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Discover what’s happening in Amsterdam Noord

Monday, 07 October 2019
Getting to the unusual or exquisite places in the midst of ADE is not always easy with a program consisting of almost 200 locations and 2.500 artists. Therefore our team has created several routes trough the different districts of Amsterdam, which will give you an idea of what to expect and where.
North

Following up on our rough guides on conferences and festivals, we'd like to highlight various must-visits in Amsterdams' various quarters.

Following up on our rough guides on conferences and festivals, we'd like to highlight various must-visits in Amsterdams' various quarters.

This year's ADE features almost 200 venues - all spread across Amsterdam - playing host to different festival and conference events throughout the week. Kicking off our ADE City Tour, we take you across the IJ river. Amsterdam’s Northside has seen a lot of development over the last few years, and it is fast becoming one the most popular hubs for music and culture. When you hop off the (free) ferry at Buiksloterweg for instance, you’re will find yourself in the Overhoeks area.


From panoramic views over the city to obscure basements

Look to your left and you’ll find the architectural striking shapes of film museum Eye, a go-to for the live scoring session of La coquille et le clergyman with Belgian duo Use Knife (Stef Heeren and Kwinten Mordijck). They will give an electro twist to this hallucinatory silent film classic that has been acclaimed as one of the first (and one of the best) surrealist films ever.

Right next door, the 20-storey A’DAM Tower offers panorama views and clubbing. It is also a hub for the creative en music industry with residents like Gibson, ID&T, Massive Music and Sony. The building features both the notorious Loft, where you can find Glitterbox this year, and underground (literally) club Shelter, hosting 6 events from a fundraiser event with Ben Sims and Peggy Gou amongst others, to the official release party of Marcel Dettmann's new label Bad Mannners.

Just outside the A’DAM Tower lies Tolhuistuin (the tower’s former canteen) which functions as a popular restaurant and concert hall that sees Derrick May drop by to host one of his legendary Hi-Tek Soul nights accompanied by Marco Faraone. A short ride to the east takes you to SkateCafe and Garage Noord, two alternative venues where you can find many different styles of music including tarraxo, dancehall breakbeat and house. On your way there you probably have passed the former marine propulsion factory De Kromhouthal, that (these days) propels dance floors with large techno and house events like elrow, Straf_Werk x Kölsch and Klockwork presenting Photon.

Rock the boat and cure your hangover
Marine industry and its remnants are ubiquitous in Amsterdam North. In that regard it shouldn’t come as a surprise that dancing on a boat (that won't set sail) like Pollux and Veronicaschip is also on the bill during ADE. Both are docked at a former ship wharf, these days known as the arty and underground NDSM Wharf.

In the midst of NDSM’s industrial and musical commotion you’ll find the impressive contours of the Scheepsbouwloods, which functions as DGTL’s homebase. It’s where you can see acts like Orbital, Richie Hawtin, Modeselektor and Floating Points. Just around the corner, the NDSM Wharf itself functions as a festival ground for two days of Into The Woods on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, the same site provides a cure-all with the ADE Hangover (free entry), surrounding you with music, a vinyl market, a sauna, hot tubs and a lot of relaxation.

Also tuning into a more alternative vibe are Pllek and Noorderlicht, both offering a jaw dropping view over the IJ river. Pllek's program explores the conscious side of music during ADE with live performances from Dominik Eulberg, Genii, Ryan Davis and Thaalavattam amongst others, while Noorderlicht welcomes the crews of Get Physical, and Wilde Renate. For more non-standard venues and programming you should definitely go to the Klaproos or The Rolling Rock Kitchen, hosting no less than 8 events and Oumuamua, the recently opened pop-up for contemporary art and music featuring a classical concert of Lambert among many other things.


All in all, the uprising Amsterdam’s Northside is one of the gems of our city. During ADE it’s bursting at its seams with music and more, so be sure to find your way there. In case you miss out on the action, there are always AMW.FM and NDSM Sessions to provide you with live broadcasts and streams of the innumerable amount of DJs and producers being present at ADE including Dimitri, "promised land" Joe Smooth and Olivia Jones to name just a few.


Photo credits: Piet van Strijp and Tim Buiting

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