From Oct. 16-20, ADE ’24 hosted more than 3,000 DJ/artists at over 1,000 events and welcomed over 500,000 global visitors, according to organizers.
Amsterdam, Netherlands – Aptly dubbed “the world’s largest and most-influential club-based festival and conference for electronic music,” the Amsterdam Dance Event didn’t disappoint with its 29th edition. Delivering a jam-packed slate of club/festival parties, music-industry panels/keynotes, sponsored activations, and pro-gear exhibitions, ADE brought thousands of DJ/artists, industry pros, and fans alike to The Netherlands.
Held this past Oct. 16-20 at a variety of venues all over Holland’s largest city, ADE ’24 hosted more than 3,000 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 sessions that discussed issues like the future of indie labels and A.I. in performance and keynotes that featured notables like Martin Garrix, Laurent Garnier, Kölsch, Amelie Lens and Charlotte de Witte. At the ADE Lab Program, a variety of brands – including Allen & Heath, Ableton, and Bjooks – 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 2024:
Club Nights: At The Other Side nightclub, the venue presented Full Cycle, a music series which included thoroughly immersive techno sets on Oct. 17 from Stimming and Christian Löffler through a scintillating spatialized L-Acoustics sound system.
At Melkweg Upstairs on Oct. 16, the Coldharbour Records night included intimate trance sets from the label’s artists, including Daxson, Johan Gielen, Matt Fax and Tim Clark.
Back at Melkweg’s main room on Oct. 17, Dave Clarke Presents featured the “Baron of Techno Himself” for the 19th consecutive year. Clarke delivered a smashing 90-minute performance and the evening also saw impressive sets from Miss Kittin, Len Faki and Paula Temple. Meanwhile, on Melkweg’s other side, Markus Schulz’s 7th annual Open To Close event saw him spinning a six-hour-plus trance set that lit up a room full of late-night action-seekers.
Activations & Pop-Ups: On Oct. 17 at art’otel, Alpha Theta’s networking mixer featured “30 Years of Pioneer DJ’s CDJ,” an exclusive exhibition that included every model ever released. At Cruise Control Studios, ADAM Audio demonstrated its range of studio products, including new D3V compact nearfield monitors and H200 headphones.
At the W Hotel on Oct. 16-17, Partiful presented Mau P and HUGEL on consecutive nights for exclusive (and steamy) hotel-suite parties. On Oct. 16, the Rush Hour Records shop presented a set from Louie Vega. On Oct. 18, the Zwart Goud record shop presented a performance from Nina Kraviz.
Keynotes: At “fabric25 x Laurent Garnier” on Oct. 16, the legendary French DJ/artist discussed putting together his new four-CD/vinyl-mix project for the London club brand, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. In doing so, he dropped dollops of club-DJ wisdom in a dance-music world dominated by festivals.
“Residents are very vital for a club,” said Garnier, 58, who famously held a residency at Paris’ Rex club. “I’m a club person, a club DJ. Club is my DNA. The youngest generation may not be full of clubbers, but my generation is all clubbers. I still like to know that there are a couple of places each weekend where you can hear great music, see your friends, and hear a proper sound system. Festivals are great and they serve a purpose, but we need more intimacy.
“As a DJ, when you play a long set at smaller club with that intimacy, you can really bring people together. It’s just easier. Maybe it’s not my job to teach [the music]; my job really is to suggest. But either way, I will tell a story with my music.”
On Oct. 18, in another notable talk, DJ/artist Patrick Mason left a De Brakke Grond auditorium inspired with his story. The 34-year-old multi-talent explained, sometimes in emotional terms, how a bullied, mixed-race, gay youth in Bavaria conquered the music, art and fashion scenes in Berlin years later. As he told the tale, much of his triumphs came from the power of music, plus the lure of nightclubs like Berlin’s legendary Berghain.
“There’s this famous saying in Germany, which goes: ‘Du bist verrückt mein kind, du musst nach Berlin,’ and that basically means: ‘You are crazy, my child, so you have to go to Berlin’ and find yourself,” said Mason. “So, I moved to Berlin and started going to Berghain, dancing, watching and absorbing that club culture, learning the history of this music – and remember… cool, queer kids who were marginalized built this from the ground up. That was empowering. Berlin gave me the wings I always had, but didn’t dare to open.
“As I moved into DJing, I found that the DJ’s role is to be a selector. The vibe you create is most important – if you can connect to a crowd on a deep emotional level. And I dance and pose when I play. My poses are me imitating Prince, Michael Jackson or Grace Jones as a little kid. I dance behind the decks because I’m a raver and I’m voguing. I see that energy transfers, so I’ll play to someone who’s not dancing until they start to move and begin to dance like no one is watching.”
