AWAKENINGS ADE BY DAY
When you think of clubbing in Amsterdam, one party immediately springs to mind and for very good reason. That party is Awakenings and as always it will take place at Gashouder, one of Europe’s most iconic venues will again play host to some of the biggest parties of the conference. All of the Awakenings parties are worth checking out, but Awakenings ADE by Day on Sunday, October 21st has arguably the biggest line up. An early start will see Dutch hot shot Ferro kicking things off at midday, then a slew of performances from some of the most inform artists of the moment in Peggy Gou, Kolsch, Luciano, Sven Vath and a closing set from Ame & Rodhad. If you are looking for one last rave to complete one of the biggest weeks in dance music this is most definitely it.

CUTTIN’ HEADZ X FUSE LONDON
Warehouse Elementenstraat will see some serious action over the course of ADE and the party combining The Martinez Brothers’ Cuttin’ Headz label and Fuse London is going to be one for the books. The warehouse will see performances from tINI, Guti, William Djoko, Jesse Calosso and The Martinez Brothers will be joined by very special guest Marco Carola. While in club will see a full Fuse squad takeover including Enzo Siragusa, Archie Hamilton, Rossko, Seb Zito and Rich NxT and with Fuse celebrating their tenth year of throwing parties this is going to be one hell of a party.

VBX X FFRC
Ricardo Villalobos will only be making one appearance this ADE and it promises to be a special one too. On Friday, October 19th he will be appearing alongside a jaw dropping array of some of the hottest artist in the world. Joining him at the VBX X FFRC party at Warehouse Elementenstraat will be Seth Troxler, Thomas Franzmann aka Zip, Sonja Moonear and Steve Rachmad. Bossing the club area will be Nicolas Lutz and VBX artists Spokenn (Ferro & Reiss). This is one of the hottest tickets in town, so make sure you grab a ticket before heading down.

SUD BEAT X THE SOUNDGARDEN X FLYING CIRCUS
On a more melodic tip, this triple threat event will be overseen by Free Your Mind and as it is part of the Dutch festival masters 15th birthday this is going to be special. Taking place at Thuishaven on October Thursday, October 18th The Soundgarden & Sudbeat area will see an all day long set from the respective label heads Nick Warren B2B Hernan Cattaneo as well as Graziano Raffa, Gustin, Interaxxis, Marcelo Vasami, Mariano Mellino, Nick Varon and Tripswitch. Flying Circus will be in the capable hands of Audiofly, Atish, Blond:ish, Tal Ohana and Unders. If there is a better way to start your ADE journey then we would like to hear about it.

HYTE X LOVELAND
Berlin outfit HYTE really turned the game on its head when they began putting on parties, their huge line-ups read like a who’s who of techno and they almost seemed too good to be true upon first read. ADE is always a special time for HYTE and their party in conjunction with Loveland at Mediahaven on Friday, October 19th is going to be something else. Leading the charge is Loco Dice, Caleb Calloway, Chris Liebing, Benny Rodrigues, Andrea Oliva, Boris Werner, Enzo Siragusa, Guti, Pan-Pot, Mandana B2B Thabo Getsome, Samuel Deep, wAFF, Yaya and the pairing of Subb-an & Adam Shelton. As well as stellar music, HYTE is also well known for airtight production, so expect this party to have everything in spades.

DRUMS X GIEGLING
It would seem that the Romanians are really ramping up their A game at the moment and the Drums crew have an unreal party in store at Undercurrent on Sunday, October 21st. Room one will be taken care of by Drums and will feature sets from Amorf (live), Baltazar, Barac, Bruno Curtis, Cap, Dubtil, Ion Ludwig, Priku and Rhadoo. Over in room two Giegling will be bringing a strong team of their finest selectors in DJ Dustin, Edward, Konstantin, Mbeck, SaPa, Vlada and Melchior Productions Ltd.

Being based in the Middle East puts the carefree European clubbing landscape into perspective on a regular basis. So, during the downtime of Ramadan I find myself and my partner in crime heading westwards yet again. The first stop on my musical tour de force is the German capital and indeed the centre of many a DJ’s universe…

Berlin, being a law unto itself means open-ended weekends and debauched parties that would test the resolve of even the most hardened of party heads. In relatively small doses, this city offers something special that few cities experience on a regular basis and that is a tangible air that something special could happen at any given moment. This may sound like a romantic notion, but when you consider the clubs that call Berlin home and the unbelievable artists that make up its lineups each weekend, it doesn’t sound so far-fetched does it?

First up on my club hopping “spree” is the spring closing party from French party starters J.A.W on Friday, June 16. The brainchild of three French music heads which has brought an impressive cast of artists to their family reunions over the years, Moodymann, Larry Heard and Theo Parrish are just a few of the family members that have stopped by to catch up. What makes this party all the more tantalising is the setting. Taking place in the intimate surroundings of Kreuzberg club Prince Charles, catching an intimate set from headliner Danilo Plessow, otherwise known as super selector Motor City Drum Ensemble could just be the highlight of the trip. His goose bump inducing sets have become the staple of the more discerning festivals around the world, but Danilo remains grounded and still takes his role in the party very seriously. Danilo will be joined by newcomer to the J.A.W. family Waxist, a talented selector who isn’t afraid to take a few chances with his song selection. Also on the bill is a young French lady – Clémentine, who is making serious waves in Europe at present.

Allowing for Friday night to well and truly run its course, dissipate and then have time for me to recharge those all-important batteries for Sunday, which is far from a day of rest in Berlin. In Berlin, it’s a decathlon, not an egg and spoon race. Kicking things off will be a visit to my favourite bar in Berlin, nay the known and unknown universe – Club der Visionaere. Known for its relaxed atmosphere, expertly programmed line-ups and of course the idyllic setting out on the sun terrace by the Spree.

This particular day/night party called Glow offers a great array of local and international guests over the course of the day, and next morning. A few artists that I have been keeping tabs on recently are part of an expressive 6 person Spanish-Italian collective called Slow Life, namely Primary Perception and Cecilio. The former, made of Berliner brothers will be performing live and the latter will be flexing his DJ muscles for the intimate crowds on the sun deck. I am also excited about catching One Records artist John Dimas. The Grecian artist has been pricking up my ears for some time now and his tight rolling grooves will be simply irresistible in these circumstances. Pray for sunshine.

Also, taking place that day is an all day, night and morning label party with one of Germany’s most discerning imprints and clubs – Live at Robert Johnson. The Offenbach club and label of the same name will be taking over the sprawling indoor/outdoor surroundings of Else for an open-ended celebration of the label’s recent “Lifesaver 3” compilation. The output from the label is nothing short of ridiculous but the wealth of talent both the club and the imprint has at its disposal is scary. Namely label head Ata and, one of my personal favourite artists Roman Flügel. Having been a follower of Flügel since his earlier Alter Ego days, I have been massively influenced by the German tastemaker and his various guises and I couldn’t think of a better way to round out my Berlin club tour.

Being a DJ first and foremost, there is no way I could spend any amount of time in Berlin and not indulge in the age-old DJ past time of crate digging and Berlin is one of the best cities in Europe to bag yourself some hidden gems. The obvious choice would be Hard Wax, Space Hall and OYE Records, but I am also looking forward to checking out the various thrift stores and second hand stores dotted around Berlin’s older parts. This is where the fun really begins.

Moving on from Berlin, I will be making my way to Amsterdam where I will more time to decamp my mind a little and take in the sights of this beautiful and historic city. Obviously, there are all sorts of sinful activities that can be enjoyed, but like most DJ’s clothes shopping, namely, trainer shopping is high on the list of activities. With Amsterdam becoming a bit of sneaker haven my first port of call will be home-grown street wear store Patta, closely followed by Sneaker District, Sunika (Japanese for sneaker) and the futuristic Solebox gets a special mention for their décor alone.

In much the same way as in Berlin, when I am not jumping about clubs or festivals I will be up to my elbows in vinyl. Like its clubs, Amsterdam is famous for having some of the best record stores in Europe. For a point of reference look no further than Rush Hour Records, a label, distribution arm, and the record store steeped in insurmountable amounts of history. The much-lauded record store now in its 20th year regularly plays host to DJ sets which are streamed from their own music channel.

With the legendary club Trouw resigned to legend, the lovely team behind the much-loved club have set up shop in an old school and have funnily enough called it De School. Much of this venue is housed in the now defunct bicycle shed, and if you have been to Holland you will know how many bikes there are there. So, you have a good idea of the size of the main part of the club. Capacity aside, the fact that they boast some of the best line-ups in the city on a weekly basis is more than enough to warrant interest, and the fact they have one of their favourite sons in Tom Trago playing all night long is more than enough to pique my interest.

Although Amsterdam can more than hold a candle to Berlin’s bursting at the seams club scene, I have one item firmly on the agenda and that is the mega festival known as Awakenings Festival. Having been keeping tabs on this festival for some time, I have watched it grow into an event that is almost as big as Amsterdam itself. Boasting 8 stage, Awakenings caters for most variants of underground techno and house and does so with the aid of some of the best festival production and line-ups in Europe. The 2-day event taking place at Spaarnwoude, just outside Amsterdam’s city centre offers sets from Nina Kraviz, Tale of Us, Dax J, Sven Vath, Ricardo Villalobos and Maceo Plex and that is just day one (Saturday, June 24). Day 2 is a straight up affair of the heart, for most of Sunday, each stage plays host to headliner after headliner with the pick of these being Wighnomy Brothers, Floorplan (LIVE), Loco Dice and of course Joris Voorn’s closing set. If techno is your thing there are few events that will cover as much ground as Awakenings. Expect a full match report on all of my findings, assuming I return alive that is.