Amsterdam Dance Event: 7 Takeaways From the Rave Scene’s Biggest Conference

Speaking to Billboard U.K. prior to the event, van de Ven boasted that “the electronic music scene gathers here” in Amsterdam. And he’s right: virtually every big player in the scene hosted mixers, parties, panels, workshops and more in an attempt to shore up support for its brands and products. 

Doing so authentically, however, was crucial to Stephen Campbell, Apple Music’s global head of dance/electronic. “We want to be present, but we also want to offer up a lot of value. We don’t just want to be a place for people to have a drink,” he says. Beyond their in-person events – including a DJ workshop in collaboration with AlphaTheta – Apple Music captured a number of sets throughout the week to listen back to on their service in Dolby Atmos.

“The general consumption of dance and electronic music across the business on a global scale is massive,” Campbell continues. “We want to ensure we’re offering the depth and breadth of what dance music is to different people around the world in a way that’s meaningful and enjoyable.”

Music conferences live and die by their programming. ADE’s is undeniably one of the strongest in the market, with nary a dull moment and a user-friendly app that showcases the offerings smartly. Whether it’s conversations with Daft Punk creative director Cédric Hervet on the duo’s appearance in Fortnite, or insights into Google’s AI project DeepMind from director of product Jeff Chang, the week was stuffed with insights and opportunities to network. The performances at the city’s club scene — from intimate spaces to warehouses and football stadiums — reinforced ADE as the lineup the entire scene wanted to be on.

Amsterdam has long been considered a shining beacon for the dance community: a European city that invests in arts and culture and protects and empowers creative spaces. Power of Production: How Amsterdam Sets the Benchmark for European Clubbing, a panel hosted by DJ Mag and featuring local figures from the scene, provided a more holistic picture of the city and the challenges they face in maintaining these clubs. 

Jeroen Fontein, managing director at promoter Audio Obscura, said that while the local government is progressive, constraining leaseholds on buildings makes long-term planning for venues particularly difficult. Chrissie Quast, an artist and technical manager at Club RAUM, concurred that things were becoming “more tight and difficult” for spaces to succeed in such a competitive industry, especially with growing costs. Amsterdam’s nightlife scene is still the envy of many in Europe, but whether it’ll remain good times forever is up for debate. 

ADE caters to virtually all strands of dance and electronic music, and even acts like Confidence Man, which borders on mainstream pop, feel at home. The Aussie-born, London-based band is known for its energetic live persona, which has made it a bankable festival booking and a frequent presence on the European festival circuit. Taking over NDSM Warehouse in the north of the city on Thursday (Oct. 23), the group proved that their sharp, bouncing songs (including the bitchy “Gossip” with former Little Mix star JADE) belong next to mixes and DJ sets at ADE. 

Advances in audio quality can be hard to quantify for casual listeners. Can the average ear truly identify the benefits of lossless or spatial audio? To that end, a number of tech giants decided to show, not tell, the benefits of their systems. Dolby Atmos hosted a programme at the Tobacco Theatre, while Mercury KX’s serene label showcase was presented in 360° audio by L-Acoustics. It sounded sublime, of course.

The former collaborated with Apple Music for the playback of a mix by techno legend Jeff Mills on Friday (Oct. 24) to demonstrate the benefits for both listeners and creators. Stephen Campbell at Apple (which has invested heavily in Dolby Atmos) said that the events and mixes allow the “artistry to express just how good Dolby Atmos is” rather than “us just telling you.”

British rapper and DJ Skepta drew one of the conference’s busiest crowds for his fireside chat with BBC 1 Xtra radio host DJ Target. The grime pioneer’s presence had long been coveted by ADE organisers — festival director Jan-Willem van de Ven said negotiations had been years in the making — and it proved worth the wait.

In recent years, the Mercury Prize winner’s focus has been on his house label Mas Tiempo with longtime collaborator Jammer; releasing house tracks and hosting residencies in Ibiza; and curating his own festival in London. During the panel, he discussed bypassing gatekeepers to prove he could excel with both “bars and beats,” how growing up with an open-door policy at his home in north London prepared him for the chaos in the DJ booth, and why his next rap album will match the energy of an electronic music set.

“Rap music and albums are having a tough time. It doesn’t have the same crescendo as a house set,” he told the crowd, teasing his next full-length project. “I’m making sure that even though [my next album] is grime, that if you’re playing it next to a house music set, it doesn’t sound flat.”

Diversity in the dance space was a topic of discussion throughout the week, most pointedly in a panel titled Breaking the Feedback Loop: Redefining Success and Identity as a Woman in Electronic Music. Hosted by journalist Claire Francis, the discussion with three leading women on the scene touched upon the lack of progress made in recent years to ensure equal representation on lineups — and how female artists can chart their own paths of success.

Dutch DJ KI/KI — speaking ahead of her performance to 40,000 fans as part of the AMF rave at Johan Cruyff Arena — said she still feels that opportunities are limited and that there has been a “decline in the energy” behind making the space more representative. The panel also featured Australian-born, London-based producer HAAi and New York-based BASHKKA, and the trio discussed navigating all-male bills while sharing their own experiences advocating for change. 

“The more vocal you are, the more open you are to criticism from the scene,” HAAi said, but added that approaching uncomfortable conversations in a fair, non-confronting way was the route to progress.

For BASHKKA, redefining success in the modern scene was an act of preservation and artistic integrity. “Success to me means the freedom to live self-sufficiently, which for people from a marginalised background isn’t a given,” she said. “I want to live through my art without compromising who I am.”