international news _ JONTY SKRUFFF _ 21th September, 2005

Dutch Dance Festival Chief Mocks Miami

Amsterdam Dance Event chief Pieter van Adrichem chatted to Skrufff this week about his upcoming tenth Festival next month and boasted that his three day event is far better organised than Miami's rival winter music conference.

"With our badge, you DO get into the clubs at night. That might seem trivial, but if you are serious about offering people the possibility to put forward their DJ, you have to guarantee that the right people get a chance to see them and don't have to argue their way beyond the bouncers every time they want to check out a new act."

Mr van Adrichem also took offence at being asked whether there'll be an onsite coffee shop grumbling 'Oh come on, don't give me those crap questions about Amsterdam and grass and the red light district.'

"And let me stress that this is not just for the 'club industry'," he continued.

"The ADE focuses on the dance and electronic music industry and that includes - apart form clubs - record companies, music distributors, concert agents, festivals organisers, promotional agencies etc. The ADE has been going for ten yeas and is the largest professional get together in Europe for professionals from the electronic scene (which - I think - is somewhat broader then 'dance', if you will).

"We are offering possibilities on three levels: to meet business contacts, to discover new music and new artists and to learn about new developments and exchange information," he added.

Hundreds of DJs and live acts will be performing all over Amsterdam throughout the event, including Soulwax, Derrick May,

http://www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl
(October 27-29, Holland: register before October 1st for the discount rate of 235 euros)

http://www.amsterdam.info/coffeeshops
(Coffee Shop Guide: 'In Amsterdam, coffeeshop means a place where cannabis is openly sold and smoked. Though soft drugs have not been legalized in the Netherlands, it is tolerated when used discretely . . .')

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/amsterdam/0043024448.html
(Amsterdam's Red Light District: 'Even if you don't want to play, this is a place you may want to see at night, when the red lights reflect from the inky surface of the canals. Lots of visitors come here out of curiosity or just for fun. There's no problem with wandering around, and you don't need to worry much about crime as long as you stick to the busier streets . . .')

(Jonty Skrufff)