Amsterdam, Netherlands – The 28th edition of Amsterdam Dance Event delivered big again with its impressive range of club and festival parties, music-industry seminars/keynotes, sponsored activations, and pro-gear exhibitions.
Held this past Oct. 18-22 at a variety of venues all over Holland’s largest city, ADE ’23 hosted more than 2,900 DJ/artists at over 1,000 events and welcomed over 500,000 global visitors, according to organizers.
Additionally, ADE Pro Conference at the Felix Meritis Centre presented seminars that tackled issues like A.I. in dance music and keynotes that featured icons and notables like Grandmaster Flash, Claptone, A-Trak, and The Blessed Madonna. At the ADE Lab Program, a variety of brands – including Roland, VirtualDJ, and L-Acoustics – exhibited their wares and presented sponsored seminars. As usual, DJ LIFE was there to take it all in – here are some highlights from Amsterdam Dance Event 2023:
Club Nights: At Diplo’s Higher Ground label party at Het Sieraad on Oct. 18, the famously eclectic DJ/producer lorded over what felt like a wild-and-woolly rave played in a movie-studio set attached to a middle school. Dropping crowd-pleasing retro tracks by artists ranging from Depeche Mode to Dr. Alban, Diplo worked the crowd to a full frothy lather. His set was bookended by tight performances from a pair of Detroit ladies – DJ Holographic and DJ Minx – both of whom rocked the sweaty room with big, bouncy house sets.
On Oct. 20, in what’s become a bit of a Friday-night ADE tradition at Melkweg, trance titan Markus Schulz delivered a forceful set at the club’s Rabozaal concert venue, while “Baron of Techno” Dave Clarke wrecked Melkweg’s Max Hall next door. All-night fans of both genres left the Leidseplein area venue wide-eyed and mostly drenched.
Seminars & Keynotes: During the “Black Dance Music: A Conversation Across Multiple Generations” on Oct. 19, British DJ Tiffany Calver moderated an engaging session with DJ Minx, a jock three decades into her musical career, and HoneyLuv, a relative upstart, who’s enjoyed a sharp ascent. While the session discussed the challenges related to race and gender within the electronic-music community, both panelists insisted that their genuine appreciation for the music, their dedication to the craft, and their belief in their abilities are the factors that have most impacted their individual success.
HoneyLuv (aka Taylor Character) revealed a unique bio of a DJ/artist who began as an athlete and then a U.S. service member before falling in love with house music. “After I decided that the Navy wasn’t for me, I fell for the music and realized that I love the community of house music,” said the L.A.-based talent. “It brings people together. I want to help push it forward, so I gotta put in the work. I cannot take anything for granted.”
Minx (aka Jennifer Witcher), who founded Women On Wax collective and label, explained her path, which wasn’t always smooth. “The reason I started Women on Wax collective [in 1996] was because I was tired of playing parties for free,” she said. “I had to keep my respect, but it took time… this is back in the vinyl days. Now, I know what I do and I do it well – it’s about talent. You have to believe in yourself. If you book me, you need to know what I play and let me do it. As a DJ, you gotta stick to it to play through it.”
Later, during “The Blessed Madonna Live” – helmed by ever-capable interviewer Dave Clarke – the popular DJ/producer (aka Marea Stamper) recounted growing up in Kentucky as a rabid fan of dance music, road-tripping to raves all over the Midwest in the 1990s, and becoming a DJ. After a disastrous gig at a Gathering of the Juggalos festival in Michigan – go figure – Stamper decided to get serious about studio work and began to get some traction. “I wasn’t happy during that period around 2012,” Stamper recalled, “but I worked and I worked and, in nine months, basically turned my career around. Now I work and produce every day.”
Of course, being featured on Fred Again..’s 2021 smash “Marea (We’ve Lost Dancing)” put Stamper in a new place in the public consciousness. Nonetheless, she views it more as an artistic opportunity, not a burden, especially now that she expects to release a full-length album in early 2024.
“Neil Tennant [of Pet Shop Boys] said that pop music is meant to be challenging, but I think EDM has given people brainworms,” Stamper offered. “Look, I have been dragged into EDM kicking and screaming because the Fred… Again record put me in a world I am not used to. It’s Fred’s record and I’m grateful. But now, I think it’s my job to raise the level, to remain a thorn in the side of what’s happening in the pop world. I mean, what would The KLF think of what is happening [to dance music]? This music does not have to suck.”