ADE is always rich with a fine offering of underground parties. But one that sticks out more than most is the debut event from The Hidden People—known principally for their immersive OFF Week events in Barcelona—and FMLY.
Dubbed a ‘mini-festival’, the event will take place on October 18th at a stunning venue in the form Hotel Arena, and 18th-century chapel, and for 12 hours will be soundtracked by the likes of Alex Niggemann, Baltra (live), Benjamin Damage, Breach, Butch, Detroit Swindle, DJ Boring, Francois X, Object Blue (live), Pantha du Prince (live), Renaat, and Space Dimension Controller (live)
Before the much-anticipated event, we get the lowdown about the crews behind it.
“Our aim is to let the people experience the ‘wow’ effect that’ll lead to a high-end event”
When did you first get into promoting parties and why, what was the desire and driving factor?
Let’s begin by saying that we have always had a strong love for electronic music. Our group of friends had many people in the scene; most of them are really good musicians and skilled DJ’s, but they didn’t really know how to get themselves out there. As we have a background in advertising, they used to knock on our doors for advice. Naturally, we created a nice synergy first with friends, but pretty soon this transpired with many more people, leading us into promoting parties.
It is really nice to be the host of a party; to be able to contribute to a new experience, to be the guide with everything that comes into play: Line-up, decoration, drinks, well… The total vibe. We enjoy bringing people together and creating happy faces. I think that’s still the biggest driving factor, actually.
How was your first one, a big success or a difficult event? What have you learned since?
Our first THP party was on a very warm Summer Day in 2010. We had an amazing venue in the centre of Barcelona with a huge 360º terrace on the 14th floor. – We love to party in hotels by the way – and this one got really, really busy. Everybody was having an amazing time, so we decided to extend the party just a bit more. As the party itself was going through the stratosphere, at some point the police obviously had to bring the party to an end. Yes, we learned a lot from that party, haha!
What are the most important things to get right with any party, in your experience?
Throwing a good party is more difficult than it seems. We learned that the right party is not only made with good music, or a nice venue, but it’s more about the experience, total atmosphere, and comfort that people have. This, combined with many other little details are essential for a great event. Our aim is to let the people experience the ‘wow’ effect that’ll lead to a high-end event and of course, a unique experience for the visitors.
What are the best ways to promote an event, and has it got easier or harder with social media?
We do a lot of secret events, so for us, email and the postal service are still the best tools, but nowadays, promoting an event, has become a true science. We sometimes find ourselves in the twilight zone of old-school and new promotions. We are still in search of the perfect formula.
Tell us about the venue for your ADE party – how did you find it, what production will you put in it?
This venue is magic, an ancient building with high ceilings that ended in a XVIII century old paintings from an old chapel, it’s crazy to think that you can party there.
Well located in centre of Amsterdam, this venue catches our attention, first of all because a massive renovation took place, this really gave the building the mystic touch it has now. The venue is ready to be transformed into a new hot spot of electronic music. Second, the fact that it’s a hotel is great, for us there is no better place than a hotel when it comes to service. Many of our parties were hosted in hotels: rooftops, backyards or pools. As these venues are way different from regular clubs, we noticed how this leads to a total new party experience that’s never compared with a regular club night. The challenge of this ADE event is to let Amsterdam experience that THP vibe in the old chapel.
Tell us about the line-up, what inspired it, why you have booked who you have booked.
We’ve tried to bring a mixed line-up we see is not usual in the Netherlands, selecting some upcoming acts like Object Blue and DJ Boring, alongside the more established names like Butch, Alex Niggemann, Pantha du Prince and Space Dimension Controller, while keeping a local angle with Detroit Swindle and Breach.
Then, we made an extra effort by combining one not-to-miss showcase between R&S recordings, one of the most legendary record labels out there, alongside Benjamin Damage, Francois X and of course, Renaat Vandepapeliere.
We’re very excited to be hosting such an event with all these great artists. Growing our THP concept, we will be able to announce further surprises and many more events in the future.
How much work and meetings get done at ADE, or is it just a big party now do you think?
I think at ADE we’ll be running like crazy, haha. But after the event, sure, there’s room for some meetings and nice parties, it’s a great chance to meet with new and old friends, everybody will be in town!
What are you most looking forward to about your party this year and why?
We are very happy with the venue, but we are also looking forward to meeting the new local audience we are bringing together for this global meeting. Of course the line-up is something to look at, we believe this ancient building and its atmosphere will inspire the artists to play a different set. We are very curious of the new emerging artist Object Blue but also for the recognized hero, that is Butch and local hero’s Detroit Swindle.
What else have you got coming up and what are you working on after this?
Our true aim is to get more people to experience our events, focusing on high-end productions that will bring better and unique experiences. ADE will be the firestarter in Amsterdam, and we are planning to extend and grow with our concept.
18 October | The Hidden People X FMLY Agency ADE Special | Tickets | Hotel Arena
