Various countries start off their spring season with significant holidays or a specific day in March when people can finally say its spring. In Amsterdam though, the celebration of spring starts with a festival that lasts for five days, we’re talking about the aptly named 5 Days Off of course.
5 Days Off first started in 2001 as a spin-off from Belgium’s 10 Days Off festival and is already having its fourteenth edition this year. 5 Days Off is the first of its kind in Amsterdam, as it developed over the years into a week-long indoor dance festival much like ADE, appealing to an equally diverse audience. Across its five day period, the organizers present to the public various events like art galleries, screenings and of course lots of clubbing experience with various musical highlights.
The festival has a focus on electronic music in general but it definitely isn’t discriminatory against other types of music. To this date the festival accommodated big industry names like Daft Punk, SBTRKT, Dizzie Rascal, Jeff Mills and Flying Lotus. The 2014 edition promises to be even more grandiose than its previous year. The festival first started in Melkweg but in recent years it expanded to the mythical Paradiso and the successful restaurant/club venue De Balie. This year, Melkweg will host Nicolas Jaar & Dave Harrington with their new project Darkside. Darkside combines minimalistic sounds with touches of guitar; they induce a state of hypnosis over the dancefloor as the chemistry between the two reaches its peak.
Thursday is the day when the clubbing scene goes booming with the help of Jongens van de Wereld, an experienced organization that has earned its stripes in the Amsterdam partying circuit, as Hot Since 82 will turn Paradiso into a very naughty church. With fresh releases just finished the Leeds based force of power will give Amsterdam a night to remember, in one of the most picturesque venues the city has to offer. Fellow Brits Bodhi, Waze & Odyssey and Northern Ireland’s Ejeca bring their own touch of UK house meets garage, while Elias Mazian will bring a touch of funk and disco to your ears. We know where we need to be for the goody goodies on Thursday Off.
On Saturday, the stellar Marek Hemmann will showcase his signature sound in a one-man live show starting earlier in the evening at de Melkweg. Get ready for pumping house grooves and those sweet melodics that the cheerful German is known for.
Following Marek’s performance is Saturday’s club night at Melkweg with Julio Bashmore, who brings the Bristol sound to Amsterdam yet again on Saturday. Julio has a small league of DJs behind him as well. Like Metro Area, Martyn, Dekmantel Soundsystem and Funkineven.
5 Days Off is an experience for everybody that wants their piece of special sounds. We’ll be right in the middle of everything, sharing out thoughts and experiences with you. We can’t think of a better way to spend a few days off.
Hot Since 82 | Waze & Odyssey | Ejeca | Bodhi | Elias Mazian | MOOSE | Lxury | Alexander Valentyn | Martin Lucas| Sombro |
March 6 | 5 Days Off w/ Hot Since 82 | Tickets | Paradiso |
