Willem Mulder & Grover Duvall - Machine Affairs (2026)

Machine Affairs is an expansive dance record informed by classic hardware and deep studio collaboration, with the soulful side of Detroit’s dance music legacy serving as a key inspiration. Crafted by long-time friends Willem Mulder and Grover Duvall over an intensive two-week studio session, the project represents a new generation of artists interpreting dance music heritage with a fresh perspective.

Based in Amsterdam, Willem Mulder works from the raw functionality of house and pulls warmth from electronics across eras. With releases on Apron Records, Salon Recordings, and Voyage Direct, he’s steadily been building a name with his soul-infused productions. Willem brings his fluid touch to the project, pushing analogue circuits into new directions, operating in the space between the ears. Grover Duvall is a new name, but not a new story. Dutch-American, raised in The Netherlands and now based in San Francisco, he has spent years deep in the craft of sound, and his fingerprints are all over the sonic texture of the record. Together, the two bring their distinct worlds into a shared space, united by a love of analogue hardware, dancefloor energy, and the kind of music that lives somewhere between feel and function.

A highly collaborative endeavour, Machine Affairs is the result of two weeks of intensive studio time together, driven by a deep love of classic US dance sounds, and the machines and techniques that built the foundation of dance music. Classic hardware plays a lead in role in Machine Affairs, with the core of the project being formed by a Roland Juno 106 and TR-808, shaped through re-amping, tape delays and cassette players, chasing saturation and imperfection the way dance music once did naturally. The result is a collection of tracks defined by feel rather than genre, with subtlety and sonic depth as well as immediacy and energy.

The Detroit connection on Machine Affairs manifests with legendary artist Javonntte lending his vocals on ‘Ocean Rain’, and the same track getting remix treatment from Jon Dixon, another Detroit legend. The project is topped off with a deep and dreamy remix of ‘Searching’ by Tour-Maubourg.