Since the beginning of 2021, we have been releasing a series of dance music named after cities. The fourth song in the series is inspired by “Amsterdam”, one of the most liberal cities in the world. Amsterdam is a city with an understanding of diverse cultures and holds an important place in dance music. The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), held every October, attracts dance music professionals from all over the world. During the event, music events are held day and night all over the city, as well as many conferences and sessions related to dance music. Especially for the past few years, we’ve been coming to Amsterdam to attend ADE and feel the dance music while enjoying the city, the leaves changing color, and feeling the chill in the air.
Amsterdam was a huge influence on forming AmPm and to the rest of our activities. Our first label deal was actually made with Armada Music that is based in Amsterdam. Also, there are songs like Faded Love, which we created when we shut in at the place we stayed during the ADE, and a remix of an Afrojack song that turned into a piece because we visited Amsterdam. We can’t clearly remember if we met StarRo, the producer, or created the song first, but Amsterdam is where we met him and co-wrote the song Maybe.
It’s even the kind of place where Armin Van Buuren performs as a DJ with an orchestra at the coronation of the new King of the Netherlands. Thus, the depth of cultural roots and understanding of dance music is completely different from Japan. It’s an amazing place. (We definitely recommend you to watch this video of the ceremony. When the Royal Family appears, you can see how much they deeply understand dance music.)
Favorite Spots in Amsterdam
As we wrote when releasing New York City, too, we have many favorite spots in Amsterdam that we would like to share with you. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go directly to these places in Amsterdam again this year, so we would like to show you some of them by looking at the Google Map.
GENERATOR Amsterdam
This place is where we always stay in Amsterdam.
The building was originally part of the university’s facilities and is now used as accommodation. During ADE, the former auditorium and library are used for conferences, and in the basement, there is a space where dance events are held every day. Moreover, in front of the building, there is a massive park called Oosterpark Amsterdam, where you can feel nature right in front of you. We recommend this place not just because of its location but also because of the delicious chai served at the cafe inside the GENERATOR facility. Both of us have tried chai at many places in the past, but so far, we haven’t found this chai that they offer in any other place. The food is delicious, of course, but it’s also worth it just to come here for a cup of chai with the view of the park in front of you.
De School
The building uses a closed elementary school to house a café, restaurant, gallery, and club space. The restaurant offers a casual but budget-friendly course meal, and the café provides enough quality food that will satisfy the customers. De School as a restaurant is an element we enjoy, but this place is an excellent club space. The events that take place in this basement are an authentic European club experience. For a short break, you can go back to the ground level and have a drink or chat in the facility’s courtyard. It’s hard to explain in words, but it’s everything you would expect from a European club.
d’Vijff Vlieghen
Established in 1939, the restaurant serves traditional Dutch cuisine. The building is said to have been built in 1627, so you can feel the atmosphere of that time. We’re not sure if this place is listed in tourist guides worldwide, but we have the impression that there are relatively many tourists here. It is a restaurant where you can enjoy authentic Dutch food to the fullest, and it is delicious. It might be a typical, touristy place, but if you go, you will understand why it has been loved by many. If you’re traveling to Amsterdam and afraid to be adventurous, you should definitely go visit this restaurant. Along with great memories of the trip, this kind of experience might give you the courage to try new restaurants and spots. It’s not new, but a nice restaurant with a bit of specialness and comfort.
Finally
Amsterdam is a place that holds more memories for us than we can express in words. We don’t remember the place, but we have a memory of when we went to a Boiler Room in the suburbs, and we were the only guest, having a blast with the staff; going to Hardwell’s last show before he went on hiatus, where there were so many families and people of all ages fully enjoying the dance music; the dance music played on the subway platforms, the fact that there is so much nature and so many people riding bicycles, which always makes us rethink our lifestyle; not as glamorous as London or Paris, but a compact city that is just fine.
It applies to every city, but each visitor will have their own impression. I hope that listening to this release of Amsterdam will give you the chance to remember or imagine the city or to have an interest in it. If we weren’t in this situation, I could have written these sentences somewhere in Amsterdam, but just like you, we would like to listen to this song of Amsterdam and immerse ourselves in the memories of the city.
