This year’s Dekmantel Festival in the lovely surroundings of the Amsterdamse Bos is just over a week away with talent including Jeff Mills, Regis, Veronica Vasicka, Holly Herndon, Ben UFO, Helena Hauff, Ricardo Villalobos, Objekt and many more all set to play across the weekend.
The festival runs from August 4-7 taking in opening concerts at a number of Amsterdam locations, a day programme at the Amsterdamse Bos and a night programme at club Melkweg. Day tickets have already sold out but you can purchase tickets for the festival’s night programme and opening concerts, as well as check out the full line-up, here.
Below, some of those heading to Amsterdam next week to play across the weekend have picked out tracks to suitably build up the hype and give us a taste of where they take their sets.
Daniel Avery picks Blawan – ‘Marga’
"I like how Blawan takes more chances than most producers. He seems to believe in the warmth of club music, even when it’s at its most extreme.”
Joey Anderson picks Donny Hathaway – ‘Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)’
"Sure, not techno , but it’s my reference guide to the start and ending of my set, in thought …”
Lena Willikens picks Credit 00 - ‘Tribal Rhythm Machine’
"I can´t get enough of this track! I love the impulsive percussions, the weirdness and its spooky atmosphere. Brilliant! The label Uncanny Valley, based in Dresden, is always worth checking out.”
Objekt picks Aleksi Perälä – ‘UK74R1512110’
"Aleksi Perälä’s Colundi Sequence work is extensive and at times overwhelming in scope but the recent Clone compilation did a stellar job of picking out the best tracks of the bunch. This particular cut is a thing of wonder and beauty; I could listen to it forever and ever and still not be satisfied.”
Mike Servito picks Mr. Ho – ‘Untitled’ (B1 – Down2House)
"I’ve always been a fan of edits and reworks…if they are done right. I have a deep affinity for old, obscure, Chicago tracks. I just love that sound. I was ecstatic when Michael Ho sent me this one! I had no idea it existed. It is an edit of a gem from 1989 (or as I like to call it "the magic year"). The original track is called ‘Get Up’. I’ve been playing this edit in my sets for months now. Michael even got the approval from Reggie R. to do the mix. I’m egging him on to do more! The classic jack sound is evident and really bumps for the dance floor. I’m obsessed with it.”
Palms Trax picks Wantin’ U – ‘Fire Flight’
"’80s would-be anthem from Barbados that seems to mix well with anything. Quite expensive so the main refrain of ‘I’ve been wanting you for so long’ is quite fitting. Had to rack up an enormous amount of plays on Spotify just to get a VG copy."
San Proper picks San Proper – ‘The Strip’
"This track is taken from the first EP I did for Dekmantel quite a while ago. I forgot about it for a bit until a couple of friends in Berlin reminded me sending me strange clips of them dancing to ‘The Strip’ at an afterparty in their living-room. I chose this for sentimental reasons, it reminds of the early days of Dekmantel. Bless.’”
Interstellar Funk picks Cute Heels – ‘Spiritual’
"One of the better albums released in the last couple of years. All tracks are highly recommended and are a perfect mixture of old-school electro combined with new and fresh ideas. Haven’t heard it a lot in a club, but it sounds great whenever I play it.”
