ADE has been Amsterdam's premiere music festival for many years, and MN2S has always been along for the ride. In advance of this year's edition, we survey the history of this iconic event.
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Amsterdam Dance Event’s latest edition is fast approaching, with this year’s festival scheduled to take place October 17th to 21st. This incredible event – the largest club festival of its kind in the world - is a mecca for electronic music fans and an essential fixture in the yearly calendar for anyone involved in the industry. 400,000 attendees are expected this year, with events planned in over 160 locations across the city.
Last year’s ADE featured over 550 speakers and 2500 artists. It’s not only a music festival, but a conference too: there are talks from notable figures, panel discussions, gear demonstrations, networking sessions and expositions in addition to performances from a variety of DJs and producers. Over 9,000 professionals from all corners of the music industry visit each year to network and build connections.
The lineup changes every year, but the event takes place every October, consistently attracting the biggest and brightest from the world of electronic music. This year's festival includes performances from an array of house and techno stars including Bonobo, DJ Koze, Floating Points, Jeff Mills, Nina Kraviz, Helena Hauff and Laurent Garnier. Orbital, Dave Clarke and Joseph Capriati are scheduled to appear as daytime conference speakers.
For a full list of artists, see the Amsterdam Dance Event website.
Amsterdam Dance Event's Early Days and Origins
Amsterdam's rich electronic music scene has been thriving since the early 1990s, when Dutch DJs and producers developed a new genre: gabber. Created as a response to what they viewed as the watering down of dance music for mainstream consumption, the genre is the Netherlands’ answer to New York and Frankfurt's hardcore techno: a raw high-tempo blast of amphetaminic energy. Check out a classic track from gabber pioneers Rotterdam Terror Corps below.
With the thriving gabber scene in full swing, it’s no wonder a strong community of electronic music fans, producers and DJs began to build up around it. Amsterdam Dance Event was the natural next step. Founded in 1996, ADE was originally a three day conference attended by delegates who discussed electronic music and occasionally gave performances. Over its first ten years, the three day event has involved into a fully-fledged five day festival, with DJs, producers and labels taking the opportunity to discuss and display the latest and greatest of cutting-edge electronic music.
MN2S at ADE
By 2005, MN2S was already notorious for its parties, residencies and exceptional roster of talent. The agency was celebrating 10 years of its iconic Milk n’ 2 Sugars club night at The End in London.
Their 2005 debut party at Amsterdam’s Escape club was stacked full of talented DJs. The Netherlands’ own Raymundo opened the night, followed by a lineup which included Full Intention, Sharam Jay, Alex Romero and Axwell. Needless to say, it went down a storm, and MN2S have been back at ADE every year since.
MN2S’s second ADE party was held once again at Escape and headlined by the legendary Todd ‘The God’ Terry. It also saw DJ Roog, Seamus Haji and Born To Funk returning for a second time. 2007’s ADE MN2S event saw a change of venue with Fedde Le Grand, Bodyrox and Luciana taking to the stage at BG. MN2S’s next ADE lineup saw twelve acts including Joey Negro and Ron Carroll play over three separate areas at the Panama venue. The following years saw MN2S ADE mainstays Robert Owens, Seamus Haji and Full Intention behind the decks.
It was in 2012 that MN2S began to shake up the formula once again. 2012’s MN2S Presents: David Morales, Frankie Knuckles, Hector Romero and DJ Meme must be one of the strongest lineups ADE had ever seen. Taking place in MN2S’s new ADE home Sugarfactory, the party was a huge success - as was every party with a set from the late, great Frankie Knuckles. It was a tough act to follow, but MN2S’s 2013 party did not disappoint. Headlined by the illustrious Kerri Chandler and featuring his friends in Apollonia (Shonky, Dan Ghenacia, Dyed Soundorom), the party was once again an undeniable success.
The next year saw MN2S Presents: DJ Jazzy Jeff & Friends. The iconic turntablist scratched away at Sugarfactory in one of the greatest sets to grace their stage. Friends and collaborators Soul Clap, DJ W!ld and DJ Kon were also exceptional.
2015
Another special year for MN2S at ADE. As part of the agency’s twentieth anniversary celebrations, MN2S presented a Kaoz Theory label takeover which featured several acclaimed artists from Kerri Chandler’s record label, and of course Kerri himself.
2016
2016 was a tough year for many, but there were no signs of doom and gloom at MN2S’s 21st ADE party. DJ Jazzy Jeff was behind the decks once again, this time joined on the bill by fellow music legend Kenny Dope and trendy up-and-comer Kaper. Each DJ undoubtedly brought their A-game, making it one of MN2S’s best ADE showings yet.
2017
2017 saw MN2S throw their 17th ADE party, a show-stopping event featuring turntable legends Roger Sanchez, Todd Terry and A Guy Called Gerald. Euphoric vibes were in full effect.
2018
Though MN2S are not throwing a dedicated night in 2018, MN2S artists Kenny Dope, Todd Terry, Phaeleh and Inaya Day are all set to perform at multiple events across Amsterdam during the festival. The legendary Kenny Dope is playing twice: once on the 17th for Do The Right Thing ADE and secondly on the 20th at PIV ADE X Chicago Social Club, alongside Boo Williams, Djebali, Clara de Costa and Alex Arnout. Kenny is also speaking at ‘The Record Bag of Jayda G & Kenny Dope’, a panel discussion that invites artists to speak about their most treasured records.
Todd Terry is hosting the 4th consecutive ‘Todd Terry & Friends’ event at Chin Chin Club on the 19th, while Phaeleh takes to the decks at OT301 on the same night for a 4+ hour set of bass-driven cinematic electronica in partnership with True Soldiers Productions. Last but not least, classic house vocalist Inaya Day will be performing live for Deep Sugar’s 15th Anniversary at Club YOLO.