Dekmantel @ Amsterdamse Bos, 1-3 Aug

Our Clubs team report from the second Dekmantel festival, which saw the likes of Nico Jaar, DJ Harvey, Joy Orbison and Three Chairs take to a park in Amsterdam

Review by Daniel Jones and Jack Burns | 12 Aug 2014

Nestled away to the south of the city, Amsterdamse Bos is a sprawling mass of dense foliage, winding pathways and mammoth clearings. It takes about half an hour to get from one side to the other, a picturesque route marked by a series of sporadic Dekmantel arrows pinned to the occasional tree trunk. According to local chat, the forest is also home to a prominent nudist hotspot – an ideal setting for some taps aff action, then.

The festival site itself is comprised of a whack off RA main stage, complete with vast sunscreen and insane panoramic visuals, a sweat-laden XLR8R techno tent, and three decked stages set further back into the woods – hosted by Warsteiner, RBMA and Boiler Room respectively. Despite there being twice as many punters as last year’s inaugural effort, this year’s bacchanal managed to preserve a sense of seclusion, and enough space among the crowd to allow lungs to breathe and arms to flail.

First up, Amsterdam’s hometown pairing of San Proper and Melon get things going on the Warsteiner Selectors stage, easing through woozy disco edits beneath the shade of a majestic weeping willow (which soon becomes the go-to climbing platform for those ambitious and agile enough to scale its mighty bough). Mancuso vibes follow for the next four hours, straight through to Gerd Janson x Prins Thomas who announce themselves by sneaking in a few familiar riffs, including a chugging Balearic version of The Cure’s Lullaby.

Meanwhile, a sample of I’ll Be Doggone cuts through the main stage humidity courtesy of Talaboman, just before plastic glasses of weissbier start flying around to the sound of Labuzinski & Graef’s Vino Rosetto. The mood in the arena gets a tad heavier as the evening turns, and also sees Levon Vincent step in for Karenn in the XLR8R tent – turns out Blawan and Pariah had some trouble with their bags – which is pretty much an ‘if Carlsberg did auxillary techno plans’ moment. God only knows what Vincent was serving up for the most part (apart from ??? off last year’s Rainstorm II) but, either way, his set was a master class in all things dark and dubby, with barely a hi-hat in sight.

An hour in that sweaty cavern is enough to prompt a return to the fresher air on offer at the Selectors stage, and to witness DJ Harvey already in full swing with his inimitable blend of Black Cock obscurities and West End classics – prime time disco at its best. Fighting the urge to stick around ‘til closing time, the nearby tones of Jocelyn Brown provoke a quick jaunt over to catch the end of Nico Jaar. This actually pays off as the swaying crowd gaze in wonder at a couple of nutters climbing up the 40ft high scaffolding on the main stage… turns out the willow isn’t enough of a challenge for some.

Fears of a thunder storm meant that the woods were cordoned off for a few hours on Saturday afternoon, allowing young guns Kyle Hall and Jay Daniel to lend an occasional record to the Three Chairs experience. With a wealth of Motor City egos already on display, the worry that too many cooks might spoil the broth quickly dissipates, and the synergy between Parrish, KDJ, Pittman, Wilhite and co. is palpable with every dip into the six hour marathon. The rotating satellite dish peeking out above the trees is also a beautiful touch, seeming to transmit the eclectic sounds of Change, Gwen McCrae, Seven Davis Jr. and Floating Points et al. throughout the entire universe.

Main stage action includes memorable sets from the ever-impressive Joy Orbison and Daphni, the former nodding to the latter by cheekily slipping in his edit of Ne Noya. There’s also a welcome slice of Fela Kuti’s Zombie in there somewhere before Ben UFO, Pangaea and Pearson Sound lead the charge for a Hessle Audio takeover. Over in the tent, Rødhåd is rocking the joint – in more ways than one – with Jeff Mills’ seminal pounder The Bells. The savage onslaught of analogue kicks continues with a steely live performance from TR\\ER (the Truss and Tessela tag team) before a return to catch the climax of Three Chairs. Shout outs to late greats Frankie Knuckles and Michael Jackson lead into the RLP edit of Harold Melvin’s Don’t Leave This Way. A truly hair-raising end to an amazing day.

Into Sunday and Space Dimension Controller does his best to match the antics of the night before, playing some ridiculously funky shit underneath Boiler Room’s tunnel of sheet metal. The highlight is, hands down, the Meco medley of Star Wars’s title theme and cantina band, which nobody – not even the ghost of Obi Wan himself – sees coming. Motor City Drum Ensemble is in equally fine feel-good form, bringing the heat with Theo Parrish’s edit of Little Sunflower, as well as the Larry Levan cut of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. Top draw stuff from Danilo, as per. There’s also a quick pass through Mount Kimbie’s DJ set (one of their guys had some trouble at the airport, which means they can't perform live) just as the familiar clicks of Carbonated come into earshot... mmm.

In contrast to the melodic offerings found in the woods, the main stage plays host to three legends of the pounding looptechno game – the enviable succession of Robert Hood, Surgeon and Jeff Mills. It was the Wizard Mills, though, who took the biscuit, utilising a whopping four CDJs for a slew of relentless 909 action. With a heartbeat suitably synced to around 130, it’s over to pay one final homage to the willow, and Optimo deliver a fitting end to proceedings that does Glasgow proud – goan yersel, lads.

The final whistle blows but, rather than leaving the site, swarms of people stick around for an hour or so, sprawled out on benches, rolling the last of their gear and trying to remember what actually happened over the last 72 hours. As a scene, it speaks volumes about what Dekmantel has achieved over the past two years, and there’s really no need to hurry when you’re left this satisfied.

http://www.dekmantelfestival.com