Amsterdam 2.0: Europe's new club capital

After losing legendary venues Studio 80 and Trouw, Amsterdam has bounced back this year thanks to a spate of club openings. In 2016, the city's nightlife is thriving – welcome to Amsterdam 2.0

Fireworks shoot across a dancefloor housed inside an old, industrial gasworks and retina-dazzling lasers spray across a crowd of 3500 loved-up, inhibition-free ravers. This is Gashouder, the most startling venue in Amsterdam and it’s the yearly home of Awakenings, one of the world’s biggest and best techno parties. It’s 4am and the party is in full flow. Len Faki has just taken control of the space and his presence is announced via a god-like voice that booms out of the massive speakers. A wall of noise erupts and the lights become visual ecstasy – strong, powerful and near overwhelming. This is an annual pilgrimage for everyone in attendance and it’s taking place during Amsterdam Dance Event, the conference-cum-inner city, multi-club music festival.

ADE, which takes place every October, is now in its 21^th year. During its five-day span, Amsterdam is taken over by the industry: DJs, producers, managers, agents, labels, PR people, tech companies, the press and rave tourists from all over the world hit the town to celebrate nightlife. It’s always a special week in a city where electronic music is allowed to thrive (in 2016, 2200 artists played 450 events across 120 venues for ADE, proof that ‘Dam is a dance music playground). And this year was marked by the presence of three new clubs, De School, which opened in the summer, and Claire and Shelter, which launched during ADE week, meaning one of the world’s party hotspots has just got even better.

Although clubbing in Amsterdam hasn’t been without its setbacks (Trouw and Studio 80 both closed over the last two years), it’s become a hotbed thanks to a 24-hour licence that’s available to clubs and the installation of Night Mayor Mirik Milan, a former club-promoter who was elected in 2014 to act as a voice for not only the people who make the city’s nightlife thrive, but also the venue owners and entrepreneurs who want to add to scene.

“I speak with the Mayor three to four times a year privately, and we work together a lot. They see that they benefit from someone giving them honest advice. We’re not a trade organisation: if we were, the door of the mayor’s office would stay shut,” Milan told Time Out recently.

“I think our biggest accomplishment is the introduction of 24-hour licences. Clubs benefit from it because they can go on longer, and the surrounding neighbourhood benefits because it’s not like at four in the morning a thousand people suddenly hit the street all at once.”

That direct line from the government to the people is something that’s since been replicated in Paris, Zurich and London. All three cities are looking to emulate the way Amsterdam does things, much to the delight of people who frequent clubs but are tired of them being closed down, dispirited by the way dance music is often treated as 'low' culture. There’s a clear attitude shift in Amsterdam and Mirik Milan not only protects the interests of the clubbers, he looks at how he can help to shift the way nightlife is viewed by the rest of the community, who previously may have shunned the idea of clubs that operate all-night-long.

“The biggest difference with London is that we have this culture of deliberation and all parties have an equal role and an equal say. The club manager, he has the way in with the Mayor and the city council and the Night Mayor,” says Milan Van Ooijen, the Marketing Communications Manager for Shelter.

“I think that this culture which is really floating right now, it’s very different to how it was maybe 10 years ago where it was a lot more stricter with controls and drugs laws. We’ve made a huge leap in making everything up for discussion.”

It feels like everyone involved in nightlife in Amsterdam takes a holistic approach to club culture. Local government is keen to make clubs a key part of the city and the people who run venues are dedicated to integrating them successfully into society.

A prime example of that is De School, which is regarded as one of the most important new spaces in the city and was opened by the same team that ran Trouw. It’s situated in an old technical school built at the end of the 60s and, over its first ADE week, realises its full potential.

On Thursday, there’s a charity football tournament taking place in the gym with teams from Rush Hour, Numbers, Dekmantel, Resident Advisor and an All Stars squad that features Dixon and Volte-Face. A local record fair is pitched up outside and there are live DJs in the garden, while De School’s restaurant gets on with serving lunch. Parties on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday lead into a mammoth finale, which sees De School open its doors from Saturday all the way through to Monday for 36 hours of non-stop music from the underground.

“Of course there is a reputation that contributes, but with Trouw the point to why it started was a lot different. Now there is a lot more happening in Amsterdam and many more clubs. I think that the main difference with De School is that it has way more functions than Trouw,” says Luc Mastenbroek, the club’s programmer.

As you enter the building, it’s a sight to behold. Misty corridors transport you back to your school days, decorated in colourful shapes redolent of Mondrian, and there’s a beautiful garden outside with mystical, ambient music playing and then, of course, the club proper.

What used to be a bike garage is now a dark, atmospheric dungeon, one that’s scattered with hanging lights and dense walls of smoke. It’s a room to lose yourself in, one that lends itself to heads-down raving with an impeccable soundsystem and the best DJs in the world. It’s hard to describe and with no photos online of the space in full swing, that’s the feeling the team want to uphold. The only way to satisfy your need to discover there is to go back, again and again.

“We found this building and we’re stilling doing work on it. In the club room we’re adding new light and sound, so that’s exciting. I think we’ve had a great start and the restaurant has had some rave reviews. We’ve been nominated for an award that goes to the best new restaurant in the country so we’re happy,” says Ernst Mertens, De School’s Managing Director, who sounds particularly excited.

“There’s still a lot of ‘wow!’ factor when people come here, as if it wouldn’t be possible that all of this is happening at De School. Having a place that’s not only a club has become so important. We’re still developing but doing things in a place like this, I don’t think we’ll never be finished and we’ll always want to make it better,” Ernst adds.

It’s that sort of attitude and approach to the space that’s garnered it so much praise. It’s more than a club, it’s more than just somewhere people go to get weird and dance, it’s an award-winning centre that’s dedicated to giving something valuable back to the community. You’re just as likely to see a middle-aged couple there having lunch as you are a sweaty dancer who’s been partying to the sounds of Job Jobse for 14 hours.

As ADE bubbles on and the week starts to hit its stride, we make a journey across town to another new club, except this time, we’re taking the ferry there and it’s not as established as De School. It’s opening night and we’re actually the first people in. As we cross the river from Centraal station to the astonishing ADAM Tower, it’s the middle of the afternoon and bitterly cold. We’re looking for Shelter, a brand new club opening thanks to funding from the Tower, making the multi-million euro venture one of the most-talked about venues in the city.

Promising a programme that covers house, techno and everything in between, Shelter is the talk of ADE and who can blame the industry professionals and professional ravers from around the world for getting excited. The feeling you get walking into unchartered territory in clubland is a rare, eye-opening thing, one that should be relished but when we arrive before the official opening, we struggle to even find the place.

“What’s probably the most striking thing is that before you enter the club, there’s a hatch sunk into the ground in front of Amsterdam Tower. It’s a hydraulic hatch and when it shuts and you walk over you have no idea you’re walking over the club. We are literally underground, so that’s one of the coolest features for sure,” says Milan Van Ooijen.

Later on, thick beams of light eminate from the hatch, inviting us into some sort of intergalactic portal to a new dimension. As 1am swings around, we walk down and around dark, stylish corridors with sleek black walls that bare 3D markings and futuristic structuring. It’s a one-room club that holds around 800 people. The dark, enchanting space is reached through a set of heavy double doors and is like that of an underground car park; pillars hold the ceiling up and cool, grey concrete gives everything a clean, calculated yet modernistic feel, with hanging light bulbs above the bar winking toward the joyously sleazy feel of Amsterdam.

The booth is at the back of the room, on ground level (common to clubs in the city) and boy does that music sound incredible, thanks to four Funktion One stacks that emit thick, warm, bassy vibrations.

“Even though our appearance is maybe a little bit modern, our take is a look back at the core principles of clubbing. Simplicity is key,” Milan says. “We have made sure that the very basics of having a successful club night are in place and we want people to have an unforgettable night.”

“This really comes down to the quality of the sound and there’s been a lot of effort put into not only the soundsystem but also the sound experience itself. There is a row of 8 diffusers on the wall and also some on the ceiling. They have metal plating around them so it looks really, really nice,” he adds.

In charge of making sure that the club opens with a bang is Jackmaster, who’s brought some friends along for his Mastermix party. We see Moodymann play and the Detroit master is perhaps the perfect person to test the room out. He elegantly and intrinsically moves between disco, funk, soul, house and techno, He rolls out Bjarki’s ‘I Wanna Go Bang’ and we’ve honestly never heard it sound so big. For a song that we almost got completely sick off, it feels like we’re hearing it for the first time, a sentiment that’s testament to both the DJ and the space.

As far as new clubs go, Shelter is impressive in its programming, aesthetic and sound, the three things that need to be in place for a new spot to succeed. It gets to 5am and we head back to our hotel on the ferry, a decidedly rowdier journey this time and owning the deserved nickname of the ‘party boat’.

On Friday there’s hundreds of parties raging but we find ourselves at a familiar location, although one that’s now completely unrecognisable. The iconic Rembrandt Square has new tenants at the spot that used to be Studio 80, one of the city’s infamous clubs.

It closed its doors in January this year after 10 years of being a staple of the capital’s clubbing community. The new owners haven’t come into the acquisition with no experience of running a venue however, far from it. After putting Disco Dolly, a small bar/club with bookings that span the best in house and disco, on the city’s map, the public’s feeling of sadness and worry about Studio 80’s closure has now evolved into excitement and wonder.

“We want people who go to expect ambience and a good vibe with good feeling. We had the feeling Amsterdam was missing a club that we would go to ourselves; a space that’s really warm and ambient with lots of colour. There are lots of spaces to go to, not only just the dancefloor and the bar but also hangout spots. It’s very different to Studio 80,” says co-owner and programmer Juri Miralles, someone who’s been instrumental in bringing the new vision.

When we arrive at 3am, we’re told we might not even get in to see the club. The guestlist is swamped, the public queue is almost closed and even people with tickets are told that they’ll have to wait. The buzz is palpable and if anything we’re even more excited to get in than before.

Once in, we’re greeted by an Aztec-style entrance, one that makes you feel like you’re an extra on a grandiose movie set. There are hanging plants, temple-like structures surrounding the lockers and grassy exteriors that hang over fountains.

It’s warm, comforting and feels like home, despite the fact it’s like nowhere we’ve seen in the city. A walk upstairs to the toilets and the bright, technicolour walls, awash with vibrant patterns and flavours are a bold sight and it’s a rarity for a club to be so eye popping.

The bar is at the back of the main room, making foot flow work better than Studio 80’s old layout. That’s not to say it’s not hard to navigate, as the place is absolutely heaving and the busiest spot by far we’ve seen all week. Hardly surprising when DJ Deeon and Parris Mitchell are in charge of the music output in the main space.

Room 2 is now significantly different as well: gone is the small black space with booth by the door, instead there’s a bright, well-lit room. The wood around the venue gives it a fresh, clean feel and the wooden booth in the second room is a welcome sight, one that’s floor level as well. Slapfunk Records are hosting the space and it’s the location of choice around the club. Spanky, devious house runs riot around the Danley system, one that’s tuned to perfection and packs as much punch as the main room.

“We want Claire to be the club that Amsterdam people go to regularly, just to check it out even if they don’t know what DJs are playing. The quality of the music in Amsterdam is at a high level here. The Dutch dance scene has always been a little bit more forward-minded than anywhere else and we want to show that here,” says Juri.

As you can see, Amsterdam is in a really, really good place at the moment. Rarely does a city come across as being so in control of its nighttime industry, an example of what can happen when government, club owners and party people are all on the same page. There’s a wealth of amazing venues that put the dance first and it feels like commercialism isn’t the focus for these places, with dance music, as well as the wider community, coming first. This is an amazing time to experience new spaces, new ideas and new ways of clubbing.

Jeremy Abbott is Mixmag's Deputy Digital Editor. Follow him on Twitter