As the dust settles on Amsterdam’s streets and dance floors after another hugely successful ADE, delegates follow up on productive meetings, business cards form the basis of new business relationships, videos of the best DJ sets are uploaded onto the internet and party people spend the week recovering from an intensive few days. Gigwise reporter Marcus Barnes was on the frontline, taking in both the conference and the nighttime entertainment to tell you what he learned at this year’s excellent Amsterdam Dance Event…
Soundcloud is merging with DJ software
Soundcloud was once a highly regarded streaming platform, where musicians (especially electronic music producers) felt at home, uploading mixes and fresh new music at will. It became a place where communities were formed and A&Rs would spend hours seeking out new music. Soundcloud has had a difficult time lately, and Kerry Trainor has been CEO of the company for the last year or so, trying to rekindle the love that artists had for it back when it first appeared. This Q&A (hosted by Arash Shirazi) offered some insight into where Soundcloud is going and what Kerry and his team have been doing to ensure that it remains a popular choice for musicians (or ‘creators’ as he calls them). An interesting chat, which ended with news that Soundcloud will be integrated into Native Instruments, Serato, Virtual DJ, DEX3, Mixvibes and Hercules software so that DJs can use all the music in Soundcloud’s extensive catalogue when they’re mixing. Amazing…
Nile Rodgers’ manager Merck Mercuriadis is floating music on the London Stock Exchange
Straight after the Soundcloud Q&A was this superb conversation between the legendary Chic genius and prolific producer, Nile Rodgers, and his manager Merck Mercuriadis. Both men are extremely experienced and have a deep love and understanding of music, so this chat was one of the highlights of ADE’s conference schedule. Nile’s positive attitude and motormouth made this a very entertaining Q&A, along with Merck’s questions and insights - including news that they have set up a fund that is being floated on the London Stock Exchange - aiming to raise a billion dollars by acquiring music, an ‘asset’ which they say is equal to precious metals like gold. Fascinating and inspiring.
Shelter is only two years old but already intrinsic to Amsterdam nightlife
On Thursday night there was really only one place to be (well, probably 20 places to be) and that was local record label Rush Hour Records holding court at the mighty Shelter. The underground venue has only been around for two years, opening at ADE in 2016, but it has become one of Amsterdam’s most respected clubs thanks to excellent music curation and programming, a killer sound system and a creative team that keeps things fresh and exciting. Hunee, Antal and Young Marco were joined by Soichi Terada, Kuniyuki Takahashi and Sauce81 (live) for a night full of classy house and disco, with a smattering of techno for good measure.
A book that dissects Wu-Tang’s ‘Enter The 36 Chambers’ LP is due out soon
It’s been 25 years since Wu-Tang Clan dropped their debut album; raw, uncompromising, original and timeless, ‘36 Chambers’ is the subject of Will Ashon’s new book ‘Chamber Music’. This was a superb Q&A with Melodee hosting with panache and Will Ashon doing a great job of describing his book, even reading out a few passages. Myself, and the rest of the audience, were hooked and I will be buying the book as soon as it’s released.
The mental health conversation continues to dominate the music industry
Straight up after Will’s Q&A, as part of ADE Beats, was a mental health-focused presentation from Shanti Das - a hip-hop industry powerhouse who took the brave step of speaking out about her depression and anxiety a few years ago. She has since set up a movement to ‘silence the shame’ around mental health and spoke candidly about her issues and life story during this moving chat. The host Pay Kolmüs also revealed that she’d been through depression and had once tried to take her life, so it was a deep, but very necessary conversation. Well done to both women.
A bar called the Duke Of Tokyo transports you to the streets of the Japanese capital
The Duke Of Tokyo is a relatively new bar in the centre of Amsterdam on Reguliersdwarsstraat. The interior has been decked out to look like the streets of Tokyo, with a few karaoke rooms, a cosy bar area and a DJ booth with a small ‘dance floor’. Living was a Friday night party that excelled in good vibes and an utterly captivating, sociable atmosphere. With DJs Nikita Dory and Ray Zuniga b2b, rising star David Berrie, Pillowtalk, m.O.N.R.O.E and Boris Werner, it was one of the highlights of ADE.
Seth Troxler spinning vinyl only is a delight for your eardrums
In the morning after Living we ventured to the mega-sized Warehouse Elementenstraat where Ricardo Villalobos was in full flight spinning tough electro beats to a packed, sweaty dance floor. Ricardo is a master and, when he’s at his best, there are few who compare - this was a total treat. Seth Troxler followed, closing the party with a wonderfully balanced all-vinyl set that took the crowd on an early morning adventure into a new electronic realm. The last cut he played was out of this world, I’m still trying to get my head around it now!
Dancing on sand is harder than you think
At outdoor/indoor Thuishaven, there was another mouthwatering line-up for the rave diehards to get stuck into all day long. The venue is a collection of large tents, with a carnivalesque feel to it - entertainers on stilts prance around dressed as insects with fairy lights illuminating their costumes. The sound system is seriously on point in all of the tents and Dennis Ferrer made sure he gave the speakers a good work out in his room, with a tough, bouncy selection of tech house. The one downside is that the ground is covered in sand, which is often quite uneven - this means dancing can be quite a challenge, especially if you’ve had one too many.
Bonobo curatorial skills are just as good as his DJing (and producing)
The NDSM warehouse is so big it has to be seen to be believed - how the organisers manage to get the acoustics right is a testament to their professionalism. Bonobo’s party, Outlier, had an immense line-up with the man himself taking centre stage at 1.30am. On the bill alongside him was Mano Le Tough, Tom Trago, KiNK, Ame, Moxie and more - expert curation from a man who makes impeccable music. His room was rammed with people, with virtually no space to dance if you were in the middle of the crowd. Thankfully, there was plenty of room on the edge of the dance floor. Bonobo’s selection was soulful, groovy and actually quite tough at times but always with an emotive tone; lifting the crowd into the cosmos. DJ Koze stepped up next and took us down a darker path, with bewildering tribal-esque techno meandering into disco and beyond. And it didn’t end there, Moxie, Tom Trago and KiNK in particular turned in astounding performances, making this one of the best events at ADE all week.
