This weekend, partygoers will be heading to Amsterdam to kick off one of the biggest dates in any electronic music fan’s calendar: Dekmantel Festival.
Located around the city and in the beautiful park of Amsterdamse Bos, the festival has been going since 2013, ever since it was founded by Dutch DJs Thomas Martojo and Casper Tielrooij. It’s come a long way since its early days as a small club night; these days, thousands of people come from around the world to party.
Over that time, it has seen some of the best DJs in the world pass through its doors: Peggy Gou, Bicep and Four Tet among them.
But it’s not just about the big names. Plenty of underground artists come to the festival too, making wandering around and soaking in the experience a must-do in itself.
For the DJs themselves, a Dekmantel appearance is pretty much a rite of passage, which means it pulls in some pretty serious talent. As ever, the line-up this year is stacked: here’s who’s playing on which nights, and what to expect (and the timetable can be viewed in full here).
Wednesday
As with previous years, the first night of the festival begins with electronic music events happening around Amsterdam itself. For the second year in a row, that means we’ll be getting a kick-off concert at the old church, or Oude Kerk.
For this, Moritz von Oswald, a dub-techno artist, will be playing his monumental piece Silencio inside the building, along with a 16-voice choir. Not one to miss.
Thursday
This is when things kick off in earnest. On Thursday, Dekmantel heads to the banks of the river, to the Muziekgebouw concert hall. British electronic artists Leftfield will be kicking things off at 9pm, followed by the dub duo The Orb.
At Bimhuis, the jazz and concert venue, meanwhile, British artist James Holden will be joined by Polish multi-instrumentalist Wacław Zimpel, Herbert & Momoko, Young Marco & John Moods, and Polygonia.
There’s more stuff happening on the other side of the river too, at Parallel nightclub, where Danish pop Danish avant-pop star Erika de Casier and Irish-Chilean experimentalist Sega Bodega will be playing. Finally, fellow club Shelter will be hosting a new live show by Lenxi at 6pm.
Friday
The party moves to the wooded surrounds of Amsterdamse Bos. There’s a lot going on amongst the venue’s seven spaces. On the main stage, The Loop, Mema will be starting the day at 1pm, while Two Shell starts at 5.30pm, Blawan at 7pm and headliner Four Tet at 8pm.
Over in the Greenhouse space, Floating Points and Palms Trax will be doing a mammoth all day set, while Philippa Pacho and Oscar Mulero close things out on the UFO I stage.
Saturday
The line-up gets even busier. On The Loop, Call Super and Honey Dijon will be playing from 7pm and 9pm respectively, while Shanti Celeste opens The Selectors stage at 1pm and Steevio and Priori both play live sets on the UFO II stage. That’s already a lot, but do make time to see East African DJ Kampire take over The Nest: her bass-heavy sets are a great way to spend a Saturday.
Sunday
The last day: time to party in earnest. While Avalon Emerson will be closing out The Loop at 9pm, they’re competing with Ritchie Hawtin, the British-Canadian producer who’ll be on at the same time at UFO I. Earlier in the day, pop along to see Berghain local Efdenim at UFO I and local artist UpSammy at UFO II: heavy beats abound.
