilations at Scratched Vinyl, but at the same time we don’t get that many featuring independent artists like Kraak & Smaak. What makes a compilation like this compelling is that because they have worked on independent labels for their whole career, they aren’t beholden to assembling “the hits.” Instead, they can spend more time coming up with a representative sample across their twenty years as recording artists, and they can also focus on creating a flow across the album. What’s also beautiful about a project like this is that because Kraak & Smaak are independent artists, listeners can approach this from a number of angles. Superfans can of course just be happy to have a collection of a bunch of their favorite songs in one place, but casual fans who are only familiar with some of their catalogue can get a sense of what else Kraak & Smaak have done in their long career. Even better, potential new fans can pick this up and learn about a new group who has been killing it for years and use it as a great jumping off point for their fandom. To those potential new listeners, you are probably wondering what to expect from Twenty, so let’s dive in. Kraak & Smaak have delved into multiple genres over their career, whether it be hip hop, funk, house, soul, or disco, but whatever it is, you can be sure it’s danceable and a whole lot of fun. They also learned how to play well with a whole mess of collaborators from different backgrounds, and in this compilation we get appearances from Lex Empress, Mayer Hawthorne, Ben Westbeech, Durand Jones, Izo FitzRoy, U-Gene, Parcels, Sam Duckworth, IVAR, Sebastian, Alxndr London, Satchmode, Stee Downes, and Romanthony. There are a few great things to take away from this aspect of the compilation as well. One is that most listeners aren’t going to know this entire roster, so you’re probably going to learn about a few new artists who catch your ears. Another is that Kraak & Smaak do a great job of finding a balance between playing to each artists’ strengths while also pushing them to create something that they wouldn’t have made on their own. Any way you slice it, you get a collection of really adventurous music that celebrates a lot of different genres and artists along the way, all while remaining fun, danceable, and accessible.

Twenty is a great way to celebrate Kraak & Smaak. The production trio from The Netherlands has lasted this long for a reason, and that reason can be found in the undeniable grooves of these twenty songs. It’s sophisticated, adventurous, and collaborative, all while never losing sight of what will get each and every person on the dance floor.