- Lente Kabinet is Dekmantel Festival's little sibling. The one-day event, now in its fourth year, is organised by the Dekmantel crew, and it carries all the benefits that come with that association—quality sound, professional logistics, reliable bookings. But with no Dekmantel branding attached to it, Lente Kabinet has taken on a life of its own. It has an irreverent visual aesthetic courtesy of Dutch artist Stefan Glerum. And the crowd is mostly made up of locals—a contrast to Dekmantel Festival, which attracts a large international contingent. This helps give the whole thing a relaxed, homey atmosphere.
The festival takes place at Het Twiske, a recreational forest located a short bus ride from Amsterdam. The site is easy to navigate and all four stages are modestly sized. My first stop was the Red Light Radio stage, which opened with a four-hour back-to-back set from the station's founder, Orpheu de Jong, and Tako Reyenga of Redlight Records. They dropped killer tracks—lots of music I'd never heard but also some Balearic Bee Gees and Project Sandro's "Blazer," a wonderful mid-'00s house gem. Perhaps the best transition was Alexander Robotnick's "Problemes D'Amour" into "I Want You For Myself" by George Duke—the sun was shining now and people were dancing.
Nearby, Lena Willikens worked her way through a selection of grubby, psychedelic electro. At one point she dropped Montezumas Rache's "Wu Du Wu," a tune made by musicians affiliated with Salon Des Amateurs, the Düsseldorf venue where she holds a residency. It was released in 2014 on Reyenga's Second Circle label—a symbol of the Salon's warm relationship with the Amsterdam scene.
Thanks to both his reputation and his billing on a sun-soaked main stage, Moodymann played to the biggest crowd of the day. His set was also Lente Kabinet's biggest disappointment. I watched him for an hour and he played a procession of faceless, techy cuts. Far more impressive were Pender Street Steppers, whose slickly mixed electro-funk and disco records were joyfully received on the Red Light Radio stage.
The Black Madonna burned through a high-octane selection on the DJ Broadcast stage, repping Chicago with classics like Robert Owens' "Bring Down The Walls." Levon Vincent then held down the Red Light Records stage, pushing out tough but danceable techno. Back on the main stage, Gerd Janson lost half of Moodymann's crowd as the shadows lengthened, but those who stayed were rewarded with a classy, energetic turn.
Janson was followed by Nicolas Jaar, the day's headliner, who started with moody, slow tempo selections. Reports filtered through of Ben UFO and Joy Orbison hitting their stride with a back-to-back set, but again I was drawn to the Red Light Radio stage, this time for a head-to-head from Versatile Records founder Gilb'r, a Frenchman who recently moved to Amsterdam, and Young Marco, a torchbearer for the city's scene. By the end of their set, a blistering session of disco, techno and Afro-house, few people in the crowd hadn't worked up a sweat in the cool night air. The day's best set came from two DJs who live a few miles from the festival site. This didn't feel like a surprise.
Photo credits: De Fotomeisjes