It’s almost mid October and like every year, the EDM community worldwide is getting ready for the leading electronic music platform and the biggest club festival in the world for the whole spectrum of electronic sub-genres, the Amsterdam Dance Event. Just before we delve into the five-day multi-event celebration consisting of conferences, performances, ceremonies and what not, we at Bangin Beats shed some light at the history of ADE and take you down the road that ADE took in past few years to become a mammoth of gathering that it is now.
Started in 1996 as a three-day conference and attended by 300 delegates with thirty DJs performing, the ADE was initially based in De Balie for the daytime conference and at night featured shows in three venues: Paradiso, Melkweg and Club Escape. The event starts off on Wednesday with ADE Pro, ADE Tech. ADE Green and ADE University, with the popular DJ Cook-Off in the evening. Some of the artists who have appeared at ADE in the early years include Chuckie, Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, David Guetta, Laidback Luke, Fedde Le Grand, Fatboy Slim, Jay Lumen, Richie Hawtin, Afrojack, Paul van Dyk, Junkie XL and Chase & Status to name a few.
Year after year, ADE came into spotlight and presented Amsterdam as the electronic dance music capital of the world. The highly criticised DJ Mag Top 100 DJs Poll awards ceremony which was traditionally hosted at the Ministry of Sound nightclub in London, from the 2011 poll, found a new home and was hosted outside of the UK for the first time in its history, being staged at the 2011’s edition of the Amsterdam Dance Event and continues to be. While Carl Cox was the first winner of the Top 100 DJs Award, Armin van Buuren currently holds the record of most overall wins with five and a record four consecutively.
The event’s latest initiative has been ADE Playground, which started in 2011 as a new technology showcase, but since 2012 features around 30 pop-up events, surprise daytime appearances by top DJs, special product lines, film screenings, and discounts in shops and bars. In 2012, ADE went even bigger, from a four-day event to five days, due to the rapidly growing number of ‘afters’ events on Sunday.
In 2013, the eighteenth edition of the Amsterdam Dance Event attracted a record 300,000 festival visitors and 5,000 conference delegates from Oct 16 – 20. While 2014 was no less with a total attendance of over 350,000 people from 85 countries, with the year boasting over 400 parties at 125 venues over the five-day span. With over 365,000 festival-goers and 5,500 music industry professionals flocked, 2015 has been the best year of ADE till date. Art and photography exhibitions, film and documentary screenings and tech/gear masterclasses coupled with an amazing statistic, saw ADE Festival keep over 180,000 people dancing at the same time.
As India continually rises to be one of the fastest growing EDM markets in Asia, ADE also made its presence in the country earlier this year. From April 7-10, ADE Global Sessions Mumbai hosted interactive Q&A’s with top DJ’s, exclusive industry discussions, networking sessions and strategy meetings, master classes and much more as part of ADE’s on-going commitment to connect dance culture worldwide.
To be held at the heart of Netherlands, ADE 2016 is predicted to be bigger than ever as from October 19th – 23rd it’ll offer a full program of daytime conferences at ADE Pro, ADE Tech, HDE, ADE University, ADE Next, ADE Beamlab and ADE Green, alongside the nighttime ADE Festival which will feature 450 events and 2,200 artists over five days in 140 clubs and venues. The program will also feature the biggest artists on the planet alongside fresh, upcoming talent and everything in between.
Some Indian action at ADE this year includes our very own DJ Sa (Winner at ADE Mumbai Cook Off) competing at the legendary annual cook off along with Kölsch, Ellen Allien, Eats Everything and Lauren Lo Sung, along with dance music heroes Paul Oakenfold, Dave Clarke and Seth Troxler among the jury and Ankytrixx & Friends Entertainment’s famed nightlife property ‘Sleepless’ heading for an exclusive showcase at Cinema Cafe on October 20th.
Headed by Ankytrixx himself and Jayzo, other names on the roster include Lexlay, Peter S, and Zett Feral, “The Beast From The East” aka Sanjay Dutta, STARTEQ and Jaipur-based Pal-E who are poised to give you the best music experience. A night to watch out for, make sure not to give this one a miss!
A spectacle of an event, with an unparalleled selection of shows, sessions and art in one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, if you are in the industry or are looking to break into it, Amsterdam Dance Event is a must stop for you. Stay tuned for coverage as the five-day event kicks off from October 19th. Check out full update on programs at Amsterdam Dance Event 2016 here!
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