Awakenings celebrated 20 years with the best techno DJs in the world

“The best DJs in the world!” – in a thick Dutch accent, the words ring out loud and clear across the Gashouder’s soundsystem. The 4,000-strong crowd roar back in agreement. To anyone who has attended Awakenings before, the instantly recognisable voice could only ever belong to one man, the techno institution’s founder and self-appointed hype man, Rocco Veenboer. The DJs in question? Adam Beyer and Joseph Capriati, who are up on stage playing their hearts out to whistles and cheers at the techno titan’s latest instalment. This isn’t the first example of Rocco’s exuberant outpourings across the long Easter weekend, and it certainly won’t be the last.

Emotions are running high on what is being billed as their 200th event and the second in a series of four sold-out parties celebrating Awakenings’ 20 years of events. All week, from the promoters to the DJs to the crowd, everyone is in a birthday mood. There are fireworks that whizz among the rafters to propel Sven Väth’s thunderous set ever skyward and red lasers ricocheting off the Gashouder’s discoball centrepiece for Jeff Mills’ daytime performance. The party’s ever-evolving light show keeps proceedings thrusting forward. All weekend long, via flaming torches, swathes of lights, and bursts of smoke, the cake and candles are fully out.

That’s not to say Awakenings is all bells and whistles – far from it. Situated in west Amsterdam’s Westergasfabriek, once the biggest coal gas plant in the Netherlands, the Gashouder is a natural home for a hard-hitting, unrelenting brand of techno that’s seen everyone from Pan-Pot to Ben Klock, Joris Voorn to Chris Liebing walk through its doors (all of whom are back and in form this weekend). The large, iron-roofed chamber, a monstrous blend of metal and concrete, has been the avatar of Awakenings since the beginning. Its history breathes across the weekend; photos of bygone parties line the entrance offering glimpses of many of the DJs who have taken to its stage. Back in 1997, the Gashouder had shaky floors, a rusty ceiling and sweat would drip down from above (“You needed to always walk around with your hand over your glass,” says Rocco). But it made an instant impact on the scene as its influence spread across Amsterdam and Europe. “Still people try to make techno parties all over the world inspired by Awakenings,” he says.

As Adam and Joseph make way for Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann, a round of applause rings around the Gashouder. And it’s the same all weekend: whether it’s Remy Unger or Ricardo Villalobos, they’re all greeted with an ovation. There’s a buzz in the air, a real feeling that there is much to be celebrated. A few here this weekend are Amsterdam locals who have been coming to Gashouder since the start. Many of the DJs were even playing the first parties during the 1990s, like Dave Clarke, whose sucker-punch set of ghetto techno brings new levels of energy to the room on the Saturday night. In fact, Billy Nasty and Derrick May were both on the bill back in 1997 for its debut show. Even the newer names, like Nina Kraviz and Len Faki, have become regulars, and young blood ravers from all over Europe are bowing down in awe.

“There were so many emotions yesterday,” Rocco tells us. “Adam Beyer phoned me and was all emotional. Nina Kraviz had a cry. You’re always busy with the next party; it’s a pleasure to look back.”

If this weekend has been about anything then it’s to take a moment to reflect and celebrate. It’s a testament to his undying passion that Rocco has only ever a missed a handful of shows. His mic enthusiasm has long been part of Awakenings, and there’s little chance of it, or him, stopping soon.