Amsterdam is well known as a city of canals, bifters and red lights but for
the last few years, it's increasingly gaining a reputation to rival Berlin as a
go-to place for a jolly old rave up. Oh yes and one of the main feathers in its cap of bleep, beeps and drops is the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). ADE has been running amok in the
city for almost 20 years but it’s since the unstoppable rise of the EDM
juggernaut that it’s really become a fixture for the good, the bad and the ugly
members of the electronic biz.
I was fortunate enough to attend the four day conference last week. It was
all down to a certain staff member leaving earlier this year and being in the right place to take
up his ticket. This dude was a director who’d booked himself into a lavish five
star gaff for the event, and, as the booking couldn’t be given up, it was down
to me to take on the room. Cue chandeliers, a flash mini bar and decorations only the tastelessly rich or utterly blind can love. It meant that right from the off (and before we
really got stuck into the cushington), there was a dream-like vibe around the
conference and our trip.
On landing in the ‘dam, we disappointingly didn’t go straight to the nearest
coffee joint. Instead it was head first into the thick of the conference to get
our teeth into the challenges and opportunities facing dance music. Oh yes
debate was flying around thick and fast. But while talk is cheap, the amount of
dosh swirling around the dance music industry was abundantly clear, just from
the freebies (including fancy headphones and bags) bestowed upon delegates.
The general vibe of ADE is very European, all puffer jackets, hard house, shades,
fags and bad jeans. Everyone is in a rush. And everyone is in a bit of a
mood. It’s probably the grinding come down that comes as being an integral dance
music player (or at least thinking you are) and being spotted in daylight. In some ways, this event is strictly for the vampire crew, with the conference itself not really getting into gear until after midday. The talk were themselves were of a high quality with one of the best bits being Dave 'The Baron Clarke interviewing Hollywood maestro Hans Zimmer and geeking out over synths. But their discussion, with both of them admitting a lust for Delia Derbyshire, was indicative of the conference - it was a total sausage fest. While the days were spent in the
conference, listening to industry big wigs talk and admiring the fashions, the evenings were
significantly more fun. Or at least more dazed. And hungry.
Wednesday we partook of a little basement joint called Best Friends. In here
were plenty of red-eyed Dutch dudes all doing their best to win medals as the
Netherlands biggest toker. We joined in for a bit before going to a boozer and
marveling at the quality of the Heineken while occasionally bursting into
hysterics or eating crisps. Standard behaviour.
On Thursday we ventured a bit further afield, finding ourselves suitably
relaxed in a jazz bar listening to some dude in specs lose himself in his sax.
The bassist looked how we felt, all eyes shut, reverie turned on. After that we
staggered off via New York Pizza to tap up the Ninja Tunes label showcase. When
we landed, Martyn was going B2B with hype woman Inga Copeland in what felt like a smokey cave. The vibe was
dance music which you couldn’t really dance to. In fact the music was more like
a gloopy pillow being stuffed over the face than anything you could shake your
legs. So although it made for a diverting aural spectacle for the hour or so we
were there, it could have done something less weird, and more anthemic to get our brain around. Thank god for New York Pizza being open late to satisfy the insane munch home.
Friday was a slightly more sedate affair as the flight back was big time
early doors. But it meant more time spent blazing and less drinking. It was a look
fo’ sure and saw us getting all weepy and hysterical in Dolphins before having to go seek out some crisps. The verdict? Well ADE is well worth a punt, even though we didn’t get sucked into quite as much
raving as probably the rest of the crowd. We managed to miss some ace looking nights but didn't have a bottomless reserve of euros to call on. Plus If
all you’re missing out on is checking out the latest EDM superstar, then the
clubs are worth, to a certain extent, worth avoiding. So props to the event and big up to the gaudy room. It
was tacky and over opulent with an unexplainable table in the middle of the
room but it still made for a decent place to hole up and drink cans. It also
had a huge fish spoon on the wall for no discernible reason other than why not. Why not indeed...
