Skip to main content

ADE - Pick of the Week

The ADE parties you can’t afford to miss...

There are certain things you should avoid at ADE. The bikes and trams barrelling towards you when crossing the street would be one. Roaching the business card of that important new contact you made at the conference would be another. And heading out at night with the words ‘we’ll just find a party’ is right up there as well.

Not that you won’t find anything. Far from it, for with nearly 200 parties taking place in around 60 venues over five days, you’ll hear repetitive beats issuing from almost every corner of Amsterdam, from the old church of Paradiso to the slick new superclub Air, the giant sports complex The Sand on the outskirts to the more intimate Bitterzoet. There’s even a party at the bus terminal — where VRIJ are hosting DJs like Hernan Cattaneo and Dubfire for two nights. With the likes of Carl Cox, David Guetta and Richie Hawtin also appearing at various parties, the big names are not in short supply, but there’s an abundance of smaller delights too. No, the danger is that, without a plan, you’ll spend more time deciding where to dance than actually doing it. Hence DJmag’s guide to our top 10 ADE parties, giving you no excuse for missing the best the festival has to offer — or for ‘accidentally’ ending up in a sex show in the Red Light District instead.

Sander van Doorn

Wednesday 19 October 2011
01. Ferry Corsten and Sander van Doorn
Escape
A cliché it may be, but going to Amsterdam and not trying any trance would be like going without trying a cheeky toke. And if you’re going all that way, then you might as well go all the way and see two of the genre’s biggest beasts in their natural environment. With boxes of anthems as huge as the room, Ferry Corsten and Sander van Doorn are the perfect choice to headline this ADE launch party, proving that when it comes to pleasing the crowd, you can’t beat a bit of double Dutch.

Top 100 DJs Awards

Thursday 20 October 2011
Top 100 DJs awards
Passenger Terminal
Current world’s No.1 DJ Armin Van Buuren will be playing at the Top 100 DJs Awards Party, as will top international DJs Markus Schulz and Fedde Le Grand. They will be joined on the night by French house DJ David Guetta, and the award for the No.1 DJ in the world for 2011 will be announced. This event is going to be LARGE on every level.
In conjunction with the Get Real energy drink and Trackitdown, the party at the glass-walled 3000-capacity will be a sell out – so clubbers are being urged to purchase tickets early. As well as the award for the No.1 DJ in the world, other awards will be dished out to Highest House DJ, Highest Trance DJ, Highest New Entry and so on.

Sigha

02. One Hell Of A Big Fat Edition!
Westerunie
You probably won’t recognise their faces — much less anything they actually play — when some of dance music’s most mysterious figures step out of the shadows for One Hell Of A Big Fat Edition! The non-Brummie arm of wilfully obscure techno label Sandwell District, US producer Function steps away from his usual partner Regis to fly solo across techno’s higher plane, whilst the equally enigmatic Sigha, Pfirter and Audio Injection, splicing bass music and techno together, are in support.

Robbo Ranx

03. Juice ADE Sessions
Club Home
After a few days in Amsterdam, the prospect of hearing one more bloody Bob Marley record normally provokes homicidal rage rather than ‘One Love’ vibes. Luckily however, DJ Waxfiend proves there’s more to Jamaican music in this city than just nodding along to ‘No Woman, No Cry’ in a coffee shop. As well as regularly broadcasting his Jamrock radio show out of Amsterdam, Waxfiend is bringing dancefloor big hitter Robbo Ranx from Radio 1 Xtra and his waist-winding riddims in for this ADE showcase.

Dutch House Collective

04. Dutch House Collective Launch Party
Lax
There’s nothing like Dutch homegrown. Particularly if we’re talking about Dutch house, which has gone from meaning cheesier-than-Edam tunes put about by House Of Venus in the 1990s, to the dirtier-than-De-Wallen tackle currently issuing from labels like Spinnin’ The three-headed Dutch House Collective Sebass, DJ Eluxury and Roland Verniers toughen it up at this party, with live sets from other members of the Netherlands’ new breed Glenn Helder and Saxy Mr S ensuring there’s more than enough jack in the box.

DJ d.o.n.s

05. Kingdom Kome Kuts present ADE Essential DJs
Blinq
Can’t decide quite what you want from the ADE party menu? Thankfully, the Kingdom Kome Cuts label are on hand with their own recommendations in the form of their ‘ADE Essential DJs’ party. They’ve got decent taste as well, particularly if you’ve got an appetite for house, selecting German electro-house DJ D.O.N.S as the main event, with Chicago house legend Ron Carroll singing his heart out behind the decks. Dutch DJs Chocolate Puma and Jesse Voorn provide the local flavour to start, washed down with French spinner David Hopperman’s slightly trancier tipples.

La Melodia

Friday 21 October 2011
06. Strange Fruit
Canvas
Going to any city, it’s nice to see some of the ‘genuine’ local culture. And — guess what — not every clubber in the Netherlands spends their nights dancing to trance in day-glo leotards any more than they spend their days smoking weed in clogs. Many of the country’s most knowledgeable night owls can regularly be found at Strange Fruit – where the likes of Benji B and Dego have previously spun worldwide rhythms to a clued-up crowd. This party sees Belgian broken beats maestro Lefto join that alumni, alongside sci-fi soul group La Melodia and residents Thelonious and Lucky Dubz.

Dave Clarke

07. Dave Clarke Presents
Melkweg
Something of a homecoming gig for Dave Clarke and Derrick May, who have both called Amsterdam home at some point. May might have moved back to Detroit, but he’s returning at the behest of current Amsterdam resident Dave Clarke, whose parties have become one of ADE’s annual highlights. The ante is upped and at them again for this year’s edition, with May and Clarke both proving that not producing a record in ages has dented neither’s standing with the techno faithful, who will also be salivating at a line-up that features Andrew Weatherall, Len Faki and Daniel Miller.

Kate Simko

08. Eu001 Supperclub Cruise
Ruyterkade Pier 14
Rather than gazing into each other’s eyes on a romantic boat-trip around the canals, clubbers will instead be squinting through the strobes when the Supperclub takes to the high seas for one of their infamous ADE cruise parties. It’s the ladies at the helm for this party, with Margaret Dygas on the crest of a wave after her recent self-titled album on Perlon, Clink Recordings label boss Camea shivering the timbers and spines with her chilly minimal sound, and a Chicago tag team in the form of Kate Simko and Lady D rocking the boat with groovy jacking house.

blawan

Saturday 22 October 2011
09. Sonic Warfare — R&S Night
Melkweg
Like the Irish to the English, the poor Belgians are the butt of many a Dutch joke. One thing they’ve never found anything to poke fun at, though, is R&S Records, the seminal Belgian label that became synonymous with early ’90s techno thanks to releases from CJ Bolland, Dave Angel and Aphex Twin amongst others. Now reborn and relocated to London, R&S have also repositioned themselves at the junction between techno and dubstep, with a roster that features the likes of Blawan and Pariah, both of whom will be loading up their heaviest weaponry alongside Lone for this ‘Sonic Warfare’ party.

Dennis Ferrer

10. Objektivity
Toko MC
He might not know his spelling, but Dennis Ferrer certainly knows his deep house, with his Objektvity label becoming a byword for sophisticated grooves. The East Coast house hero will be bringing over fellow New Yorkers The Martinez Brothers for ADE, playing deeper-than-thou house and soulful licks alongside the label’s German representative Andre Hommen in the main room. Reason enough to stay there all night, were it not for the prospect of a ‘surprise guest from Detroit’ spinning with the Motor City’s superlative DJ icon Theo Parrish in room 2.

ADE ADDRESS BOOK
Escape: Rembrandtplein 11, Amsterdam 1017 CT
Westerunie: Klonneplein 4-6, Amsterdam 1014 DD
Club Home: Wagenstraat 3A, Amsterdam 1017
Lax: Weesperzijde 190, Amsterdam 1097 DZ
Blinq: Kleine Gartmanplantsoen 5, Amsterdam 1017 RP
Canvas: Wibautstraat 150, Amsterdam 1091 GR
Melkweg: Lijnbaansgracht 234a, Amsterdam 1017 PH
Toko MC: Polonceaukade 5, Amsterdam 1014 DA