The Buzz Chart main man looks back at his week of carnage
ADE just like the Olympics is something that gets us very excited to be part of…but also adds that fear of how to survive a week of social madness and still have the ability to do business as well. Amsterdam looked stunning with it’s Autumnal colours decorating the canals and streets whilst as always the ADE branding was on every street corner, post, bus and tram going. It’s Amsterdam’s busiest week of the year with over 50,000 clubbers and music entrepreneurs in town…and boy does the city’s residents know it.
So with diary in hand we attempt to meet and greet our fellow contenders and hit the seminars and parties hard. We jump into the Dylan hotel and enjoy an insight into publicity and how not to act like a dick to succeed in the spotlight with Owsla manager Blaise DeAngelo and Matt Medved – electronic hero of Billboard. After missing a boat trip with the Armada family we visited the Youtube project that had taken up residency along the canal for a priceless insight into improving your brand – and more importantly, gaining income from the various new platforms and features in the new look Youtube and Youtube Red. Missing the Armada ferry boat for a second time we head into the Felix for more business backslaps and getting ready to switch to night vision for the evening.Early evening celebrations at the Be Yourself 10th birthday party with a perfect relaxed party vibe captured the spirit of the label and it wasn’t long before guests and DJs enjoyed the “beyourselfie” booth including the boss Dick De Groot.
ADE is a clubbers dream; a universe of festivals all collected together in one city leaves us spoilt for choice and with conflicted loyalties as headline DJs clash on the same evening at various venues. With our ADE band we can have free access to any party – but as the sign says “full is full’. We have interesting times with events at huge venues only being half full, to one of the world’s biggest DJ’s putting on an event with room for just 100 people…both get press for the wrong reasons. As the week moves on and the freezing rain takes it toll on the hopefuls outside with no ticket, the coffee shops and local bars become the resting place of the weary, sunglasses appear compulsory for meetings, I feel it’s to cover a multitude of sins. Many took advantage at the Claptone album launch party with guests being handed a goody bag and a gold Claptone mask which hid last night’s activities and added to the mystery surrounding the illusive artist, a lavish party with no hosts but invited guests asked to become the artist themselves and enjoy the mystery in luxury while the sounds of decedent house music filled the room…a beautiful album from whoever Claptone chooses to be.
Awareness of brand and ingenuity in making it standout is a challenge along the small canals around the venues, but they all try hard. You have to get up early with the Don Diablo crew who have emblazoned the streets with the anarchy logo for Don’s brand, we have the total takeover of the streets by team Armada with their new fleet of branded Jaguars and men in distinct blue logo suits give the impression the circus was in town. In actual fact it was for a while as bossman Armin van Buuren collected the first copy of his new album ‘Embrace’ via a flying jetski hoverboard…it all went a bit Willy Wonka but it sure did make the impact of the week.
As the close of week finally arrives we reflect back on another amazing ADE, it really is the best week in the world from every angle; the contacts and face to face deals are essential for business while the parties hit it out the park on every genre and venue. It’s a week for friends and partner to embrace our lovely industry and be proud of what we can achieve collectively. Thank you Amsterdam, we leave a little more broken each year and it a takes a little longer to clear the email backlog…but we can’t wait to start planning next years trip…
