ADE 2019: Skiddle x Amsterdam Dance Event

Here's what we got up to at Europe's largest electronic music gathering

Skiddle Staff

Date published: 28th Oct 2019

So there goes another HUGE episode of the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE): 400,000 visitors from almost 150 countries, over 2000 performing artists, 1000 events, 9000 delegates, 200 locations... you get the idea, it's a proper whopper.

Both a conference and a music festival (with a pretty banging fringe scene too), ADE attracts people from across the electronic music spectrum, from big name DJs and label execs to techies, agents, promoters, venue owners, music students, dedicated ravers and a fair few confused stoners who've stumbled into panels discussing things like 'The Attention Economy' and 'How to Break China's Techno Scene'.

As you'd expect from such an expansive event, the ADE programme is hugely diverse, from techno breakfast clubs to AI instrument demos, mix-tape masterclasses and 'synthesizer symbioses' - if it plugs in and makes a noise you can learn about it at ADE.

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Then night falls and things get loose (well, looser). From huge warehouse raves to sweaty loft parties, there are an almost unfathomable number of nights going off across the city from Tuesday to Sunday: Maceo Plex at Elementenstraat; Awakenings x Adam Beyer at Gashouder; Klockworks Presents Photon at De Kromhouthal... there's too many to mention.

Of course Skiddle couldn't make it to all of them, and having got the wrong end of the stick about ADE Green (a conference on sustainability, innovation and social change in the music industry - not the other thing), we found ourselves short on time and on the top floor of the A'Dam Tower deep into a Kaluki party.

Here's what we got up to at ADE 2019...