Dekmantel is the festival that always gets it so right

We go to a lot of festivals. A lot of them are incredible, a lot of them are OK and some of them are just plain shit. The real trick to winning the summer circuit is attending a festival that blows you away every single time. Dekmantel, now in its fourth year, is just that. Essentially a day festival spread over three days, the Amsterdam event has come to be known for its consistency. Dekmantel's label, parties, artists and releases are of an astonishingly high standard but the festival set at Amsterdamse Bos, a picturesque park located around 20 minutes out of the centre, is now the jewel of the club brand's sparkling crown.

It was our third time attending the festival and although it's easy to band around words like "magical" and "perfect", Dekmantel was pretty much magical and perfect. And it's the little details that make it stand out. You're not seeing the likes of Ricardo, Nina, Mills and Hood in a four-walled club and you're not seeing them in your bog-standard festival tent, either. At Dekmantel, you're watching them in woods that pixies might frequent, or in the Greenhouse, with an interior that looks like the middle of a rainforest, or on a Main Stage that is one of the most unique in the world. Even the only tent on site, the aptly-named UFO, looks like something out of Battlestar Galactica once you walk in.

Too often festivals will book incredible line-ups, then ruin them by reducing artists to measly one-hour sets on weak systems, curtailing the potential of the talent on show. Take the Selectors stage for instance, Dekmantel’s showcase of DJs with record bags deeper than the Pacific. Every DJ is given the time needed to explore these in detail and craft mind-blowing musical voyages. Saturday alone saw a triumphant five hour workout from Beautiful Swimmers and Pender Street Steppers, and stunning performances from Lena Wilikens and Donato Dozzy. Everyone brings their A-game (even the barstaff across the site, who are some of the smiliest characters around).

This year the audience was distinctly more British than years gone by. But you know what? Who can blame the UK crowd. Day festivals in London look like child's play in comparison. London day events are double the size, double the capacity and double the amount of stages, yet Dekmantel trumps them in every department. Quality not quantity has never been truer.

Not much has changed at Dekmantel over the years and that's exactly why we love it. It gets so much right and it all seems so seamless. It's glaringly obvious that everything Dekmantel does, is done with love, integrity and care and that's why it's attracting more a of an international audience than ever before.

DJ Harvey – Selectors, Friday

Conditions were ideal as we arrived into Amsterdam on Thursday. The sun shone brightly until late evening and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, just our palpable excitement hanging thick in the air. It was a different story early Friday afternoon, with the heavens opening and sending rain pouring down almost the very second we entered the site. Dancers prepared with just two t-shirts and a pair of shorts for the weekend shared worried looks and huddled beneath trees, but they should have known that one artist guaranteed to bring the sunshine vibes was DJ Harvey. As his masterful three-and-a-half hour opening set on the Selectors stage rolled into action the skies steadily cleared and rain was banished for the remainder of the weekend. Concurrently, the crowd of sheltering early birds soon grew into a packed out and pulsating throng, dipping low to Harvey’s juddering basslines and raising hands high to the twinkling melodies of his unparalleled collection of disco heaters. Warm-up sets have rarely been so perfect.

Moodymann – Greenhouse, Friday

No matter the setting that Moodymann plays in, be it vast warehouse or compact basement, he always seems to create the exact same communal atmosphere. Whether he’s using his rider to pour drinks for the front row or simply asking his guests “What up?”, the Detroit don never fails to fulfil the courteous role of host during his sets, lending them the feel of an intimate house party. Naturally, Fred Wesley’s ‘House Party’ was a flawless record to draw for, and the enclosed space of the Greenhouse stage was a similarly ideal location to fuel this mood. Broad grins and energetic moves dominated the palm tree-dotted dance floor as the heat turned tropical, while billowing smoke machines enveloped the crowd at intervals as people lost themselves in the both the fog and the music. For these moments, we were transported out of the Amsterdam forest and into Kenny Dixon Jr.’s front garden.

Helena Hauff b2b DJ Stingray - UFO, Friday

Skipping a Ricardo Villalobos set is never a decision to take lightly, and it wasn’t without mild emotional turmoil that we dragged ourselves away from the main stage half an hour into his flow. But when two of the world’s most explosive DJs are simultaneously playing a one-off back-to-back set, tough decisions have to be made. It took mere seconds of Helena Hauff and DJ Stingray’s powerful selections for any lingering doubts to dissipate, with the blistering force of their electro hitting hard immediately upon entry to the UFO tent. Stingray stood stock still in his balaclava beside the decks during the moments Helena took charge, patiently waiting his turn – a stark contrast to the untamed limb flailing present throughout the audience. It was the kind of set that had us screwing ours faces up in disbelief at the ferocity of the records being spun, catching the eyes of fellow crowd members and sharing looks that detailed in split seconds that this was something special. That’s part of the beauty of Dekmantel. Not only do the bookers know how to pull together a world-class bill, they know how to bring aspects of it even closer together to send the quality rocketing into another dimension.

Ben UFO b2b Joy Orbison – Main Stage, Friday

More fine Friday programming saw two DJs widely regarded as among the most eclectic around rotating for two hours behind the booth of the centre stage. It’s impossible to pick out one track as a marker from a Ben UFO and Joy Orbison set, with the span of records they pull out traversing wide genres and BPMs, tied together by the common thread of being surefire dance floor destroyers. Azzido Da Bass’ ‘Dooms Night’ sparked the wildest movement. The murky bass palpitations that sound like techno windscreen wipers synced up with the throbbing rainbow visuals of the impressive light display, combing for an intoxicating aural and optical experience. After exploring the depths of bassweight, the pair turned to the highs of brassweight with the blaring horns of Karizma’s exultant ‘Nuffin Else’ dragging us to lofty realms of euphoria, before the atmosphere got sultry with Mood II Swing’s ‘CaLL mE (Moody Dub)’. In a way this set typified Dekmantel, showcasing a deep passion for varying strands of electronic music and presenting them in a pitch-perfect manner. Which at the foundations is precisely what the festival stands for.

Deniro - Dekmantel By-Night, Melkweg

To think of Dekmantel as just a day festival would be a disservice. Although the music stops, rather upsettingly, at 11pm, the By-Night segment of the festival starts the moment the last tune is played at Amsterdamse Bos. The first person in charge of hitting play at Melkweg, a concert hall and multimedia centre located in the centre of town, was Deniro and the Dutchman is someone we've been following with great intent over the last 12 months. After first dazzling us with 'Organezized', a track he made for Nina Kraviz's трип label, we got in touch with him to see what else he had in his locker, turns out he has a lot. His Guide mix comprising of all of his own productions is a high-octane, feverish-paced set that aptly displays his unique strand of house and techno. As soon as the rolling bassline came thundering in on 'Cash Machines', we knew he was as skilled live as he was behind a mixing desk. For the first set of the night, it set the bar high and DJ Bone closely followed with his own 130bpm+ bangers, but by then, Deniro had stole the show.

However, this was the highlight of our time at Melkweg and it took place within the first two hours of the marathon night. The problem with Melkweg is that it's a large, cavernous and twisting venue that has very little in the way of direction or excitement. It's functional and after you've just spent an entire day at one of the most enthralling festival sites in Europe, you're left with a slightly bitter taste in your mouth. Sure the line-ups are outstanding, tonight DJ Bone, Tama Sumo and Joy Orbison b2b Solar all play, and the systems are good enough, but there's nothing special, other than the fact you have to get a lift to one of the floors unless you want to brave the five flights of stairs when you've been dancing for around 20 hours. Someone even described it as a 'Cineworld on K' – we couldn't help but agree.

This is where De School comes into play. The successor to Trouw is the spot that everyone we encountered was really excited about. It's the club that felt magical, it felt new and it felt overwhelming in all the right ways. Two years ago when Trouw was still open (and the official Dekmantel afterparty venue), it managed to match the high levels that the festival had set earlier in the day. It was like you were going somewhere that was as equally stimulating and hair raising. While it wasn't the official By-Night spot, De School was certainly the place that people left their inhibitions at the door and celebrated Dekmantel the way it should be. Of a weekend filled with an incredible amount of positives, Melkweg became the negative.

DJ Nobu - UFO Stage, Saturday

The UFO stage is techno. That's the best way to describe the place. Whether it's morning, afternoon, or night, it's techno and it would be a safe bet to put money on it being busy, even for the first sets. Rrose on the Friday delicately eased people into techno-mode with ambient, distorted, and tranquil soundscapes with their sleek long hair, purple lipstick and completely stationary stance standing out in front of the deep blue and red washes behind. If Rrose was your darkness-flecked opening and Helena b2b Stingray provided your all-out electro throbbers then DJ Nobu at the midway point on Saturday would act as your happy techno medium. The Japanese selector was a popular choice despite the sun still blazing outside and his rolling, melodic techno was backed by an enthusiastic, consistent bob. It may not seem like much but his movement behind the deck was a pleasant addition to an afternoon set in the UFO. His techno was hard, but never overbearing, it was rough, but extremely fluid at the same time. The introduction of trickling hi-hats and subaqueous melodies were regular, which of course resulted in cheers throughout the tent, a sound you can only really imagine if you've heard it. Compare Nobu's set to that of Hood's or Nina's and it was a lot tamer but it had a certain bite that made it completely his own. A unique set and one of our favourites in the UFO all weekend.

Young Marco - Boiler Room, Saturday

Boiler Room's presence at this year's festival, as with last year, was undeniable. The line-ups were bigger, the soundsystem was beefed up and the queues for some of the bigger names were lengthy. On face value though what's not to like? It's the smallest and most intimate venue with four giant Funktion One stacks pointed inwards and you'll get to relive all your favourite sets when you get back (some of the live broadcasts have really soothed our blues). This year there was an emphasis on showcasing smaller, fresher talent in time-slots usually reserved for the big guns, as seen all over the festival and particularly with Peter Van Hoosen sandwiched between Klock and Dettmann on the closing night. But Saturday was our day for house and disco in the heat and the Young Marco, Antal one/two that was on offer was too much to resist. Marco was our highlight of the two and the Dekmantel-favourite whimsically weaved between house, disco, acid and classics. The Ambient mix of 'Last Rhythm' was the 'hands-in-the-air' moment towards the end of the hour that summed up the joy of the stage. Whether you're a lad from Scunthorpe or a Dam resident, it was a uniting moment at a uniting stage.

Special mention on this stage has to go to the joy-inducing pairing of Black Madonna b2b Mike Servito. Marea Stamper had already played a spellbinding set over at the Greenhouse earlier in the day but her and long-time friend Servito served up jam after jam in the tunnel of tech. Grain's unreleased 'Acid Test' being a particular highlight within a mix of jacking, fist-pumping bangers. An inspiration to most of the DJs there, Black Madonna found her perfect partner in Servito and everyone there revelled in it.

Nina Kraviz - UFO Stage, Saturday

Despite the blazing sun of the daytime on Saturday, the UFO tent was always on hand to provide a dark and sweaty atmosphere for no-holds-barred sounds. The stage is reserved for the hardest hitting acts on the bill, with the likes of Rødhåd, Blawan, and Marcel Dettmann stepping up across the weekend. We started our Saturday in there with Objekt who moved through some lighter sounds in his opening hour such as the B-side to SZCH’s ‘Untitled’ release from earlier this year, but ramped it up through tightly controlled mixing as a crowd gradually amassed. By the time Saturday’s headliner Nina Kraviz took to the stage at 9pm the tent was bursting at the seams with unbridled energy. Having caught Nina on a few occasions before, she’s been someone that has impressed without blowing us away, but on this night she was on absolute top form, pushing the crowd into overdrive with increasingly chaotic rave and acid cuts. Credit to the structural integrity of the tent, because the reaction to Nina blasting The Prodigy’s ‘No Good’ felt like it could have torn the roof off a brick-built club. We were half-expecting the stage to embody its name and spiral up into orbit.

Dixon - Main Stage, Saturday

Everyday at around 8/9pm you're faced with the hardest choice of all: who the fuck do you finish your day with? There are some big decisions to be made. Do you opt for the sweaty, techno cathedral of the UFO tent? The hedonistic and serene Selectors stage with the Greenhouse 30 seconds away? What about the Boiler Room so your choice is streamed live across the world? For us it's kind of a no-brainer as the Dekmantel main stage is one of the most visually astounding and eye-popping areas of Europe's festival circuit, let alone just the event. Dixon was closing proceedings and he's a choice that splits festival-goers down the middle. For some, his melodic, emotive style is something they've seen a million times before while for others he's the absolute must-see of the weekend. We thought it only right to go and see what the world-conquering German had prepared for Dekmantel, after-all, he'd supplied us with some truly ethereal moments over the years. Luckily, he absolutely spanked it. He played a lot harder than usual, with 40-minute periods of techno-inclined rippers, like the yet-to-be released Eagles and Butterflies track that had the Identification of Music Group on Facebook in disarray. He of course played some long, drawn-out tracks with zippy melodies but then what Dixon set would be complete without that. The pulsating, retina-burning display behind the main-man was enough to make the vast majority of the crowd come-up almost instantly and also in unison. A powerful stage, a powerful set and a powerful, powerful DJ.

Palms Trax - Main Stage, Sunday

Sunday is always a different vibe at Dekmantel, as is the case with most festivals. You've had two, maybe three days of heavy-duty partying and Amsterdam isn't the most forgiving of locations when it comes to hangovers. That being said. it was crucial that whoever we saw at the start of the day got the balance right. The audience needed something easy on the ears to soothe and calm the queasiness but at the same time, it needed to be uplifting enough to inspire an energetic start to the day. Our first encounter of the main stage was with Palms Trax, the UK producer who's steadily making waves as a selector who can cater to any crowd at any time. His daytime session was simply beautiful. An array of soul classics, disco rollers and grooves that'll make your heart melt. There are too many tracks for us to pick as a highlight but 'Closer' by Project Pablo hit the sweet spot. We can't not mention that he played 'Brooklyn' by Kerri Chandler, 'E-Versions' by Kahn (a tantalisingly good edit of 'I'm Every Woman by Chaka Kahn) and of course 'Music Sounds Better With You' by Stardust, a perfectly deployed party trick that had everyone singing-along. A brief encounter with the DJ outside the toilets shortly after his set revealed that he nearly had a technical breakdown that would have resulted in no music at all. Luckily it was saved and the audience was none the wiser, in fact they were glistening with happiness.

Call Super - Selectors, Sunday

Call Super on Sunday evening stands as our favourite selector to grace the aptly-titled stage. Over the course of three hours he touched upon everything from ambient to breaks, sometimes in quick succession, thriving off the timespan allotted. It’s a shame more of the festival doesn’t take place at night because the Selectors stage is breath-taking in the dark, with the enclosing trees illuminated by colourful lights and the branches of the grand willow tree in the centre hanging above the dance floor like Mother Nature’s chandelier. The most memorable mix occurred in Call Super’s final half hour. Just as the sun was setting and the location turning magical, the immersive synths and sweeping strings of Digital Justice’s ‘Profit (No Till)’ swelled mystically. It was a real moment, catching everyone in introspection at the beauty of the scene. Then out of nowhere Stanton Warriors’ fiery UKG remix of ‘Jump N’ Shout’ by Basement Jaxx was brought in, breaking the trance and sending the crowd into fist-pumping, floor-hopping raptures. It was a blend that could only be reached in a lengthy set that charted extremes, which the Selectors stage provided in abundance.

Marcel Dettmann - Boiler Room, Sunday

If you thought picking an end-of-day set was hard on Friday or Saturday then Sunday was looking like an absolute minefield. Motor City Drum Ensemble made his debut over at the main stage as a headliner but after Dixon's rampage the night before, we didn't fancy another helping of big arena action. Klock was rolling out the thunder in the UFO but after we caught some of him earlier in the day, we weren't up for the darkness of the techno tavern. So it was outdoors for Dettmann, Dozzy or Digital Mystikz. All good shouts as with all of the acts playing but we opted for techno savagery of Dettmann and the post-haircut German powerhouse absolutely delivered. He's a safe bet but that doesn't make him a boring one, whether he's playing mechanical techno, melodic side-winders or the occasional thunderous house track, he does so with a prowess that most other selectors do. Cool, calm and calculated, he whipped the Boiler Room stage into a frenzy like we hadn't seen all weekend. The lights were down, the system was pumped up and the tunnel was almost impossible to get into. Slap bang in the middle of his set he threw down Liberty City's classic 'If You Really Want Someone' and the place hit lift off. Those chords, that vocal and Dettmann's militant head bump typified the sorts of risks and classics you can throw down in Boiler Room. A triumphant end to our favourite festival of the year.

Funster is Mixmag's Digital Music Editor, follow him on Twitter

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow him on Twitter