NDSM Wharf is an open public space, formerly a shipyard, located on the banks of the River IJ. The space is home to a vibrant community of artists, live performance venues, bars, and restaurants covering the ground larger than ten football fields. For today, NDSM is transformed into the ADE oasis with a relaxation area, hot tubs, a large record market, multiple fire pits, and DIY horses and tigers on wheels (which you can sit on while your BFF attempts to drag it across the park) and it’s all free.

Near the entry in the open-air food hall area is a wall of token ATM’s which you need for all food and drinks and the precious reusable drink cup. The token system is slightly confusing but some reading and basic math will get you through just fine. The hangover (as a physical state) is celebrated at the Amsterdam Dance Event so most of the “stages are covered to protect your tired eyes from the throbbing“ headache you may be still dealing with. The smallest party is in what I’m guessing is the Treehouse: a tiny hotbox hut with a curtain door seeping smoke clouds through every single crack.

The Barn programming kicked off at noon with Pablo Discobar Soundsystem, mixing some really “old shit with the sounds of modern disco” and Mahabe137. By 4 pm Tenzers (Vincent and Siemen Tenzers brothers), the Barn is a hot room packed with people, swaying, two-stepping, and full force dancing to house and techno illuminated by the moving strobe lights. Tenzers’ very special recipe to blending house and techno (Detroit and Chicago) with subtle hints of jazz, funk, and soul (sampled from often rare and exotic records) is a much-needed treat this afternoon.

Further into the park is an open dance area, near an oddly shaped tower, alien crash site, craft beer stand, and a couple of hot tubs to the side (both very much in use). At the front is a small but funky stage occupied by Radio De Koperen Hond, hosted by Into The Woods festival (regulars at NDSM). De Koperen Hond stage is visibly the most happening and energetic area in the park, people in all sorts of dress and undress, are dancing in the cold to an eclectic mix of house, techno, and disco (try Magazine 60 “Don Quichotte (No Están Aquí)” to get into the mood).

The best place to see the sunset, however, is from the A’DAM Tower, at the Loft with 360 views on the water. The event is another party hosted by Audio Obscura featuring the German grandmaster Sven Väth, spinning records out of milk crates. The dance floor side of the Loft is incredibly hot, everyone wants to be closer to Sven and many people in attendance are friends and family, welcoming us into their circle with open arms (quite literally). With over three decades of experience, Sven Väth has had a great impact on the advance and evolution of electronic music. Väth is known for hosting inclusive, welcoming parties that promote positivity that dance music can bring and this party is no different – there is a visible sense of community clearly inspired by the producer’s charismatic personality. As I post up by the speaker, trying to sneak in a few shots, Väth throws me a smile (top photo) before returning to his milk crate in search of the next record (to get a sense of his flavor listen to “Dein Schweiss”).

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In retrospective, we were barely able to scratch the surface of ADE. With over 1,000 events across 200 locations, it is humanly impossible to not get FOMO but you can’t win them all (someone once told me about missing out on a show). This year’s edition of the festival brought together 400,000 visitors from across 150 countries and we are happy to say we tried our best to share the event through these brief highlights.

Mark your calendars, ADE 2020 is the 25th-anniversary edition and will take place from the 21st to 25th of October.

The post Closing out ADE with the Hangover and Sven Väth Loft party appeared first on Quip Magazine.

One of Thursday’s highlights is ADE Live, a festival-curated showcase focusing on the best of up-and-coming electronic acts for the sole purpose of discovering the hidden gems. Tonight the Live showcase takes place at the Melkweg (Dutch for Milky Way), a multi-level cultural and music venue in the heart of Amsterdam’s nightlife square, just off the Lijnbaansgracht canal (doesn’t that just roll off the tongue?).

Feeling a bit more at home we find our way into the venue. Step 1: locate lockers, put away the warm stuff. Step 2: get a beer. Step 3: find a good vantage point.

Upstairs UK’s Catching Flies (real name George King) is patiently warming up the room. King’s music takes inspiration in a variety of genres from jazz and soul, to house and electronica. Since entering the music scene Catching Flies toured as support for Bonobo and played shows with the likes of ODESZA and Submotion Orchestra. His music is melodic, fluid, with minimal vocals, and some tracks, like “Stay Forever,” are visibly reminiscent of early Odessa, while his remix of “Mt. Wolf’s “Life Size Ghosts” creates an almost religious experience.

Somewhere downstairs, in a slightly larger room called the Oz, UK-based Grammy-winning producer and composer William Phillips is gathering the new arrivals: “Hello Amsterdam, my name is Tourist.” A few cheers passed through the crowd. Tourist’s newest album Wild is dropping tomorrow (October 18th) via Monday Records so the timing of this show is quite opportunistic. In Phillips’ own words Wild is an album in which he tried to “set aside self-doubts” thus producing in a much more liberating way. The album, played out almost in full during the show, features sampled vocals, gentle emotive piano lines, and deep arpeggios that encompass the room in its entirety as the melodies grow louder and more pronounced (check out “Elixir” and “Bunny”).

Overlapping the Tourist set, in the biggest room across the hallway, is Apparat (real name Sascha Ring) and his very atmospheric 4-piece band. Thin, angled fluorescent lights hung across the stage, blinking, creating an incredibly moody atmosphere while Apparat is working through his latest studio album LP5. Playing a mix of string instruments, singing, and occasionally interacting with the band (who were also skilled in a variety of instruments), Sascha showcased his unique flavor of melancholic techno and deep orchestral pop ballads, taking the audience on a journey packed with dark fragmented twists and dramatic turns (press play for “Dawan” and “Caronte”).

Amsterdam proper is not a particularly large city and can be easily walked but a quick tram can take you across town to the Central Station with a lot less precipitation. Here, between the trains, buses, and ferries, down a wide staircase into a large, low ceiling room, is Lil’ Amsterdam, which by all definition feels like an underground nightclub. It is dark, hot AF, smells funny, and you need tokens for everything including the bathroom (entry into which earns you another stamp on the already marked up arm).

Step 1: locate lockers, put away the wet stuff. Step 2: buy tokens, hydrate. Step 3: gently find my way to the front of the stage and put those fancy earplugs to work (one must not forget the good advice of public messaging: protect your ears).

This evening’s programming at Lil’ Amsterdam is brought to us by Audio Obscura, an event organization “born out of love for underground electronic music” on a mission to bring people together in the most iconic historical venues of the world. Through the packed dancing crowd, at the back of the dance floor area, is the German house pioneer Danilo Plessow, aka Motor City Drum Ensemble (MCDE). Inspired by the sounds of Detroit and Chicago house, MCDE spins soul-infused house and techno. Danilo is visibly comfortable on stage: this deck is his home, these people are his people (even if they followed someone in they are fans now), and this inadequately sound-proofed room is a perfect space for the beats to bounce of (“Raw Cuts #3” is a great flavor sample).

Unlike many other festivals around the world, here in Amsterdam, the headliners seemed to go on early at club night events. Admittedly, early still means 1, 2 or 3 am but given that the parties go on till sunrise one can certainly appreciate that their favorite musicians are on at the time of night when you can still form complex sentences, leaving just enough time for a healthy nap before starting it all over again.

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