Photo Credits: Simon Trel and Yannick van de Wijngaert
The Swedish label frontman, Adam Beyer, has continued to release a steady stream of quality techno for over two decades that has gathered avid fans from around the world, thousands of which flocked to Amsterdam to be a part of the very first Drumcode Festival on August 18th. The sold-out event held at the NDSM werf, with its edgy warehouse vibe, was taken over by the techno heavyweights of the Drumcode roster for a full day of pure energy!
We arrived at the festival via the ferry, the easiest way to get to NDSM from central Amsterdam, and made our way off the pier to orient ourselves around the festival grounds. We checked out the four different stages to plan our day so we didn’t miss a beat. Luckily we had a clear day and walking around the area was a breeze as it was easy to pass through the crowds, the bar queues weren’t too crazy and you could be in and out of the toilet within the same track. The event was produced in collaboration with the Awakenings team, who hosted many of the same Djs at their festival back in June. Like many festivals in the city they made their efforts for sustainability, with cups and bottles on a recycle system and healthy food was available. We always appreciate this effort.
Being a techno festival that was the main dish on the menu but there was also a sampling of groovy house music, our stand out favorite being the back to back of Adam Port and &me. The two were in sync and packed the smaller barn-house looking stage that was fresh with green plants. Adam Port wore a jumper preppy style over his shoulders which suited the green theme, with ‘Go Vegan’ written across it. Adam is an avid vegan and it was great to see a Dj advocating for an issue that is so important these days.
If you needed some meat on your dish then Joseph Capriati was serving it raw on the on the main stage. While we knew there were amazing sets going around the venue from the likes of Nicole Moubader, Boxia, Bart Skills and so many more, we just couldn’t leave the main stage when Drumcode’s founding father took over. The lights, the music, the crowd, all came together to deliver the techno as it should be. The excitement continued to build and finally culminated with the closing track ‘Bedrock – Heaven Scent (OC & Verde Remix)’. There was no speaking, it was one of those moments where you are really in heaven, and pretty soon we were looking to the skies as fireworks stormed above to accent our emotions.
I’m sure many of us would be happy in a dark room with just techno, but we have all winter to be indoors so it is definitely a pleasure to enjoy our favorite music in such a grand way. Thanks to the teams at Awakenings, Drumcode, and all of the artists, for making it happen, we know this will become an annual tradition!
Don’t forget to tune into the new Drumcode A-Sides Vol. 7 with fresh and unreleased tracks including label debuts from Charlotte de Witte, ANNA, B.Traits, Scuba’s SCB project and many more!
Photo Credits: Simon Trel and Yannick van de Wijngaert
