cuts from his recently released debut album for Modeselektor’s 50 Weapons, while we foolishly indulge in drinking vodka straight from the bottle. Cue a swift “Goodnight” then a long, lost walk, which culminates in a taxi ride back to our hotel.
The signs of fatigue always begin to show on people’s faces by Saturday and we gather company to spend the early evening drinking restorative beers and eating more vending machine food which is strangely addictive, not the greatest menu for nursing yourself back to health but enough to steel us for the traditional final night of no sleep before the journey home. First stop for another brief visit is Air, Dusky – one of the success stories of 2012 – joined by George Fitzgerald. Deetron’s remix of the latter’s ‘Every Inch’ fills the place with warm bass as they groove out garage-influenced house and techno to an early doors crowd that includes one half of The Lighthouse Family, now apparently a fan. After a brief slice of James Zabiela’s typically exuberant performance which follows, we split for Get Physical.
Keeping it deep, Catz ‘N Dogz rock out a seamless set of house before local duo Homework take to the stage. Taking time to explore further, we come across yet another room, this time lined with benches where pumping disco edits accompany the increasingly raucous behaviour but with some semblance of pacing ourselves we head for home, passing Yolanda Be Cool on their way in.
its way out of the speakers. With a multi-tiered dancefloor and impressive central lighting display hanging from the ceiling, looking out from the DJ booth gives an impressive view of the crowd getting impressively sweaty at this early hour.
Hooking up with Catz ‘N Dogz (who introduce us to the trip’s greatest culinary discovery, beef croquets from vending machines), we follow them to the Exploited Records party across town where they’re playing at Het Sieraad. Looking like an old school, its many rooms and corridors are filled with oddities; a crashed bi-plane in a small back room, where dummies also hang from the ceiling, and vintage lamposts on either side of the DJ booth in the main room, which sports palm trees and a stained-glass window. The VIP room meanwhile has its own Heineken tap to help yourself to.
Friday night is DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs Poll awards party at the giant warehouse-like Convention Factory. If you don’t know who won by now, the chances are that you’re not interested anyway, but after scoffing sushi on the boat ride there, indulging in more complimentary food and drink, and getting a free pair of Reebok trainers from the sponsors, we vote with our freshly-clad feet and leave the mainly trance, mainly Dutch DJs – each seemingly with their own camera crew in tow - to do their big room thing in front of thousands of enraptured fans and seek out ADE’s more niche elements instead.
Club Up might be on a touristy road of steak houses and bars, but inside it’s pumping to the sound of Paris label ClekClekBoom. With young producer French Fries on the decks, he drops a selection of ghetto-tech, B-more and other lewd, bass-driven sounds to a front row that seems heavily weighted towards teenage girls. The rest of the crew around him, he’s followed by Bambounou dropping techno
Having started as the great pioneering label of what became known as electro house, the Berlin crew slightly lost their way during the minimal years, but their recent form has matched, if not exceeded, former glories. Assembling in Chicago Social Club, we enter to the sub-driven shuffle of Ilgot’N’Gane’s ‘Method II Madness’ as Catz ‘N Dogz play an almost entirely different set to their appearance a few days earlier. Label boss DJ T doesn’t hold back in front of the jammed in crowd either, Timo Garcia & S.K.A.M.’s ice cool ‘Dosado’ capturing the spirit of his set.
The final tune is played and with it the sensible time to say goodbye to ADE. But such is the way when you’re buoyed by good company and a succession of Dutch lagers, it’s not. Instead the evening blurs into a hazy night and day of after-parties – electronic cigarettes smoked with Mr C, following Russ Yallop to someone’s hotel room – reckless boasts of having never missed a flight, an urgent taxi ride thwarted by the marathon, then two missed flights and finally home via the night bus after the tubes have closed.
Amsterdam might have left us amsterdamaged, our own ‘level-headed professionalism’ left somewhere near Rembrandt Square, but it’s only testament to how well the Dutch know how to host a party or few hundred. JOE ROBERTS