On October 21st, the two Dutch record labels Scantraxx and Savage Squad joined forces and invited everyone interested to a stunning showcase event during the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). In an exclusive atmosphere, more than 15 artists of the harder styles presented their latest productions, some of them being played for the very first time in public. How was it? Let’s see!
Simon Roth
Venue
The magic happened at Q-Factory, an event venue that is located in the eastern part of Amsterdam and surprisingly, directly in the pedestrian zone. In front of the building, a white tent was built up with a huge “Scantraxx x Savage Squad” sign above the entrance.
After passing through the tent, I ended up in the lobby – I should mention at this point that Q-Factory Amsterdam also features a café, several music studios in the basement, as well as a hotel with music-themed rooms. The booming bass showed the way further ahead, up the stairs to the second floor.
Arriving there, I found myself in front of the lockers, available in various sizes. They were payable by special coins sold at a vending machine next to them. One locker token was prized at 4 EUR and the locker could be closed a single time with one token – therefore you should have made sure that you’ve got everything needed for the upcoming hours with you!
A huge event banner where you could take photos in front of was built up right next to it. A few meters further, various drinks and ice rockets were sold out of a booth. The pricing was located in the medium to lower range and therefore absolutely affordable.
Soft drinks, water (still or sparkling!): 3.25 EUR
Small beer: 3.75 EUR
Red Bull: 5.00 EUR
All drinks were paid cashless by card or phone as usual in the Netherlands – no need to buy and use up any tokens in the end!
The event room featured one more bar, therefore there were almost no waiting times. The staff was friendly and well-trained. Just a pity that the drinks were all served in one-way plastic cups and no deposit was charged, causing more and more containers to lie around on the floor and stick to your shoes. Even the Red Bull cans (which are already one-way) were decanted into cups which caused an environmental impact even two times.
Stage
The stage area was completely lined in black which contrasted to the gray concrete walls of the room. Several meters high above the heads of the crowd, black trusses hovered along the whole length of the dance floor and held moving heads as well as vertical light bars.
On a horizontal LED wall mounted at the front of the DJ desk, the logos of the currently playing DJs were displayed. Later on, the back of the stage transformed into a gigantic animation surface, too, matching the respective artist and the music.
Flamethrowers and pyrotechnics in the front of the stage being fired during the drops complemented the visual effects.
The sound system was powerful and well-tuned. Punchy bass, clear highs, as it should be!
Music
Due to the quite short set times (30 to 50 minutes maximum), the musical part of the event was very varied. That fact also made the artists become even more creative and mix a lot to be able to show off all their new tracks!
Sanctuary x Griever
You should definitely have these two rising stars in the raw scene, Sanctuary and Griever, on your screen because they’re about to play themselves into history. A unique style, high energy, and heavy beats were absolutely non-negotiable when they played “Chemicals”, “Gasolina”, and Griever’s remix of The Purge’s “Life Is A Bitch”. A perfect wake-up call for those who still had the previous ADE days in their bones!
Bass X Machina
Using the alias “Bass X Machina”, Bass Modulators started to pick up the artificial intelligence theme earlier this year and created a new sci-fi-inspired live act. Stepping on stage in a white suit and a face mask with glowing blue eyes (resembling a robot), he presented his futuristic tracks “The Future” and “Take Control”, among a lot of brand-new unreleased music. I’m sure we can look forward to something big here!
The Purge
Brutal, fierce, harsh – there’s basically no possibility of not liking The Purge if you like extra raw sounds! In combination with the perfectly concerted psychedelic animations (check out his “TRIPPIN’” sets from last year), it was an outstanding audiovisual experience to listen to “Let’s Dance”, “Hear The Noise”, and a whole bunch of stuff hot off the press!
Devin Wild
The well-known hardstyle artist Devin Wild brought his first-ever collaboration with Phuture Noize “Waves” for us, as well as his brand-new track “Follow Me” (produced together with E-Life) which was released just one day before the event. During his unreleased track “In Won’t Let You Down”, there were parts to sing along on the one hand, directly followed up by hard-hitting Sub Zero Project kicks on the other hand. A nice combination!
Kronos presents Kryptonite
Wearing a black hoodie and a poison green face mask, Kronos presented his “Kryptonite” live act that already caused a sensation at Defqon.1 festival this year. Rapid shifts, raw sounds, and a great build-up to the end – this set had everything to get you moving, including “1991”, “FCK DAT!”, and his just-released track “New Generation”. Absolutely sick!
Conclusion
Although the event was comparatively short, it was a downright blast. We had the opportunity to experience the tracks and artists of tomorrow already on that day. And all that in an exclusive setting, perfectly organized. I’m looking forward to more of those showcases in the future and you should, too, if you’re into unique hard dance experiences!
