After dropping the first recordings last week, a second selection of sets from the Amsterdamse Bos are up for playback now. A way to reminisce some of the festival's highlights, or to indulge in artists you didn't get to see during those three days of Dekmantel Festival earlier this year.
The recordings of our festivals hold a special place to us. Although we'd always favour experiencing a set first-hand, walking around at a festival, especially one with almost two hands full of stages, means it's inevitable to miss out on one or two artist you want to see while you're dancing to another.
We previously put out the recordings from our Red Light Radio stage and their collaboration with The Rest Is Noise at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, the Boiler Room stage and the Listening Stage — and moved into the territory of the Greenhouse, Selectors, UFO's and Main Stage last week. New additions are uploaded now, including Skatebård ft. Kjetil Møster (live), DJ Spinna, Identified Patient, SHXCXCHCXSH (live), Black Merlin, DJ Python, Alexander Robotnick (live) and many more.
Accompanying the Amsterdamse Bos recordings, we're listing a selection below — paired with what the artists themselves had to say about their set. The full playlist is available for listening further down this page, and stay tuned: more coming soon.
Tzusing
"Sunsetting at the stage compounded with the smoke machine coming on added a layer of comfort/familiarity and the perfect setting for the tracks I was playing. Really glad the crowd was up for it, because with the selection it could either be great or an awkward moment for all of us. Trying out something is great when it doesn’t blow up in your face ;)"
Stellar OM Source
"Being booked on the Sunday afternoon in the dark techno tent aka the UFO was quite a challenge. The UFO at 3pm is not packed yet, accentuating the isolation on such a huge stage or with only people in another state of mind and expecting the darkest extremes. No matter what, I felt super grateful and I would have fun as a group of dear friends were there to dance with me and the sound on stage was incredibly good! Being up there made that I had to work on more powerful tricks to feel the crowd. I made mostly new tracks for that set, skipping the more house-y ones and ending on some 150bpm trance notes. And it worked I guess when I realized the nice crowd which gathered. I could feel the power of this room which is just so unique."
Orpheu The Wizard
"I had the pleasure of opening the Selectors Stage twice, in 2015 and 2016, and in 2016 the sight on the floor was a group of people hanging in deckchairs. Needless to say it was an amazing feeling to close my fave stage for a dance floor that was full all the way to the back."
Deniro
"I never played such an intense fast hypnotizing set before. All the circumstances were just right."
Skee Mask & Zenker Brothers
"It was a unique and wonderful experience to play at Dekmantel Festival for the first time. All of us spent a lot of time to get prepared, but we only agreed on the first track beforehand. Everything else was freestyle with the only guideline to end up at some higher tempos at one point. The crowed was fantastic and the vibe felt really energetic and open-minded."
I-F
“Heaven in the backseat of the Trans Europe Disco Express.”
Elena Colombi
“A playful exploration of moods, eras and frequencies, hopefully dropping a few surprises on the way!With a special nod at the 1:08 mark to a sound that started it all for me. Enjoy!!”
upsammy
"I decided to play fast (or slow, however you want to see it) and not prepare too much, so I could really enjoy my set in the moment. The set overall was kind of atmospheric I think and went from quirky energetic breaks to dubby, deep electronics and percussive tracks that got more abstract towards the end. Looking back on my set I’m happy with how open the audience responded and how my mom danced to it!"
Yu Su
"It was so heartwarming seeing everyone singing along to Sun Ra’s somebody else’s idea when I ended my set at the steamy greenhouse. It was like feeling everyone’s body and soul underneath an ocean of sound on another planet."
Full playlist
Listen to all uploaded recordings here, and stay tuned - more coming soon.