Guide to ADE 2019: where to get the best bass, house/tech, and electronica of the week
Words by Bella Bagshaw & Joshua Stewart
The tick of the clock grows tantalizing as mid-October (16-20) draws nearer, and in turn, unearthing another chapter of Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE).
While ADE’s prodigious masthead may suggest something altogether singular, it is, in fact, massively multi-pronged. Since 1995, the music industry-geared celebration has been boasting conferences, workshops, and high-profile panels in tandem with its sprawling sonic agenda. In short, ADE tackles all things electronic music, from virtually every vantage point.
It’s easy to feel disoriented from the dizzying litany of dance music decadence on deck for ADE 2019, between the manifold menagerie of branded parties across the city—day and night—and the festival’s native events alike. No worries. EDM All Day has it covered. We’re breaking it down nice and neat this year to help attendees find the best parties of the week.
Garrix Solo (Fri Night) [Big Room]
Martin Garrix brings his globally renowned skills home to ADE, where he’s set to play an all-nighter Friday night at the RAI convention center. Last year’s ADE performance saw the world’s #1 DJ debut his ‘ANIMA’ live show, so expect Garrix to drop the hammer as he hopes to “make these shows the best ones yet!”
Friday’s show is 18+, but Garrix returns the day after for a five-hour all-ages set starting at 5pm.
Ritter Butzke x Multiversum (Sat Night) [Live Electronic]
What better place to listen to the sultry sounds of minimal and experimental acts like Christian Löffler, Dominik Eulberg, and Janus Rasmussen (of Kiasmos), than at The Church of Ruigoord? With 6 live performances, including a rare set from the iconic Booka Shade, Ritter Butzke x Multiversum is positioned to be one of ADE’s most intimate and spiritual events.
For a sampling of that evening’s sounds, checkout Christian Löffler’s Cercle set at a castle ruin in the south of France.
Tickets: sold out
Kompakt Party – (Sat Night) [Deep House/Left-Field]
Label co-owner Michael Mayer brings his Kompakt crew to ADE for an total showstopper of an event this year. Brazilian mastermind Gui Boratto’s live set alone puts this party on the overwhelming pile of must-see shows at ADE, but b2b sets between Michael Mayer and German electronic pioneer Roman Flügel as well as The Pachanga Boys and Axel Boman truly make De Marktkantine the place to be on Saturday night.
Fcking serious label party (Weds) [High Tech Minimal]
Things get pretty Fcking Serious pretty fcking quick at ADE this year, as Boris Brejcha and Co. plan to smash through Warehouse Elementenstraat with their distinct brands of minimal and techno on Wednesday night. Theydream, Ann Clue, and Deniz Bul bring supporting sets for head honcho Brejcha, whose pristine and textured productions are currently sweeping dance music worldwide.
Tickets: sold out
Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927) with live electric score (Weds) [Experimental]
If you’re looking to lose the rave gear and check out something on the artsy side, check out Studio K on Wednesday night, where Tomer Baruch and Alex Brajković will be performing a live electronic score to Fritz Lang’s 1927 film Metropolis. Regarded by many as the very first sci-fi film, Metropolis explored the blurred lines between man and machine. Now, almost 100 years later, Baruch and Brajković return to those very themes as they employ the machines to re-score the film (or are the machines employing them?)
ADE ticketholders only
DGTL x Bonobo present Outlier (Sat) [Electronica]
Bonobo’s Outlier concept relies on finding a unique venue with an atmosphere that allows the experience of a DJ set to break the mold. This year at ADE the English born musician has done just that, teaming up with DGTL to take over the shipbuilding warehouse turned neighborhood art haven in the NDSM Warehouse. Grab the free ferry from Central Station to NDSM on Saturday evening to experience not just Bonobo but an absolute all-star cast behind him, including Jon Hopkins, Catching Flies and The Black Madonna.
AMF (Sat Night) [Trance/big room/future house]
To put the scope of ADE as a festival into perspective, some of the events held within it are more-or-less festivals themselves. AMF is a big example; it’s a one-night indoor extravaganza at the Johan Cruijff Arena (capacity of 55,000) with a lineup that, on its own, justifies looking up flights to Amsterdam. The billing features crossover gods Armin van Buuren and Tiësto, Don Diablo and David Guetta, just to name a few. The icing on the cake, however, is a b2b set between Timmy Trumpet and W&W, two of the hardest-hitting acts on the global EDM roster today. Thankfully AMF is on Saturday night, as it’s hard to imagine having any gas left in the tank come the morning after.
ADE Hangover – NDSM WERF (Sunday)
Visit the NDSM-werf on Sunday afternoon to soothe your ADE Hangover. Cruise the pop-up market, grab a craft beer, or simply sweat out your woes of ADE weekend in one of the event’s saunas or hot tubs. Entrance is free, so feel free to drag your rave-worn, lifeless self (and friends!) to NDSM whenever you’re feeling capable. Show up anytime from noon to 11 for a bit of post-ADE revitalization.
ADE ticketholders only
Ruiner Zonneveld @ De Marktkantine (Friday) [Techno]
If you’re coming from out of town, you owe it to yourself to check out the pulsating and vivacious techno of one of the Netherlands’ very finest, Reinier Zonneveld. Known for productions that are as tantalizing as his live sets, Zonneveld plans to turn De Marktkantine into his personal studio on Friday night, allowing him to find synergy between his own tracks and improvisations over a marathon 12 hour set.
STRAF_WERK X Kölsch Presents IPSO (Friday night) [Melodic House]
Denmark’s Kölsch teams up with STRAF-WERK to bring his lucid and ethereal wave of melodic house to the warehouse styled De Kromhouthal. The IPSO label boss tops off an impressive 2019, one that includes showcase sets at Tomorrowland and Creamfields, with an extended four-hour set at this year’s ADE, supported by label mates Henrik Schwarz [live], Patrice Bäumel, and Nicky Elisabeth.
For a sampling of Kölsch’s charming sound, checkout Fabric presents Kölsch from earlier this year.
Richie Hawtin x Modeselektor x SOPHIE (WEDS) [Techno/Electro/SOPHO]
Richie Hawtin, Modeselektor, and SOPHIE are about as eclectic of a 3-act lineup as it gets, but there’s an admitted artistic synergy amongst the three. Universally accepted techno God Richie Hawtin brings his idiosyncratic audiovisual CLOSE show to ADE, where he explores the technological meeting point between man and machine all while throwing down one of the most furiously raging minimal techno sets at the festival. Modeselektor also returns to their roots as live performers in their latest “Who Else” album tour. SOPHIE will also bring her cunning performance art along for the ride.
Rest is Noise x ADE presents Tim Hecker and Caterina Barbieri (Weds) [Ambient / Experimental]
The Rest is Noise X ADE is an evening that explores live electronic music as an art form, recruiting the eminent talents of Tim Hecker and Caterina Barbieri for a standout sonic experience on Wednesday night. Hecker performs a live rendition of is recent work, Konoyo, which delves into the spiritual nature of traditional Japanese instruments and song structure, making for the perfect ambient adventure to open up ADE with. Barbieri should turn things up just a few notches, though, as her sequencing board and modular instrument prowess are both known to forge sets as hypnotic as they are energizing.
RAW RAVE (Thurs Night) [electronic/instrumental]
Beneath the Rijksmuseum’s immaculate bicycle passage, G-Star RAW will host RAW RAVE, Thursday, October 17. With an all-embracing lineup—which includes German hero and one half of the infamous, Skrillex-assisted Dog Blood duo, Boys Noize, Dutch alt-rock ensemble De Staat, and Amsterdam-housed DJ assassin, TITIA—this one checks all the boxes: a one-of-a kind backdrop alongside an equally nuanced artist agenda.
Spinnin Sessions (Weds Night) [Big Room]
Spinnin has been a resounding force in the ADE domain—and electronic continuum at large— for years now. Organizers of the native Netherlands production powerhouse have lined up a multitude of their upper-echelon talent from across the house music spectrum. From big room-ready Bassjackers to Amsterdam’s syrupy club-floor connoisseur, Sam Feldt, Spinnin will be boasting a packed rotation on Wednesday, October 16 at the Q-Factory.
Dockyard Festival (Sat) [House/Techno]
A festival within a festival, Dockyard stands as a longtime fixture in Amsterdam’s all-things-electronic week. With six sprawling stages showcasing both veterans and new names in the house/techno terrain, Dockyard promises a memorable jaunt amid the ADE-goer’s 2019 journey. Havenpark’s waterfront will this year house Dubfire, Nastia, Eats Everything, Ellen Alien, and more on Saturday, October 19.
Tickets: sold out
Defected (Fri Night) [House]
London’s Defected imprint will likely prove all but adeptly titled for its 2019 tenure at World Fashion Center. Gearing up for an ultra potent 12-hour blowout—with the likes of Low Steppa, Gorgon City, Robosonic, and more in tow—Defected is bringing its heaviest hitters and some scintillating special guests to appease ADE-ers from Friday night until the break of Saturday’s dawn. Easily accessible public transport, with an industrial aesthetic to boot, Defected is primed to set South Amsterdam ablaze at the festival’s midway point.
Tickets: sold out
Netsky & Friends (Thurs Night) [Bass]
The multitalented Belgian bass purveyor, Netsky, will be accompanied by fellow heavy-handers, Fox Stevenson, NGHTMRE, Feed Me, and more this year at multifarious event housing, temp. at the Burgerweeshuispad in Amsterdam-Zuid. Bringing some of the very best international drum ‘n’ bass, pop, trap, dubstep, and hard house music, the October 17 affront plans for close-knit quarters accompanied by high-voltage aural atmosphere.
Paradise x Loveland (Fri Night) [House/Techno]
Among a number of Loveland’s scheduled stops on the route to ADE victory, the Paradise party at Warehouse Houthavens rests among the most enticing. Jamie Jones and a number of accomplished cohorts, Alan Fitzpatrick, wAFF, and more, are ready to bring the underground sounds of The White Isle (Ibiza) to Amsterdam October 18. While landing at a new locale, Paradise plans to make good on its propensity for an intimate, up-close experience with some of the most in-demand names in the subtler house/tech realm.
