DEKMANTEL FESTIVAL 2014
If you have a passion, something that you truly believe in, you should put your heart and soul into it. The three friends Thomas Martojo, Casper Tielrooij and Matthijs Theben Terville are unique individuals, but they have one thing in common: their shared love of electronic music. So what do you do when the thing you love is missing from the current nightlife scene? You just bring the music you want to hear to the nightlife, right? What started with regular parties by friends for friends grew to become a festival in its own right. And the Dekmantel Festival surpassed all expectations last year – in the run-up to the second edition, the festival was dubbed the ‘World’s Best Festival’ in August by the Resident Advisor music blog. Let’s look back at Dekmantel 2014.
There’s a special formula behind the success of the Dekmantel Festival. The three friends’ basic premise was to organise the kind of festival they would love to go to themselves. The organisation strives to achieve perfection and quality in every aspect of the festival, putting a great deal of thought into every last detail. They even managed to put together a famous line-up, which contrasted nicely with the minimalist decor in a beautiful natural setting. A few things were different from last year’s edition: there were more visitors and a more ambitious programme, and the festival got its very own campsite. ‘We added lots of new components, and beforehand we weren’t sure how they would all work out. In retrospect, we can definitely say they were a success!’ explains Dekmantel’s Thomas Martojo. The Dekmantel Festival was full of surprises, and although it has grown, it has retained the feel of a small-scale event.
‘The Warsteiner Selectors Stage is one of the site’s most intimate stages, and according to many, also the most beautiful. We select DJs who are true “diggers”, DJs who have access to a record collection most people can only dream about.’
WARSTEINER SELECTORS STAGE
In the run-up to and during the Dekmantel Festival itself, Warsteiner and Dekmantel told the story behind the real vinyl DJs. It all started with a series of videos called Sole Selectors, in which the true purists such as Antal, Mr. Ties, Benny Rodrigues and Ben UFO talk about what motivates them, defining moments and life lessons. During the Dekmantel Festival, these different stories were brought to life on the Warsteiner Selectors Stage, with the cult heroes given a special spot under a fairytale willow tree in the heart of the forest.
L – R: San Proper, Prins Thomas, Ben UFO, Traxx, Dj Harvey, Benny Rodrigues & DVS1, Antal and Mr. Ties. Gerd Janson, Melon, Optimo, Rivet and Robert Bergman also played the Warsteiner Selectors Stage.
As many as 10,000 dance lovers headed to the Amsterdamse Bos to enjoy three days of the best the world of electronic music has to offer. It was a diverse crowd, with European visitors from London, Berlin and Paris joining the local Dutch fans. The organisation managed to put itself on the international map, in capital letters no less, and succeeded in fulfilling high expectations as the whole world looked on.
Warsteiner is pleased to look back on an amazing second edition of the Dekmantel Festival. We can’t describe how it felt, but fortunately our photographer managed to capture all the special moments that we know you’d love to see.
