ADE Thursday, the day when it feels like the weekend really starts. There are still plenty of people who haven’t taken their Fridays off, though, so this is probably your final chance to find some nice events in venues that are not fully packed yet. Besides that, it is still early (remember, the weekend goes until Tuesday), so it is also still a good day to catch some non-party events. Arguably the best parties of the year don’t even happen during ADE, so if you have the time and want to experience the music in a different way than in the club, definitely explore, see what spontaneous things you can find, and check the ADE website for more stuff that might be more up your alley than my recommendations here. After that you're free to head to your favorite club and stand in front of your favorite subwoofer uninterrupted for 4 days. I will start with the day/non-party recommendations and veer off onto the dancefloor after.

Jeff Mills Interprets De Nachtwacht @ Rijksmuseum
The ADE organisation and Audio Obscura have invited none other than The Wizard to make and perform an electronic musical interpretation of one of the most famous works of art around: De Nachtwacht. When I first saw this pass by as an ad somewhere, I disregarded it as something quite gimmicky, especially since it’s a film screening and not an actual live performance, but after giving it a second thought, it might just be really cool. I don’t know how De Nachtwacht would “sound”, but it’s free (you do have to sign up before Oct 11th), and it’s Jeff Mills doing his thing in Het Rijksmuseum so it’s worth a mention. 

Slimfit hybrid live @ Our Lord in the Attic Museum
Another special performance, but this time it IS live, or at least hybrid live, by local hero Slimfit, in the amazingly beautiful former clandestine church, which now houses the Ons Lieve Heer Op Solder museum. Two years ago, I visited a performance by JP Enfant and Italian pianist Pietro Paganini on the organ. Hearing beautiful sounds in a place like that is always an opportunity worth taking. Slimfit is known as a DJ with eclectic and creative selections, so we’ll have to wait and see what this performance will be like.

Motie @ Stopera
Slowly but surely we’re moving from a sitting to a standing setting and moving towards the dancefloor. The Stopera is the building that hosts the city hall (stadhuis) and national opera & ballet. On the city hall side, there is quite a pretty corridor where Motie will take place. A new event with live performance, art, food, wine, and more. Each day will run from 19:00-1:00, and the first day will host Young Marco featuring Jonny Nash with a live ambient set, and DJ’s invited by Mood.

Einder @ Centrale Markthal
If you have an account on a social media platform, and the algorithm knows you’re into electronic music, there is an extremely high chance you’ve seen videos of Fred Again…’s USB 002 shows, the one with the huge artwork with the fabric hanging from the ceiling that moves up and down, remember? Well, Boris Acket, the artist responsible for that piece of art is bringing a version of that artwork to the Centrale Markthal, and is inviting multiple artists to perform their work with it. Thursday is starting off incredibly strong with Elias Mazian, performing his own music with a band, and the visionary Djrum, bringing his own work to life on a selection of his homemade instruments he uses to make his music. If you can’t make it to one of the performances, you can also visit the space to admire the artwork during the day.

Another Room x Pax Romana 
Wanna warm up for the night with some drinks in a store with some seriously good DJs instead of your friends' questionable pre-party playlist? The tiny store Another Room is hosting a small get together with Serti, Delano Legito, Anna Randt, Julie, and Elisa Batti all playing for a bit until 21:00.

VBX by Shanti Celeste @ Skatecafe
We’ve officially made it onto the dancefloor, with a VBX party in Skatecafe hosted by Shanti Celeste. She’s curated a really fun lineup with a bunch of house DJs, like Pancratio, Doudou MD b2b Jennifer Loveless, herself and more, but also surprisingly made the choice to invite some DJ’s from the more bass and leftfield side of things; Hodge and Mor Elian. Skatecafe is a really fun place, and this might just be an event that works well there.

Podd x Omen Wapta x UTE @ Ingang
A little stroll down the street from Skatecafe, you’ll find the music to be much darker and faster, at the freshly opened Ingang. A collaboration between three well known organisations that know how to do this type of party very well; dark, smoky rooms, deep trippy soundscapes on a crispy Addit Audio system, and a crowd that knows what they’re in for. If you’re into the Omen Wapta sound, this is a no brainer for Thursday.

Breakfast Club w/ Limousine Dream @ Pllek
Breakfast Club continues their fullest ADE week and returns to Pllek with Gene On Earth’s Limousine Dream. Pllek is a cool venue in a very nice location, but in previous years they’ve been known to have some overcrowding and sound issues, so let’s hope they’ve managed to fix that. They’ve put together a very nice lineup with Midland, Talaboman, Octo Octa (live), Gene on Earth b2b Peach, and Dyed Soundroom b2b DJ Sweet6teen.

Clone Records @ Raum
For the third year in a row, Clone Records returns to Raum on ADE Thursday for a two room night. This time, it looks like their usual nod to The Motor City will be in Studio: Afra b2b Detroit in Effect, LFT, and Serge, while Nexus will see mostly techno DJs playing: Neska, Neel, Ottagone (One of the million Frits Wentink aliases) and Neel. The previous two were very nice, so I can't imagine this time it’ll be any different. 

Vault Sessions x Mutual Rytm @ Tillatec
If you can’t contain your knaldrang and really have to start the party early with some pumping techno in the afternoon on Thursday, head over to Tillatec for Vault Sessions, for a  hosting of one of the most prominent techno labels today, Mutual Rytm, in the afternoon! They’re putting out a looooot of music and it can be a bit samey, but they are definitely consistent, so if you’re into the likes of Phil Berg, KinK, SHDW, ANNE, and Human Safari, it should be great. 

Vault Sessions @ Tillatec
Yes that’s right, there is another, why change a winning formula. After the Mutual Rytm day event ends at 22:00, you have an hour to stand outside the entrance to reminisce outside the building and think about your choices, after which you can reenter the club at 23:00 for more classic Vault Sessions, with a night filled with a looooooot of techno, with their residents in the spotlights; Blasha & Allatt, D.Dan, DJ Nobu, Ecilo, Filtrack, Hemka, Jelena, Justine Perry b2b Paula Koski, Lea Occhi, Pink Concrete, Sandrien, Stef Mendesidis (live), and VSC.

Polifonic x Smiile @ Klaproos

A two room event in Klaproos by Polifonic, alongside a curation by Smiile, Chloe Caillet’s label. The lineup is filled to the brim with b2b’s; Chloe Caillet b2b Roi Perez, Jen Cardini b2b Aldonna, Carlos Valdes b2b Katia Curie, Luna Ludmila b2b Gizem, and Pascal Mocheni b2b Ferrari. The three artists playing solo are the standouts if you were to ask me though; Call Super, Craig Richards, and a (quite rare in Amsterdam) live set by Reptant. Klaproos isn’t really a club, but with these artists it should be pretty damn good anyway. 

DJ Kicks @ De Wester
DJ Kicks, you probably have listened to one, if not many of the legendary mix series by !K7 Records. They’re doing an event in Westerpark, in De Wester, right beside the Gashouder, with a bunch of artists that have contributed to the series. The bill is pretty diverse, and has some names you don’t see often here like Danilo Plessow and Sofia Kourtesis, so this might be a nice chance to catch them. 

Slapfunk @ Blast Galaxy
Another house event, this time by the hometown collective that is always in competition for the last party standing of ADE. I thought one was worth a mention because it is taking place at Blast Galaxy, IYKYK. As we’ve seen it before, I find it hard to imagine a SlapFunk event in that place, but it might just be really nice if they use the space wisely. This one is curated by Sweely, so it looks like this one will be on the proggy side of the house spectrum. 

Let me know what I’ve missed, have fun, take care of each other, and don’t verschiet your kruid (or do, who am I to tell you)

Hiiiiiiii!

There are a couple of things I am really excited about for numerous reasons this weekend, so I claimed the weekly for this week, only to start writing and realise there are many more things to be excited about than a single person could visit in a single weekend. Decisions will have to be made, but once again, it is also a reminder of how lucky we are to be in a place where we have this many interesting options so often. We even have a new club opening this weekend! These are my picks this week.

Friday

Laak Clubnight

Laak is back with a 3-room club night. Presto Records will provide the leftfield, experimental music in the main room, but different from most club nights, they will host Detedente, playing live indie rock, and Popduo Twinblade. If you’re still not satisfied, JEANS is also playing in the Toilet room all night. Even within Laak the options are diverse.

Delsin @ Paradiso

Delsin Records is one of, if not the most important label in dance music from Amsterdam, and this weekend they are celebrating their 30th birthday in Paradiso with a two-room party, filled by iconic names that helped the label earn, and keep its status. Paradiso's iconic main room will host Answer Code Request, Sterac b2b Sandrien, Vril (live), and Mattikk. In the much cozier basement, you’ll find Dave Huismans & Newworldaquarium, Conforce b2b Delta Funktionen, Claudio PRC b2b Laima Adelaide, and Artefakt (live). Paradiso for club nights is a bit of a gamble, but I suspect a similarly nerdy crowd to something like Stoor, so if you’ve never gone out in Paradiso and want to, this might be the night to do so.

One Eye Witness @ Raum

You might know One Eye Witness as a distributor. They are based in Amsterdam Noord and are responsible for the distribution of many labels in the deeper and more underground side of the electronic music world. They are hosting a three room night at Raum with Mark Broom in Nexus, LazerGazer and Temple Rat in Boutique, and Aldonna, Gideon Jackson, Mia Cecille and Sansibar in Studio. 

Pvssy Akelarre x Weeeirdos @ Tillatec
A FLINTA-focused night with a bunch of DJs and other kinds of performers at Tillatec. Jasmín Julia Maria b2b Maria Cue, LOLSNAKE and VINVAR.

Fever Dream @ Garage Noord
Fever Dream is taking over Garage Noord together with Tempo Marauders. Classic Fever Dream names on the bill, meaning plenty of chaotic fun. Both rooms open, Garage at its Garageiest. 

Shunter Weekend 3

Weekend 3 is on, and they have once again put together a really nice program. Friday is the (free) opening night, with a longer set by co-founder of Shunter, Ozzo. On Saturday, two rooms will have a nice mix of techno, house, and bass music. Any lineup with names like Dirtydms, Basic Chanel, and Mika Oki is fun, but there are many interesting bookings. Le Motel was incredibly fun at Horst, Trois Quarts Taxi System (live) is a booking you don’t see often, and Maco Shuttle followed by Nikos (live) as a closer also sounds really nice. Sunday returns to a single room setup,

Saturday

Patio Closing @ Lofi

Lofi has received the unfortunate news that they can’t use their courtyard for the rest of the year, which means they will have a 0/2 score for an outdoor Patio event this year. Unfortunate as that may be, the lineup is still really nice for the techno heads (And most techno works better in the dark anyways). Some highlights are Seconds (Phara b2b Setaoc Mass), UFO95, Norbak, a rare house set by Tafkamp & Vil, a 3-hour colorfloor closing by Talismann, and more.

Chlär anl @ Radion
Chlär is one of those DJs that exploded in popularity in quite a short timeframe, and is now playing huge festival stages. Vault Sessions has played a large part in his and Funk Assault’s rise to fame, and they invited him back to where a large part of that took place; Radion. This fast rolling hyper ADHD set he played with Tafkamp in Bret will forever be engraved into my mind. He and his sound have evolved quite some ways away from that (probably for the better), so if you like his style of house and techno, this should be really fun.

Ingang Opening

The new club in town is officially opening after their unofficial kickoff with noclubs. They will run an extended clubnight until at least 11:00 with a very nice mixed lineup. Mostly local names, and on the deeper side of the sound spectrum. The first reviews of the new space sound promising, and this is a promising look at their own bookings, so exciting to see where this is headed!

Mova @ ?

Undisclosed location as usual. This edition is a collaborative effort with Ukrainian institution Cxema, containing mostly Ukrainian DJs.

Piuma x Delsin @ ?

The Delsin anniversary celebrations continue on Saturday, during the day, at an undisclosed location, with an undisclosed lineup, but Piuma has put together some nice events, and if the Friday Delsin event is anything to go by, it’ll be nice.

Carista, Prance & ROD @ Raum

With the fresh Nexus now officially fully open, the first Nexus-only night is happening in Raum. They’ve invited Carista, Prance, and ROD for the occasion. Another very nice option for the techno lovers. 

Al Wootton, AliA & Dave Huismans @ Garage Noord

This night in Garage is co-curated by Dave Huismans, and is my personal pick for the Saturday. Multi-instrumentalist Al Wootton made his name by producing loads of very beautiful, but also danceable music as Deadboy in the post-dubstep era, around the same time artists like Joy Orbison, Peverelist, and others appeared with a new sound. Later on, he ditched that name and continued under his own name, Al Wootton, releasing on his own label and Peverelist's Livity Sound. Last month, he released a collaborative album with Irene Bianco. It’s fully improvised, using lots of unusual instrumentation and effects, making ambient, IDM-ish soundscapes. If he plays anything like this chuggy, slow set he played at Houghton, we’re in for a treat. Dave Huismans shares a similar backstory, in that he made his name as 2562, in the Dubstep realm. Now mostly playing under his own name, he plays a blend of house, techno, and dubstep, with plenty of nods to the past. Last but not least, they are joined by Belgian AliA. Expect bass, dubstep, and breaks. This Ilian Tape podcast is a great introduction if you want to know what to expect.

Spades @ Bret
Spades are back at the red cube, and they are doing a 12hr house party. No lineup announced, but you should get a pretty good idea of what to expect from their previous events. 

Sunday

NTS @ Garage Noord

In case you've been missing out on some genuinely good radio: NTS is an online radio station with 2 main channels, hosting many different DJs in all types of genres, but they all do it with a genuine passion for sharing the music they think is good. Since modern radio on the airwaves is anything but interesting if you want to hear something new, NTS is my, and many other people’s go-to source for music when I don’t know what to listen to. This Sunday, they are hosting an event at Garage Noord, with a bunch of live acts and DJs from their huge resident roster. I’ve never heard of most of them before, and that might just be a good thing. Sometimes it is best to just trust an institution's curation and be surprised by what you’re going to hear, and this is one of those opportunities to do so.

Shunter Weekend 3

If you're looking for a more tradition sunday escape, Shunter's Sunday is also looking nice from their 14:00 start with Nelly, until they close their doors at 23:00 with Paper Cuts. In between, you'll find Zeynep, Hitam, and Mia Cecille.

Enjoy your weekends and see you on the dancefloor xxx

We’ve got a week with loads of cool, interesting things happening in various cities, so it’s a good weekend for exploring what other cities and clubs have to offer. But if you're not feeling adventurous, that is okay too; plenty of good partying is possible in your favorite local dark and smoky room around the corner. I’ll be taking it slow this weekend to charge the batteries for my Horst debut next week myself, which you can read more about in the Monthly Festival Discussion that was posted yesterday! 

Thursday

Max Cooper Live A/V @ Paradiso

After releasing a fresh album in February and coming out with a new one this Friday, Max Cooper is back for another A/V show in Paradiso. A/V shows can be a bit of a hit or miss thing, but trust me when I say this is one worth experiencing, especially if you like the dreamy, melodic electronica he makes. They beautifully used the church backdrop as a canvas for lights and visuals, which was quite a sight to behold. 

Friday

Call Super & Sarkawt Hamad @ ExportExport continues its strong streak of booking well loved DJ’s. A Call Super DJ set is always a joy, and Sarkawt Hamad is a versatile DJ who knows how to play where, so together they should make for a night of great dance music across different genres.

Pulsar Lab with Marijn S, Nikos, Siphonophora @ Time is the New Space
A bit of a different one here. Whether you dabble in music making or not (yet), this should be a really fun night. It combines a workshop from Rotterdam’s own Marijn S and Nikos, and a club night with all live sets after into one event. Marijn S is an artist I really enjoy as a producer and DJ, should be really nice if you’re into breaks, bass, and a bit of IDM.

Pax-Romana @ Radion
Pax is back at Radion with what looks to be a stacked, really nice complete and quite deep lineup. I still haven’t made it to an Erik Luebs liveset, but based on the stories, that should be a really nice dreamy one. Also nice to see both Audrey Danza and Dustin Zahn on the bill, they don’t seem to show up here all that often.

The Bug @ Garage Noord
After booking footwork pioneer RP Boo a couple weeks ago, they’ve now managed to get another old-school pioneer in UK’s Kevin Martin, aka The Bug. He’s a really diverse artist, with multiple projects and releases across Jazzcore, industrial hiphop and metal (His band Ice, with Justin Broadrick from Godflesh), but is known as The Bug for his dub and dubstep records, so this is where the bassheads should be able to get their fix.

Ketia anl @ Raum
Another Raum resident gets a turn to take the decks of Studio all night long. This time founder of trans-focused collective Kit Ket, Ketia gets to do the honours. Expect loads of uplifting, fun tracks from different genres, basically anything that fits studio well.

Saturday

RPU 5th anniversary: Fifth Motion @ De Fik Garden
Really nice housey lineup at de Fik Garden. Courtesy’s monthly NTS radio show is one of the few shows I always try to listen to whenever they are aired. They’re very tastefully selected between house, breaks, electro and techno, and always end up with me looking up and saving multiple tracks. Her club sets are no different, so this should be a nice one. The other artists playing are Hervé, Jonny, Wednesday, Kid Phantastic and Sagi.

Amphia, Jerrau, OG Karin, Parrish Smith, Perc @ Raum
Expo has entered its last month, and if you still want to hear Deftones, Nirvana or Nine Inch Nails in there, this is probably your last chance to do so, as Parrish Smith is playing this Saturday. Amphia, Perc, and the dark prince make for an amazingly eerie and dark night of sounds in there. Jerrau and OG Karin will probably provide the playful and jumpy contrast in the other room.

On board x PODD @ Tillatec
Laaaarge bill for this one, amazingly stacked with proven techno DJ & live sets with Efdemin, Floid (Live), GiGi FM, Jin Synth (Live), Laura BCR, Luigi Tozzi (Live), Nelly & Ozzo. If you like proper techno, this is a no-brainer really. 

Poing Club @ Export

Saturday night in Export is for Poing, and this one looks like a very Poing lineup. Fun, unpretentious, and a good mix of dance music between breaks and techno. Standout name here is Parisian Roni, who plays loud, fun breaky and Latin-infused breaks and techno, and does not show up in the Netherlands often. It is one of those sounds that is an acquired taste, but if you appreciate the shameless fun nature of it, this whole night should be really fun.

PIP X Proxima @ Pip Den Haag
A JEANS set in his hometown is always worth a mention. He is playing alongside Audrey Danza, which is an interesting matchup that might see him diving into the more technoey things, and they are joined by Wata Igarashi and Nelly for the deeper sounds. 

Dekmantel @ Laak
The Dekmantel clubtour lands at Laak with Binh, Hannecart, Interstellar Funk and mad miran. Really nice mix of house and more leftfieldy sounds. mad miran is always fun, and based on these afters reports Bihn is also one to watch here. Interstellar Funk and Hannecart will probably provide mostly house, but not without a couple of curveballs thrown in by the former. 

Waxfiend 25 YRS @ Skatecafe
I was not going to mention this until u/bleepbarbatruc messaged me and now I’m thinking of going myself. Waxfiend is one of the founders of Tribes, and has been around the scene for quite some time. He is celebrating at Skatecafe with around 20 other artists throughout the three rooms of Skatecafe, and it looks like you’ll get to hear everything from hiphop and dancehall to Amapiano and gqom. Should be really fun if you’re looking for something different than your usual techno or house fix. 

Eyes Wide Shut (Concert & Clubnight) @ Wibar Leiden
Booking something as IDM/leftfield as this night in a place like Wibar sounds risky, so props to the organisers of this one. From 21:00, Seefield is performing a live A/V show, and from 23:00, the clubnight starts, with 2 rooms, with a host of different genres, like IDM, breaks, bass and electronica with spoken word by Girish, Maria Cue, Jonas Nuane, mad miran, North Not South and Rojo y Rosa. 

Sunday

Los Angles Hard weekender @ Garage Noord
On an otherwise quite dry Sunday, trans collective Los Angles are swinging in to save the sunday with their hard weekender at Garage Noord. Loads of names to explore here, should be loads of bouncy fun.

Enjoy your weekends!

Bonus set recommendation for if you've made it till the end: DAKSH on Kindered

I saw Livwutang share this two weeks ago, and it is one of the most interesting hours of music I've heard on Soundcloud in a really long time. It's a beautiful blend between ambient, dub and dance music, so worth a listen. ✨

xxx