What A Joy To Be Back AT ADE

Five days and four nights of soul-nourishing socialising and raving...

Welcome back to my newsletter… Yeah, I know, two editions in the space of two weeks! Almost unheard of in recent times, but I’m getting my mojo back at the moment. I’ve been going through an internal shift over the past month; from confronting difficult conversations and situations I’d been avoiding, to cutting my locks off. It’s been hugely gratifying and motivating, even when the outcomes of some of the aforementioned conversations didn’t go my way. Simply taking action and getting that stuff off my shoulders has been a big relief and given me the energy to move forward.

All of this has coincided, quite poetically, with two big outings; last weekend at fabric’s 25th birthday and Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). The timing couldn’t have been any better. Over the last few years I’ve been in retreat mode - break ups, failed “marriages”, living outside of London in an uninspiring town and other difficulties have led to me becoming isolated and detached from raves/the people I love/the community I am part of… I hadn’t realised how much I missed it until I got stuck in over the past week or so.

So, below is a summary of my time in Amsterdam, which I did sober for the first time. I try not to make a big thing of my sobriety, it’s been over five years now, so it’s pretty normal to me. However, I haven’t done a full-on solid four days and nights of it in a while (if ever) and ADE was always a very messy affair for me in the past. Not so this time, though it wasn’t without it’s challenges.

Anyway, as I always say, please support my newsletter in any way that’s convenient. Like, share, comment (my fave) or tell me in person (even better!). I said to a few people recently, I have no idea if anyone bothers reading what I write these days. I post on Instagram and it’ll get 20 or so likes, I’ll feel deflated after putting so much work in, and have no idea if anyone has taken the time to read my words. Thanks to all of those who gave me some validation in Amsterdam, I really need it sometimes.

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It’s been six whole years since I was last at ADE. In that time, A LOT has happened. Covid aside, my life has been turned upside down a few times, I’ve been navigating the world sober and I’ve kinda lost touch with the music community (I try to avoid the word “industry” as it gives me the ick). I’ve only been out of the UK twice since we first went into lockdown: once to go to Ibiza and write a report for Billboard on the closing weekend when everything was already closed, and had been all season. And the other time was when I went to Berghain for 17 hours in March, to catch my amazing friend Ceri DJing in Panorama Bar.

With all this in mind, I felt daunted by the thought of going to ADE, based on the fact that I hadn’t done anything close to the constant socialising and club-hopping for a long long time. Last time I went to Amsterdam it was carnage of the best kind and I had one of the best party weekends I’ve had in my whole life. This time, I didn’t really know how it would play out… but I was up for it, of course.

Wednesday

I arrived on Wednesday evening, having only just got over the marathon at fabric on Sunday. My wonderful friend Henny put me up at her place; she was my partner in crime, confidante, cheerleader and dance floor companion for most of the week and her support and presence were invaluable to my experience. When I arrived she had some food ready, so I had a quick munch and catch up with her before heading to two mixer events… The first was organised by HE.SHE.THEY, Jukebox and some others, at The Duke of Tokyo - an impeccably decorated karaoke bar and one of my favourite spots in Amsterdam, owned by my pal Ben. There I caught up with a load of old faces, including the legend himself, Alex Jukes and my friend TIMANTI. Great way to start my ADE experience; good music, good peeps, lots of good chats and jokes. I even got roped into a bit of karaoke (thanks Nicky).

After that it was off to another mixer, this time put together by The Media Nanny, Circulate and a few others. I had to queue for a bit before heading inside where Mochakk was just taking over from Seth Troxler. Highlight was bumping into my old mucker Ross Patel and hearing all about his drive to create a ‘Green clause template’, which will hopefully bring about industry-wide change when it comes to sustainability policies. Big up Ross!

With Ross Patel and Klose One at the Circulate mixer

From there I got a taxi to the Ziggo Dome, where I met Henny and we attended the first night of two huge Afterlife events. I work for the Afterlife label, writing all the texts for their releases, but, until that night, I’d never been to an event. This was probably the biggest one-brand electronic music event I’ve been to, besides all the festivals I’ve attended. It was pretty much as I imagined it would be - big room electronic music: I’ve seen all the visuals on social media, I’ve heard a lot of the music and I’ve read the comments (both negative and positive). My own conclusion is that there will always be the oversized incarnation of the culture we love. It’s not exactly my cup of tea, I must say, but I can understand why it appeals to a lot of people. We met a lovely group of girls at the end, and they were mega fans. Seeing the positive impact of the show on them certainly gave me a more optimistic view of everything.

Henny and I at Afterlife at the Ziggo Dome

Thursday

This was such a brilliant day, which kicked off with an appearance on Cassy’s Talking About My Records. We’d had an exchange on Instagram the week before and she invited me to be a guest, which got me very hyped… Having the chance to talk about my beloved records is a dream to me, so I was well up for it and spent a while thinking about what to bring with me. Of course, I ended up selecting more than the five records she’d suggested because it’s so difficult to choose. At The Social Hub, Cassy had a hotel room, which had been done up really nicely with warm, bright lighting and a turntable and mixer set up at the end of the bed. It was a lovely informal setting, and we were filmed on Cassy’s phone, with a filmographer shooting footage and stills while we chatted. I won’t reveal the records I selected, you’ll have to watch the episode to find out, but I can tell you that I was gushing like a excited child all the way through. Big thanks to IsBurning and Carlos Valdes for their work on this.

Post-Talking About My Records with Cassy

After that I had a meeting in town, followed by the Wasserman mixer then WME’s mixer at Soho House. Again, I caught up with lots of faces I haven’t seen in years, which filled me with positive energy. Funny story, when I arrivedat Soho House there was a big queue outside, so I joined at the back. At first it moved pretty quickly, but it came to a halt when I was about four people away from the front and we were kept there for AGES. At least half an hour… Finally we were permitted to move forward and give our names to the guestlist people. My name wasn’t down (this was a running theme at ADE), but after discussing it with the lovely ladies on the door, it turned out I’d been standing in the wrong queue. Duh.

At WME’s mixer at Soho House with Maya Jane Coles

Anyway, when I eventually got in, the WME event was brilliant. Eats Everything was playing when I arrived. Not seen him in years, so gave him a peck on the lips and worked the room for a bit before he caught me with his selections and I hit the dance floor. Then it was Maya Jane Coles’ turn. Her set was proper; mixing lots of her own material with some garagey/two-step sounding bits, which got a nice crowd going for it until the end. I had nothing scheduled for that night so turned in at 1am when the party finished, though Henny and I stayed up chatting until at least 5am.

Friday

The previous night I’d heard from WME agent, and top man, Steve Hogan that Bill Patrick and Seth Troxler were hosting a launch event for their book In Between. So I RSVP’d to the link on Bill’s Instagram and got down there early, in case there was a big queue. Luckily there wasn’t, and I had the time to catch up with Bill, Seth, my man Andrew Grant and a few others before Bill and Seth took part in a chat with RA’s Chloe Lula. This was an excellent interview; emotional at times, vulnerable, honest, hilarious and heartwarming. “Wholesome”, as Henny said (this was her word of the week, btw). The way those two connect and interact, you can feel the love between them. Bill spoke candidly about his illness, and they both were so earnest and upfront about their lives and the trials and tribulations of being a touring DJ. I bought a copy of the book and they both signed it… a prized possession.

A few shots from Bill and Seth's book launch

By this point I’d plucked up the courage to start using the bike Henny had borrowed for me, so we cycled around the city - which was a little hairy at times given how busy it was. But a much better way to get around than relying on public transport or taxis.

After the book launch we went back home for a bit, to recharge before heading to one of the parties of the week: Tania Casotti’s Sassafrass. Now, anyone who knows Tania will know that she is an all-out party starter, who is very well connected and a very knowledgable and hard working woman. This year marks 10 years since Tan and I first met at Burning Man - I call her “Fucken Tania” because of her potty Aussie mouth. She’s a legend and her party, at the Duke of Tokyo, was packed full of great peeps. The music was a blend of techy, proggy house/trance and the venue was rocking. That “best party weekend ever” I mentioned earlier all kicked off at the Duke back in 2018, and it was one of Tania’s parties as well. There’s a certain social alchemy that occurs at this particular spot, especially with Tania at the helm. It’s something I can’t put my finger on, but it’s special and the party was seriously on point.

From there we biked it, with a new friend Nathalie, to Shelter for Dungeon Funk. Sadly Henny’s name wasn’t on the list, so she went over to Mediahaven, where she had some friends at Jamie (Jimmy as she called him) Jones’ Paradise night. Nat and I went in but I found out from my pal Jordan Peak that the person I’d gone to see (DJ Georgia) hadn’t made it because her flight got cancelled. Instead, it was Saorsie in the booth, and she was laying it down proper. There are many things that I love about Amsterdam and one of them is its abundance of high quality venues. Shelter is just amazing; the sound, the lighting, the space… Great spot. But I didn’t stay long before heading to Paradise myself.

We’d met a lovely lady at the book launch earlier who just so happened to be working at the Artist’s Entrance at Mediahaven. So she sorted us backstage bands, which was a proper touch. (Big shout to Romée). I got a bit lost cycling to the venue and when I got there, I couldn’t find the Artist’s Entrance. So me and this other bloke, who’d brought a bunch of sunflowers to give to Jamie (he said he was a friend), broke in behind the First Aid area. Security caught us and sent us round to where we supposed to be, with the sweet sound of someone puking their guts up in the First Aid tent. We made it in in the end, but by that point I was tired and stressed by the whole bike ride and difficulty getting in. Then I had to find Henny and her friends, who were in the smoking area.

Jamie Jones’ huge Paradise event

Navigating the crowd there, in the huge venue, when tired, stressed and sober, was tricky and I got into a bit of a funk. I was in and out of that mood for the rest of the night, but, by about 5/5.30am, I was back in the room. Paradise itself was very busy. It was the first time I’d seen Jamie and Seth back to back since they did a surprise b2b in DC10 back in 2011, when I was there for my 30th. The set was great, but I needed to be in a smaller space, so Room 2 for Richy Ahmed was perfect and his selection was typically high energy and fluid. Richy closed Room 2, and I caught up with some more old faces, and met some new ones, too. Joanna Barber, love you! Big up Amber, Izzy and Nala as well. And Henny for holding space for my funky mood.

When you’re sober it can be a lot easier to fall into difficult moods due to tiredness and/or stress. What I’m learning, finally, is that it helps to just tell your close ones how you’re feeling. Even just saying it out loud seems to have an immediate positive impact on the mood, so I’m going to make sure I remember that in future. A good night but I found myself wishing we’d stayed at the Duke.

Saturday

This was my last full day at ADE. I always leave on Sunday - in the past it was either because I had work on Monday, or to carry on at fabric birthday. Sidenote: WHO ACTUALLY GOES BACK TO WORK ON MONDAY AFTER LEAVING ADE ON A SUNDAY?! Haha. I make myself laugh sometimes. Anyway, I always have FOMO on Sunday because it’s either Slapfunk at Bret, Gardens of Babylon or any number of other great events. The one I was really gutted about missing this year was Stoor Live with Kangding Ray, Mathew Jonson, Rødhåd, Steffi and Speedy J jamming for hours. Hey ho…

Saturday was great. I somehow managed to drag myself out of bed after only three hours sleep to go for a late morning meeting with Baltimore legend Teddy Douglas. I haven’t seen Teddy since I was in his hometown in 2019. He’s got an album called I’m Here due out very soon on Nervous and we spoke about the project, life and other things for about an hour or so… If you’re not familiar with Teddy, look up him and his crew The Basement Boys. Legends.

With Teddy Douglas after our meeting

After that I went for a wholesome lunch with a few of my old party friends. A couple of them were in town because their husbands were running the half marathon on Sunday, others were in town to party and another couple moved to Amsterdam four years ago. We had a great catch up and laughed at the fact that we never see each other in the UK, yet there we were in Amsterdam having lunch together. On the way home I encountered the parade where all the hippie/free party soundsystems hit the streets. I’ve seen it before, back in 2014, and it was great to catch it again. Some of the soundsystems were ridiculously powerful, just what I like. It was such a scene, and there were loads of people following the vehicles in the parade. If you’re ever at ADE and want a little something different, try to track it down. It’s the antithesis to ADE…

I had been planning to hit Dockyard (which we christened Dickyard after I made a typo in a message to Henny way back in August, when plans were first being made) but we didn’t have the energy or motivation and, by the time we were ready to make a move I found out the guestlist had closed. So that meant we just had Kerri Chandler’s Kaoz Theory party to attend.

I’ve been a fan of Kerri’s for years, met him a few times, and he’s always been a gent. Some of my favourite ADE moments have involved him actually. He played back to back with Apollonia one year, and then did a solo performance afterwards. He was singing and playing keys, with a couple of female vocalists, who were out of this world. His back to back with Black Coffee was also legendary. So Kaoz Theory it was…

We arrived towards the end of Belioz’s set. His music was great but the mixing was not so good, in all honesty. I’ve know he’s got a lot of hype around him at the moment and that his live jazz stuff is amazing, but he wasn’t quite there with the beatmatching and transitions. Moodyman though… My gosh, his set was a highlight of the whole trip for me. He weaved his way through funk, soul, house and electro with a smooth, fluid flow. There was a lot of space where we were near the back of the crowd, and everyone was dancing their own dance. No two-stepping on the spot here, people were really grooving and expressing themselves. He played ‘Heartbreaker’ by Crazy P, which was a poignant moment given Danielle’s passing. Next, Kerri blessed the dance floor in his usual way, DJing par excellence. Manda Moor closed things out, with a harder edge to her selections, while complementing the soulful, retro feel of the previous two sets. Taking into account the crowd, the vibe, the music and the venue, this was my favourite party of the week. Hands down. Big thanks to Millie Vanillie for sorting that one out.

After we left the party I crashed a bit. I got overwhelmed by the taxi scrum, people shouting, and having to wait for an Uber. Fortunately, Henny’s friend David checked in with me and I shared how I was feeling, which immediately pulled me out of it. David stayed in the cab and went home while Henny and I joined the queue for the infamous Loft. Innervisions were doing a sunrise party and I was (apparently) on the list. We got there ahead of the 7am opening time to be met with a queue that was probably about 30-40 people long. It wasn’t long before the queue swelled in width and length with people either pushing in or simply queuing in the wrong place, but I kept my cool and stayed patient for most of the half hour wait. Although I did feel like I was losing my patience at one point. Human beings just seem to have zero ability to organise themselves, and queue jumping is a big pet peeve of mine.

Anyway, I told myself that if we didn’t get in, I didn’t mind since I was absolutely exhausted and it would be a result that meant I could go to bed. We created a Win-Win situation. When we finally got to the guestlist desk our names weren’t down. I called the PR who sorted it and got no answer, so that was that. I’ve been going to ADE since 2010 and never once made it to The Loft. It’s now become a running joke. I was more than happy to concede the loss and head home to bed. Alas, another Loft-less year! Ah well.

Sunday we had a massive, well deserved lie in and chilled all day. Heaven.

Third banana of the night!

When I first thought about doing a write-up of ADE, it was going to be more focused on reviewing the events and DJ sets, but in the end I thought a summary of my experience was better suited to the personal format of this newsletter. So there you go…

This ADE, like fabric birthday, really felt like a homecoming for me. I can’t even begin to explain how good it felt to reconnect with so many lovely people and to feel as though I’m part of this “scene” or community. I hate to get the violins out but it hasn’t always felt like that over the last few years. Living outside London has been especially isolating, but these recent experiences have given me the impetus to get back out there on a regular basis, so that I can maintain a connection to it all. Going out and partying, connecting with people, is part of what makes me who I am. It gives me life and I’m so happy to be back at it.

Next stop Warehouse Project on the 1st November…